Matheson: Edmonton Oilers’ signings of Skinner, Henrique add depth

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After the dizzying free-agent exercise on Canada Day, this might be the deepest Band of Brothers forward group the Edmonton Oilers have trotted out since the glory days.

No Stanley Cup yet, but…

With the signings of Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson, on paper, proven scoring wingers for Leon Draisaitl, and bringing back Adam Henrique to centre the all-important third line, maybe the Oilers might even have enough pieces to have two PP units rather than the one that plays all but 25 to 30 seconds.

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We all know Connor McDavid, Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evan Bouchard is the most dangerous power play in hockey but they can hand it off to Henrique, Skinner and Arvidsson with the resigned Corey Perry as the net-front and Darnell Nurse or Mattias Ekholm on the point on a second PP for 45 seconds to a minute now can’t they?

Having 97 and 29 in your gun rack, plus getting to Game 7 of the finals in June has reinforced that the Oilers are a destination team.

Skinner, who has played 1,006 games and has never been in a playoff game, looked at those factors after he was bought out by Buffalo and said ‘hell, yes, where do I sign?” And he did, for one season, at $3 million after making three times that with the Sabres.

Same with Henrique, who maybe could have signed for four years in Winnipeg not two here after Sean Monahan left the Jets for Columbus leaving a 2C spot open, and maybe for $4 million or more a season, not $3 million here. But Henrique, who found great chemistry with Mattias Janmark and Connor Brown, has made $48 million in his career and at 34 he loved his playoff run here and wanted another taste.

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Skinner had multiple options (certainly the Leafs), but he’s joining a roster of older guys here who took less money to sign, guys who’ve either never won a Cup before or wanted more. Like Arvidsson, who got to the finals once in Nashville, like Janmark, who has been to the finals in Dallas and now here, like Henrique who has been to two with Jersey and the Oilers, like Perry, who won in Anaheim in 2007 but has lost in the finals now four times with four different teams.

Skinner excited

Skinner will likely play with Draisaitl, but could move up to play LW with McDavid, with Nugent-Hopkins moving back.

How does that sound to Skinner’s ears?

“Pretty good,” he said. “I think anybody in hockey would like the sound of that. Pretty safe to say they’re two of the best centres in the league and as a winger I try to read off centremen and those guys create a ton of space. They get a lot of attention from other teams and make high-end, skilled plays.”

Skinner, 32, is the third veteran the Oilers have come after who has either been bought out or had his contract terminated (Evander Kane, Perry), getting them for team-friendly money to sign. They wanted Kane for his big-body aggressiveness, Perry for being a pebble-in-your-shoe aggravating player, also a winner.

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Now it’s Skinner, who is a one-shot scorer type like, say, Vlad Tarasenko. He has 357 goals with six seasons of at least 30. Buffalo opted to buy him out because they didn’t want to pay him $9 million a year.

“My role has always been to produce offensively. If I can add to that mix and complement some of the other guys…that’s my mindset,” said Skinner, who once played with Hyman when both were in elementary school in the Toronto area.

Henrique wanted to return

After the playoffs, Henrique expressed great interest in returning after the Oilers got him from Anaheim for a first-round pick at the deadline. He likely left money and term on the table because he’s a versatile player, but he wants to win, his bank account is pretty full and there was the familiarity here.

“The group in Edmonton is a special group. I just had so much fun being part of it, and just wanted more of that. You want to complete what we didn’t complete this year,” said Henrique. “It really did rejuvenate me after being on a rebuilding team (Anaheim) for a number of years. Come November, December it’s hard to know you’re not going to be in the playoffs and you have to find a reason to play, things within, to be a difference maker on the team you’re on because you want good teams to want you. At the end of the day, we play hockey to win.”

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“The veteran group in Edmonton has that urge to win…the team has been in the playoffs for several years and made various blank (series) runs,” said Henrique,” but to get to the final is a different animal, getting that close.

The Henrique line with Janmark and Brown was exceptional in the finals.

“Brownie and I had played together in world championships before with success so it wasn’t a blind thing going into that (trio) and Janny has that great work ethic. I love playing with guys like that, maybe not the most skilled players but guys who do all the little things right. Whether we start on day 1 (next year)…I’m sure things will get jumbled around but I think it could be a go-to line for the coach,” he said.

At first blush with all the moves, the fourth line is crowded with Ryan McLeod, Derek Ryan, Perry and Dylan Holloway, who doesn’t kill penalties or play on the power play so his minutes are reduced in a special teams game. But things will shake out.

The Oilers are $2.454 million over the cap of $88 million for next season with all their moves and still have to resign Holloway and Philip Broberg (probably in the $1m to $1.2m range as restricted free agents). But they can be over the ceiling by 10 percent until the season starts. The first Oiler game is Oct. 9 against the Winnipeg Jets at Rogers Place.

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Kane injury up in the air

The injury situation with Kane, who didn’t play the last five games of the Florida series, is very much up in the air.

As of now, the Oilers are saying Kane’s $5.5 million cap hit is status quo.

There is no thought of long-term injury status for now but Kane seldom practised during the post-season yet continued to soldier through until the finals with his sports hernia/hip issue. He was pacing outside the dressing room in Florida in Game 7, looking every bit like a guy who was dying to play. But he couldn’t go.

Maybe there’s surgery. His availability to start the season is, as they say, fluid.

CEO Jeff Jackson, operating for now as interim GM with Ken Holland’s contract running out, said Kane and his agent will be consulting with outside specialists to determine the prognosis for his medical situation.

“He’s on our roster and part of our cap,” said Jackson.

“We have to take care of Evander first to make sure he’s healthy, first and foremost.”

GM search ongoing

Jackson said he needs a couple of days to catch his breath after the long free-agent day before getting to his GM search later this week.

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With Chicago GM Stan Bowman reinstated by the NHL after the fallout in the Chicago Blackhawks sexual assault scandal, Bowman’s name immediately has come up to replace Holland.

“Stan’s obviously a long-time, successful GM but I’m running a bit on fumes because of playoffs, the draft, free agency and haven’t given it (GM search) any thought,” said Jackson.

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