The Return Of Tobias

With the Edmonton Oilers cap situation being far from ideal, the hope heading into the off-season was Peter Chiarelli would find a way to secure a handful of value contracts via the unrestricted free agent market to help round out his roster. In a perfect world, signing a bona fide top-six winger would have been ideal but adding a pair of depth forwards in Kyle Brodziak and Tobias Rieder were solid acquisitions.

Oilers History: The Reijo Ruotsalainen Years

There has never been a player in the Edmonton Oilers storied history quite like Reijo Ruotsalainen. The talented blueliner suited up in just 26 regular season games for the organization but still managed to leave a mark on the 1987 and 1990 Stanley Cup winning clubs. Not too shabby for a player who was here for a brief cup of coffee and one that Glen Sather ultimately stole from the New York Rangers.

Will Rattie Sink or Swim?

Of all the twists and turns the Edmonton Oilers had the misfortune of dealing with during what was a miserable 2017-18 NHL campaign, arguably none was more unexpected than the rise of Ty Rattie. Over the course of three weeks, the 25-year old winger went from depth AHL piece to a player who looks to have earned himself a shot lining up next to Connor McDavid to kick-off 2018-19 season. 

Depth Players Are Not The Issue

When it comes to the NHL, there is perhaps no more overused term than “depth player”. Year after year, we hear about team “X” needing better players in the bottom half of their lineups and while that is all well and good, let’s get serious. At the end of the day, without enough impact pieces in the top half of one’s roster, everything else is window dressing and this is where the Edmonton Oilers currently sit.