Copyright yardbarker
It has been a busy fall for the Edmonton Oilers so far. Between kicking off their season and signing players to new deals, a lot is happening for them. However, as the season gets into full swing and players adjust to the new-look lineup, management’s work has only begun and will only get tougher. There are players on this roster whose contracts need to be looked at before their expiration date. Obviously, there are reasons to keep or not keep each of the players on expiring deals. Here are three players I believe should be top of mind for general manager Stan Bowman and company as we go deeper into the season and we begin looking ahead to what this team could look like. Adam Henrique Adam Henrique is the eldest of all his Oilers teammates and is still playing some very solid hockey. He has three points through his first eight games and is holding his own as a bottom-six centre/forward. He has been effective at both ends of the ice, moving the puck well and putting in work along the boards as well. He is also a master in the faceoff dot, with a faceoff percentage (FO%) of 62% so far this season and 55.6% last season. If he continues to keep up and put the work in, he can be extremely valuable. “Rico” has shown he can also be an asset in the playoffs for Edmonton. Though he’s not a big point scorer, he impacts the game in other ways, as mentioned. That’s huge in close playoff games. With a cap hit of $3 million at the moment, the Oilers have certainly gotten their return on investment on him with all their success since his arrival and his strong start to this season. I think he’s a player that, although he is getting up there in age, is a must-have guy late in the season when faceoff wins and hard checks could decide a hockey game. Bowman should consider getting a deal done over the winter before Henrique potentially hits free agency. We saw what happened with Corey Perry; teams are willing to pay for hardworking veterans who can still score.
