NHL News: Edmonton Oilers sign goaltender Jeff Deslauriers
The Edmonton Oilers have avoided salary arbitration for the third time this season. Jeff Deslauriers had filed for salary arbitration earlier this July but has since come to terms with the franchise for a one-year one-way contract which is worth $1.05 million.
With the signing, the Oilers now have 3 goaltenders on their contract.
Nikolai Khabibulin is the Oilers starting goaltender which is a certainty but who would be his backup is open to debate. Besides Jeff and Nikolai, the Edmonton Oilers have Devan Dubnyk on a one-way contract for two years worth $1.6 million.
The intimidating 6 foot 4 inch Jeff along with Devan took over for Nikolai when the latter suffered a back injury and couldn’t play the rest of the season.
Deslauriers finished that season 16-28-4, with a 3.26 goals-against average and 0.901 save percentage. Jeff also gave the Oilers 3 shut-outs in the season. On the other hand, Devan in his 19 games was 4-10-2. He conceded a goals-against average of 3.57 and a save percentage of 0.889.
Both backups are on one-way deals and would be paid the full worth of their contract regardless of whether they play in the NHL or the AHL. The Oilers still take the full cap hit if they keep all three. The Oilers have played with the 3 goalie arrangements previously and that did not at all turn out well for them. There was speculation at that time as it is now that one of the goalies would be traded. That didn’t happen back then but maybe the Oilers have learnt from their mistakes.
The Oilers have limited options though. They could have the two youngsters battle it out to see which one comes out on top and make him the backup. The other would be traded or sent to the AHL. That would depend if they can trade him and if a team is looking for goaltenders.
The other more interesting possibility would be that Nikolai would find himself in jail. While he was recovering from his back injury, Nikolai was stopped by police officers in February. He was pulled over while doing over 75 miles an hour in a 45 mile an hour zone at around midnight, driving a black Ferrari. An alcohol test revealed a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit.
Nikolai is in serious trouble. The state of Arizona has one of the harshest DUI (driving under influence) laws in America. Nikolai would face a minimum of 30 days in prison or 6 whole months of community service for the offense. His trial has been delayed on four occasions since February and won’t take place before the end of August. Even the lightest conviction would have Nikolai miss a number of practice sessions. After being drunk on two occasions while driving, he would probably do more time than the minimum of 30 days. How much more is something that simply cannot be known.
The Oilers can legally terminate Nikolai’s contract if he fails to show up for games because he is in jail or at a trial. The Oilers could then escape his cap hit and have two goaltenders to survive the coming season. Surviving the trial doesn’t solve the Oilers goaltending conundrum. Nikolai could still be forced out of the game because of his back injury. Without both Jeff and Devan, the Oilers risk the possibility of playing with just one goalie in the coming season.
Perhaps that is why the Oilers just signed two goaltenders. On the surface of it, having two backups sounds like a bad investment but considering the Oilers’ situation in more depth would make one think that it is not simply a case of repeating mistakes. The Oilers, it would seem didn’t have the luxury of choice. They had to sign both goaltenders to be on the safe side. Both have performed reasonably well in the last season and if Nikolai misses the season or part thereof, the two could fill in for him.
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