Oilers ponder possibilities of an expanded roster
A possible roster expansion would let Oilers take a long look at hopefuls like Bouchard
So, will NHL teams be carrying an extra forward line, a third goalie and a seventh and eighth defenceman on expanded rosters because of a crammed schedule and border-crossing issues with farm team call-ups due to COVID-19?
Rosters could be 26 players, up from a maximum of 23. And maybe others on AHL contracts as black aces. At forward, maybe Alex Chiasson, Joakim Nygard and Gaetan Haas as the 13th, 14th and 15th forwards for the sake of argument; William Lagesson and Evan Bouchard as No. 7 and No. 8 defencemen; and Anton Forsberg or Stuart Skinner as the third netminder.
The Oilers will keep their AHL team in Bakersfield, Calif., like the Flames in Stockton, Calif., and Vancouver in Utica, N.Y., rather than move them for the 2020-21 season to their own respective cities since it's not economically feasible to do that. Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg have their affiliates in Canada already.
“In terms of size of the roster, most of this is media speculation. We haven't had a general managers call on that number,” Oilers GM Ken Holland said of the increase to 26 players. “My stance is, `Give me the transition rules and we'll live by them.' We want our farm teams in the U.S. for various reasons.
“Certainly, with the border situation and health concerns in the provinces with regards to quarantining, a taxi squad would be beneficial.”
The Oilers have 17 forwards on one-way contracts, including Patrick Russell and Alan Quine.
Farm winger Tyler Benson, currently on loan to a Swiss team, is certainly in the mix but on a two-way deal. On defence, an increased roster would help Bouchard, playing in Sweden on loan. Obviously, the Oilers are up against the Us$81.5-million cap ceiling, so they're not sure how adding players would work.
“There could be a lot of games in a short period of time, but for every positive there's a negative. We don't want players just sitting around. We'd rather they play in Bakersfield because they'll only be playing games within their division and busing in and out for road games,” said Holland, with the AHL possibly going to a 44-game schedule starting Feb. 5 and ending in May.
If you're in Bakersfield, you could be there for the long haul. No look-sees.
“Having our farm team in Edmonton doesn't make sense for a number of reasons. You have to fly them across the country (if there was a Canadian AHL division) and you've got hotel rooms to pay for. There's more expense, and the COVID concern,” he said. “That said, recalling somebody from Bakersfield could be tough with the quarantine.”
But Bouchard may not see Bakersfield again.
“At some point, we have to see what he can do,” said Holland.
The Oilers have to get players back from Europe and the U.S. in the next two weeks for quarantine issues if camp were to open Jan. 3. Where they skate with the world junior championship taking over Rogers Place and the Downtown Community Arena is a question. TSN'S Jason Gregor tweeted they might use NAIT.
BEAR CONTRACT
If you're thinking the new Philadelphia Flyers contract for defenceman Philippe Myers (three years, averaging US$2.55 million) might be a comparable for Ethan Bear, who had a terrific rookie season, think again.
The Oilers have leverage; Bear has no arbitration rights. So a short-term deal with a small raise off last year's $720,000 is more likely. If Bear, who averaged 22 minutes with Darnell Nurse as his partner, continues to progress, he'll have arbitration rights in 2021-22, and the upper hand in negotiations.
With fellow right-shot defenceman Tyson Barrie signing, maybe Oilers brass are wondering if Bear will get anywhere near those 22 minutes of ice time this season. Maybe he doesn't always play with Nurse. Maybe Barrie does. Maybe Bear plays on the right side with Caleb Jones; Adam Larsson and Kris Russell are another pair.
“I don't know if we can have all three right defencemen playing 20 minutes. If Barrie is on the power play, which stays out for 1:30, and Larsson is our No. 1 penalty-killer, maybe Ethan's minutes are reduced,” Holland said. “You can say the Myers contract is a comparable, and I can look at Ryan Graves (Colorado), who led the league in plus-minus at plus-40 and had arbitration rights and negotiated a threeyear deal, giving up a UFA (unrestricted free agent) year with an average of $3.1 million. Graves had nine goals and 26 points. Bear had five goals and 21 points.
“This past year, (Tony) Deangelo was coming off a 25-point season and he signed in New
York (Rangers) for one year at $925,000. Travis Dermott just signed for one year at $874,000 in Toronto.”
NO OSCAR
Oscar Klefbom remains in Sweden with his shoulder issues.
“Last time I talked to his agent, J.P. Barry, two weeks ago, Oscar was seeing somebody and he'd had some relief but was entertaining surgery. From talking to T.D. (Forss, Oilers trainer) and Dr. (Dhiren) Naidu (head of Oilers medical staff), he feels — at the very least — he has to give this shoulder issue six to nine months. He's shooting for next September,” Holland said. This 'n' that: Connor Mcdavid, Kyle Turris, Barrie and goalie Dylan Wells have joined the small group of Oilers skaters here (Leon Draisaitl, Chiasson). ... Nygard has six points in his last six games in Farjestads in Sweden, breaking out of his funk after further hand surgery.