#Composure by rexall free#

#Composure by rexall free#

I’d wager that they took a serious run at Hendricks in free agency prior to the season and feel that overpaying this type of player is reasonable given how much they currently lack his kind. Nashville just signed him and they’ve already soured, but the Oilers clearly have time for this player. Not only are they retaining half of Dubnyk’s salary, but they’re adding a contract for a 4 th line player that has 3 years at $1.85M/year left. They’re taking a chance on Hendricks and it’s absolutely a gamble. It’s a tall task for Craig MacTavish, but the snowball started rolling today.įinally, I just want to go back to the Dubnyk trade and mention the return of Matt Hendricks. Likewise, upgrading the goaltending doesn’t negate the absolute need to do the same to the defense. There’s no doubt that the Oilers need to be a better defensive team, but that doesn’t excuse poor goaltending. It’ll be easier said than done, but I’m certain that Oilers fans are welcoming the clear approach to upgrading the position across the board. Whether they deal Bryzgalov or walk away from him after the year, it’s certain that they’re still in the market for another goaltender, and likely a bigger name and resume than Ben Scrivens. There’s no doubt in my mind that Scrivens will see all the work he can handle down the stretch for the Oilers this year. He’ll have to play far better in Edmonton if he hopes to earn numbers identical to the ones he had in Los Angeles. It’s worth noting, of course, that the LA Kings have a strong defensive team and the Oilers, simply, do not. With prospects Olivier Roy and Tyler Bunz not sticking out as blue-chippers, Laurent Brossoit was acquired in the Ladislav Smid trade and has performed exceptionally so far in the ECHL to take the 3rd spot on the team depth chart. I was disappointed to see this happen, not because he’s a great guy or because he always treated me exceptionally well in my years around the team, but because he was their shot at homegrowing a starting goaltender.įast forward through the signing of Ilya Bryzgalov, who clearly isn’t the answer in goal, and a total revamp in the position was on. He played poorly at the start of the year, and his fate was sealed. He wasn’t great or good or average or even acceptable. If he performed, he’d have the net as much as he wanted.

When the roster was settled, though, Dubnyk had his off-season buddy Jason LaBarbera as his backup and there was absolutely no threat there to his job.

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Manage Print Subscription / Tax Receipt.