Music: {allcanada} Oilers sign Rieder, Brodziak for forward depth

Sunday, July 15, 2018

{allcanada} Oilers sign Rieder, Brodziak for forward depth

Ebates.ca - Amazon.com - Amazon.ca - Wal-Mart - GameStop - Work From Home

The Edmonton Oilers have been relatively quiet this offseason but signed free agent forwards Kyle Brodziak and Tobias Rieder trying to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after failing to qualify last season.

The Oilers also re-signed forward Ryan Strome to a two-year contract July 6 and selected defenseman Evan Bouchard with the No. 10 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.

Edmonton will be counting on resurgent performances from forward Milan Lucic, who had 34 points (10 goals, 24 assists) in 82 games last season, including scoring one goal in his final 46 games, while relying on continued production from center Connor McDavid, who led the NHL with a career-high 108 points (41 goals, 67 assists) last season and begins the first season of an eight-year, $100 million contract (average annual value of $12.5 million).

Coach Todd McLellan enters his fourth season with the Oilers with three new assistants -- Glen Gulutzan, Trent Yawney and Manny Viveiros -- and will look to improve on a sixth-place finish in the Pacific Division, which followed a 103-point season and a berth in the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

Here is what the Oilers look like today:

Key arrivals

Tobias Rieder, F: The 25-year-old forward signed a one-year contract July 1 and is expected to provide secondary scoring for the Oilers in a bottom-six role, capable of moving up to play on the top two lines. Rieder had 25 points (12 goals, 13 assists) in 78 games with the Arizona Coyotes and the Los Angeles Kings last season. He was selected by Edmonton in the fourth round (No. 114) of the 2011 NHL Draft. … Kyle Brodziak, F: The 34-year-old forward signed a two-year contract July 1 and will help in the face-off circle and on the penalty kill. He played the past three seasons with the St. Louis Blues and had 33 points (10 goals, 23 assists) and won 52.1 percent of face-offs in 81 games last season. Brodziak was selected by the Oilers in the seventh round (No. 214) in the 2003 NHL Draft and played 175 games over four seasons before being traded to the Minnesota Wild on June 27, 2009.

Key departures

Laurent Brossoit, G: The 25-year-old goaltender signed a one-year contract with the Winnipeg Jets on July 1 after he went 3-7-1 with a 3.24 goals-against average and .883 save percentage in 14 games (10 starts) for the Oilers last season. … Michael Cammalleri, F: The 36-year-old forward was acquired by the Oilers in a trade with the Kings on Nov. 15, 2017 and had 22 points (four goals, 18 assists) in 51 games for Edmonton last season. … Anton Slepyshev, F: A promising young forward selected by the Oilers in the third round (No. 88) in the 2013 NHL Draft, the 24-year-old played two seasons in Edmonton before deciding to return to Russia this season. He had 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 50 games last season.

On the cusp

Kailer Yamamoto, F: The No. 22 selection in the 2017 NHL Draft, Yamamoto had three assists in nine games for the Oilers last season before returning to Spokane of the Western Hockey League, where he had 64 points (21 goals, 43 assists) in 40 games. Yamamoto, 19, has an outside chance of making the Oilers this season. … Ethan Bear, D: Selected in the fifth round (No. 124) in the 2015 NHL Draft, the 21-year-old right-shot defenseman looked impressive in 18 games with Edmonton late last season, getting four points (one goal, three assists) and was comfortable running the power play from the point. … Evan Bouchard, D: The 18-year-old defenseman, who was selected by the Oilers with the No. 10 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, is a right-shot defenseman who had 87 points (25 goals, 62 assists) in 67 games with London in the Ontario Hockey League last season. He was the first defenseman to finish in the top 10 (tied for seventh) in the league in scoring since Ryan Ellis of Windsor in 2010-11.

Edmonton Oilers Right Wing Kailer Yamamoto (56) watches the play in the third period during the Edmonton Oilers game versus the Detroit Red Wings at Rogers Place in EDMONTON, AB - NOVEMBER 05, 2017: (Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

What they still need

An offensive defenseman who can run the power play until either Bear or Bouchard is ready to take on the role on a full-time basis. Edmonton had the worst power play in the NHL last season at 14.8 percent.