Oilers relatively quiet on free-agent front, signing depth players
EDMONTON — The Edmonton Oilers used the first day of free agency to add some organizational depth, while general manager Peter Chiarelli kept his focus on re-signing two of his own stars.
Edmonton agreed to a deals with seven players on Saturday, the opening day of NHL free agency.
All seven spent the majority of last season in the American Hockey League, with forward Ty Rattie having the most NHL experience of the bunch.
“What we’ve done is what I’d call (signing) depth players,” Chiarelli said. “What we tried to do today is communicate with a couple free agents, talk a little bit with other teams about potential trades. Maybe some deals that come down later in the summer.
“We weren’t really in the market for larger free agents,” he added.
The 24-year-old Rattie appeared in 22 games last season with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. He has produced 71 goals and 141 points in 215 career AHL games.
The Calgary native also appeared in five games with the Carolina Hurricanes last season, with two assists. Rattie has 35 career NHL games under his belt with the St. Louis Blues and Carolina, scoring four goals and 10 points.
“I think he’s underachieved at the NHL level,” said Chiarelli. “Real good hockey sense, good release, very smart player. We think he has a chance to play on our team, if not he’ll provide us depth.”
Edmonton has also signed forwards Mitch Callahan, Grayson Downing, Brian Ferlin and Brad Malone, defencemen Ryan Stanton and Keegan Lowe, as well as goaltender Eddie Pasquale.