Yesterday, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector announces that the Edmonton Oilers have signed Riley Sheahan to a team-friendly one-year deal work 900k. So the summer-long rumors of Sheahan joining the Oilers come to a close. Edmonton gets their third-line center after exhausting all resources in search of a right-handed one, Gaetan Haas notwithstanding.
But what does it mean for the rest of the roster construction?
Draisait-McDavid-Kassian
Nygard-RNH-Neal
Granlund-Sheahan-Chiasson
Khaira-Haas-Archibald
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Jurco-Cave-Gagner
Benson-Marody-Russell
The Oilers have a good problem at the moment. They’ve got too many bodies for the bottom-6. I mean, you’d rather have too many than not enough, right? This will also force the youngsters from Bakersfield to really prove their mettle during training camp as they’ll be going up against “veterans” who are deathly afraid of losing their place on the squad. Players like Tomas Jurco, Colby Cave, and Sam Gagner. It’s going to force those players who want to be on the team to really assert themselves during camp as the competition is going to be cut-throat.
Bob Stauffer wondered aloud during yesterday’s Oilers Now about what it would mean for Cave specifically and I think that’s a very fair question. He’s a bubble player on this team with last season’s player personnel, now with all these extra bodies, it’s almost safe to say, he’s probably an AHLer… But then what does that do to Bakersfield’s roster make-up?
Gambardella-Malone-Russell
Benson-Marody-Currie
Maksimov-McLeod-Yamamoto
Vesey-Hebig-Safin
Who am I missing? I usually miss someone when I do up the Condors’ lines. Is Stukel going to be a factor for them this year?
Where does anybody coming down from Edmonton fit in there? The answer is, there isn’t anywhere. Oilers GM Ken Holland might have to make a trade or hope someone gets claimed on waivers before the season starts.
Now compound that with the idea that Patrick Marleau and the Oilers have been talking (according to TSN’s Darren Dreger)… It gets my head bone in a jumble. Where’s the money coming from and where are the roster spaces suddenly appearing out of?
Re: Patrick Marleau and the #Oilers
"That has been discussions with Edmonton."
It starts with around 4:05 left https://t.co/cqopHaBigB
— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) September 6, 2019
Geez… Bloody fat thumbs. That’s supposed to say. “There have been discussions with Edmonton.”
Don’t get me wrong, I would love nothing more than for a consummate professional like Marleau to join the club and show these kids what it means to be a leader, but unless there are some trades in the works, I don’t see how it’s going to work.
What do you think? Please leave your comments below!
