Florida Panthers: Four Defensemen the Cats Should Look to Acquire
By Cal Friedman
Option #4: Oscar Klefbom, Edmonton Oilers (Trade)
The Edmonton Oilers had one of the worst seasons out of any NHL team this previous campaign, missing the postseason by a country mile after winning the Pacific Division the year prior. This is troubling for the Oilers, not just as a failure to reach expectations, but huge red flags in reference to the Oilers’ previous offseason moves.
Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli made locking up their young core a must during the 2017 offseason, extending Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid to massive contracts, damaging the rest of the team’s future. A contract that slipped under the radar was Oscar Klefbom‘s extension, locking him up until 2023 at just $4.167 million per year, which was a great job by Chiarelli at the time.
What he didn’t anticipate was the outburst of Darnell Nurse, who had an unbelievable season and is now an RFA. Keeping Nurse will be priority #1 for Edmonton this offseason, but considering they have other forwards to keep, such as Anton Slepyshev, Drake Caggulia, and Ryan Strome, along with Jesse Puljujärvi’s entry-level deal expiring at the end of next season, and Matthew Benning’s contract expiring this summer, it’s safe to say Chiarelli has some work to do.
Even though my personal preference of the two top Oilers defensemen is Darnell Nurse, Klefbom isn’t too much of a downgrade and will be much easier of a target to acquire. Klefbom’s previous season was a step down from the 2016-17 season, dealing with injury problems along the way.
It’s Klefbom’s analytics that shape him into a great player, leading the Oilers in Corsi for (CF%) at even strength with a 52.6% figure, a career-best, and a career-high for Fenwick for (FF%) at even strength at 53.3%. Looking deeper into it, Klefbom is much better of a player than what meets the eye.
The Oilers would be looking for players on low-value contracts, preferably contracts that won’t change for the next two or more seasons. Colton Sceviour may not be the most appealing player to a team; although, the Oilers penalty kill was second-worst in the league last season, and a 4th line piece with an eye for goal, locked up for a few more years could be perfect. The Panthers could also throw in another forward prospect, or even James Reimer, who could come in as a good backup to Cam Talbot.