2024 Oilers Free Agency Primer
July 1, 2024On Stan Bowman: Part One – The Scandal
July 3, 2024
July 2, 2024 by Ryan Lotsberg
Edmonton Oilers CEO Jeff Jackson said that he doesn’t want to be the team’s new general manager. He didn’t act like it on the opening day of free agency. The Canada Day fireworks in the river valley weren’t the only fireworks in Edmonton on Monday. Jackson orchestrated the greatest opening day of a free agency period in the history of the Oilers franchise!
Related: 2024 Oilers Free Agency Primer
Jackson signed a whopping thirteen players on Monday. That doesn’t even include the deals signed by Calvin Pickard (two years, $1 million AAV) and Cam Dineen (one year, $775,000) on Friday. It does include seven players that were a part of the organization at the end of the 2023-24 season re-signing with the team, five players who are totally new to the Oilers, and one player that is set to return to the organization after taking a year away from professional hockey.
Here’s a list of the signings that the Oilers made on Monday:
| Term | AAV | |
| Viktor Arvidsson | 2 | $4,000,000 |
| Jeff Skinner | 1 | $3,000,000 |
| Adam Henrique | 2 | $3,000,000 |
| Mattias Janmark | 3 | $1,450,000 |
| Corey Perry | 1 | $1,150,000 (+$250,000 potential performance bonus) |
| Connor Brown | 1 | $1,000,000 |
| Josh Brown | 3 | $1,000,000 |
| Troy Stecher | 2 | $787,500 |
| Connor Carrick | 1 | $775,000 |
| Collin Delia | 1 | $775,000 |
| James Hamblin | 2 | $775,000 |
| Noah Philp | 1 | $775,000 |
| Noel Hoefenmayer | 1 | $775,000 |
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was Adam Henrique coming back on a two-year, $6 million contract. The deal happened later in the day after many people figured that there was no room left to sign him. Henrique had offers from other teams, but he chose Edmonton. He said that “[he] loved coming here and having the opportunity to chase the Cup and play with the guys here. It felt like [he] fit in great with the group” during his season ending media availability last Wednesday. He added that there’s a price for being on a team like the Oilers that is on the cusp of winning, and he feels that “whatever that is, it could be worth it.” Henrique said that it was important that this was a family decision, and his wife was fully supportive of his decision when speaking with the media on Tuesday. Henrique added that the other most important factor for him was “…to have the chance to win.” He went on to say that “I think the group there is a special group, and I had so much fun being a part of it this year and just wanted more of that.”
Henrique’s signing confirmed that all three members of the line that turned the Stanley Cup Final around will be back with the team next season. Mattias Janmark signed a three-year deal with an AAV of $1.45 million. This is the first time that Janmark has signed a multi-year deal since 2015. He signed seven consecutive one-year deals prior to this deal. Janmark got twelve points in 71 games in the regular season; but added six more in 23 playoff games, including a shorthanded goal to open the scoring in the team’s first Stanley Cup Final win since 2006 and a goal in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Connor Brown is the other member of that line. The Oilers signed him to a one-year, $1 million contract. It took him until game 55 to score a goal last season, but he ended up with four goals and eight assists in 71 games coming off a knee injury that kept him out for all but four games in 2022-23. Brown stepped up in the playoffs with three massive shorthanded points to go with excellent work on the penalty kill and good forechecking. Brown’s skating appears to be close to where it was pre-injury, which makes this a good bet by Jackson and the Oilers.
Corey Perry is returning on a one-year deal worth a maximum of $1.4 million. $1.15 million of that is the actual cap hit, and there is $250,000 in potential performance bonuses. Perry has a tantalizing skill set, but at the age of 39, I don’t feel that the Oilers will reap the benefit of those skills. Perry had thirteen points in 38 games for the Oilers last season. He added three more points in seventeen playoff games, including a goal in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. Perry has made it to four Stanley Cup Finals in the last five years, and he has won everything there is to win in hockey. His presence in the locker room is valuable. I think the cap hit is a little bit high, but I also don’t mind having Perry’s experience and leadership in the fold.
The biggest move of the day was signing Viktor Arvidsson to a two-year, $8 million deal. Arvidsson has battled injury issues over the last couple of seasons, but he says that he’s 100% healthy now. Arvidsson is good friends with former Nashville Predators teammate and current Oilers Mattias Ekholm, who played a role in Arvidsson’s decision to sign with the Oilers. Arvidsson is a legitimate top six winger. The 31-year old got fifteen points in eighteen games last season, and he got 59 points in 77 games in 2022-23. He fills a gaping hole that has existed on the right side in the top six for years. Arvidsson should be a good fit alongside Leon Draisaitl because of his speed, his tenacity, and his penchant for scoring off the rush. Jackson said that’s exactly where he sees Arvidsson playing when he spoke to the media on Monday.
The final three years of Jeff Skinner’s eight-year, $72 million contract was bought out by the Buffalo Sabres, which made him a free agent. Skinner signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Oilers. The 32-year old had a bit of a down year with 46 points in 74 games last season, but he put up 82 points in 79 games in 2022-23. Skinner has a background in figure skating, so his edge work is fantastic. He won’t blow you away with speed, but he’s a smart player with good hands and offensive instincts.
Jackson pointed out that the great thing about Arvidsson and Skinner is that they produce offence at five-on-five. Arvidsson finished 80th in the league in points per sixty minutes at five-on-five among forwards that played at least 227 minutes last season (Arvidsson played 228:06 at five-on-five last season) with 2.09. Skinner finished 100th in that metric with an even two points per sixty minutes. Arvidsson produced five-on-five offence at a first line rate this past season, and Skinner produced at the level of a high-end second liner in a down year for him. Skinner was second in the league behind only Nathan MacKinnon in that metric in 2022-23. That’s important for the Oilers because neither of these two new additions will see powerplay time.
We know those six players will be with the big club throughout the season. The fate of two of the three right-handed defencemen that the Oilers added on Monday remains to be seen.
Troy Stecher is coming back on a two-year deal at the league minimum. Stecher was acquired by the Oilers at the trade deadline last season. He played in seven games for the Oilers and got two assists. Stecher was not available during the postseason due to ankle surgery. When healthy, Stecher is a reliable veteran option.
Related: Oilers Acquire Stecher
Arvidsson was the biggest signing of the day, but he wasn’t the largest player signed. That honour belongs to Josh Brown. The 6’5”, 220 lb right-handed defenceman put up ten points in 51 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season. Brown was likely brought in to replace Vincent Desharnais, who signed a two-year, $4 million contract with the Vancouver Canucks on Monday. The underlying numbers on Brown are not favourable, but we have to balance that out with the fact that the Coyotes were not a strong team. The three-year term is a bit much for this player, but the $1 million cap hit can easily be buried in the minors should the need arise.
The Oilers also signed 30-year old right-handed defenceman Connor Carrick to a one-year, $775,000 contract. Carrick got 66 points in 70 games with the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds last season. He’s clearly a strong AHL defenceman, but he has only played one game in the NHL since 2021. His fate is more certain.
Aside from Carrick, there were three other players signed that are expected to be regulars for the Bakersfield Condors and could be potential call-up options.
The Oilers signed goaltender Collin Delia to a one-year deal worth the league minimum $775,000. Delia has a 19-18-7 record with an .897 save percentage and a 3.51 goals against average in 52 NHL appearances. He hasn’t played an NHL game since 2022-23 with the Canucks. Delia posted an 11-19-1 record with a .872 save percentage and a 3.55 GAA with the Manitoba Moose last season. Delia will compete for starts with Olivier Rodrigue with the Bakersfield Condors next season. Rodrigue has taken big steps forward in the last couple of seasons, and he is expected to get the majority of the starts for the Condors in 2024-25.
Restricted free agent James Hamblin signed a two-year deal with an average annual value of $775,000. Hamblin scored his first NHL goal this season in a November 18, 2023 game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Edmonton native has speed to spare and is defensively responsible. He could be an option in a depth role for the Oilers next season.
The Oilers also welcomed Noah Philp back into the fold. Philp took a year away from professional hockey for personal reasons last year. The former University of Alberta Golden Bear put up 37 points in 70 games with the Bakersfield Condors in 2022-23. Philp was on track to becoming a solid right-handed fourth line centre for the Oilers. Hopefully the year off has not hindered his development at all.
Monday’s signings were so great for the Oilers for a few reasons. Jackson was able to bring back everyone from the team that made the Stanley Cup Final last season except for Desharnais and Warren Foegele. The Oilers lost eleven players in the summer of 2006 after that run to the Stanley Cup Final. The fact that Jackson was able to get Arvidsson, Skinner, and Henrique to sign without screwing the team’s cap situation going into the next two years where Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, and Connor McDavid will all need new lucrative contracts was amazing. Jackson found a way to improve the team and add depth in all positions.
The only criticism that I have of Jackson’s day was that it appears that the top six defence group went unchanged. There were quite a few right-handed defence upgrades over Cody Ceci available, and Jackson didn’t sign any right-handed defencemen that are better than Ceci. He said that they will find a spot for Philip Broberg to play. That’s fantastic. Jackson pointed out that Broberg played with Nurse on the right side in the playoffs and played well, and that someone will have to move to the right side. He said that player might be Broberg.
I feel that Broberg should be the last player to move to the right side because of his inexperience at the NHL level and because of the fact that his underlying numbers are so much better when playing on the left side than on the right side. Pushin Broberg over to the right side would be setting him up for failure rather than success in my opinion. The better decision would be to move Brett Kulak over to the right side.
Aside from that though, it was a fantastic free agency day for Jackson and the Oilers. Jackson has assembled a group that is better than the one that lost in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. That’s an exciting thought.
