Time for Lander to prove he’s ready
J i m M at h e s on
The Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet says Anton Lander’s agent Claes Elefalk has received contract feelers from storied MoDo — the teamformerVancouverCanucks winger Markus Naslund currently overseas as general manager — and Frolunda, one of the powerhouses in Sweden’s Elite League.
It makes perfect sense because they can see the financial landscape, maybe also the mental state with the EdmontonOilers’second-round draft pick in 2009.
Lander’s three-year entrylevel contract ends July 1, and the Swedish clubs could certainly afford to pay Lander more than the $67,500 he’s been making on the Oilers’ farm in Oklahoma City for much of the last two seasons.
Elefalk also gets the feeling the Oilers want to retain Lander, who turns 23 next month, but it’s highly unlikely Lander will want to sign again with a two-way contract.
He makes $900,000 in the NHL (he’s played 81 games over the past three seasons) but only chump change (15 per cent of that) in the AHL. He will undoubtedly want a one-way NHL deal, but for now, the jury’s still out on Lander.
He is still trying to prove to his bosses he can be a regular NHLer, who can contribute with and without the puck.
The AHL Barons need Lander to get to the playoffs, but this is Lander’s test-drive with Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins, who doesn’t know his past. He has to show Eakins where he fits.
I’ve always thought Lander could be a third-line NHL centre, but he has to do considerably more offensively for that in today’s NHL where most No. 3 centres also give you some bang for the buck offensively like, say, Brandon Sutter in Pittsburgh.
Again, in many games, it’s looked like he was on the ice trying to not get scored on rather than create offensively.
His NHL first step may need to get better, too.
“I have a lot of time for Anton Lander. He’s a smart player, a heady player,” said Eakins. “He’s going to have to be versatile, playing centre, left-wing, right-wing.
“We’ll continue to audition him in a number of different roles.”
He got power play and penalty kill time the past two games, playing 21:26 in Detroit and 151/2 minutes in Carolina. Where does he fit? At centre? On the wing?
We know he’s a professional, hockey’s his job, and treats it accordingly. He can check and play a safe NHL game. We know he gets upset when his team loses (always a good thing). He’s competitive and he can play any of the forward positions but does he skate well enough? Can he produce somewhere between his point-a-game in the AHL, in which he’s one of the best players this year, and his meagre seven points inthose81NHLgameswhere he’s been a non-factor at making things happen?
It’s getting close to is-hean-NHLer-or-not time for Lander. It’s been almost five years since he was drafted, although he spent another two Swedish Elite League seasons with Timra after he went 40th overall in 2009.
Lander has the goods to be an NHLer, also the pedigree as a leader (he’s captain in OKC), but is still finding his way here, currently taking Jesse Joensuu’s spot (ankle injury) in the lineup.