The Edmonton Oilers have made a flurry of moves the last couple of days in order to shed payroll (and some dead weight) and make room for their young players. Now most of these guys don’t have much in the way of fantasy value, but I figured I should put together a little something for those of you in deeper leagues.
First up is Patrick O’Sullivan. After being a productive player in parts of three seasons with Los Angeles, POS was an absolute disaster in Oil Country. Over the course of 92 games he racked up 40 points and a -42 rating. That, my friends, is hard to do. This is why he was traded to Phoenix for Jim Vandermeer and promptly bought out by the Coyotes. However, POS is not a lost cause. He is only 25 years old, and if put in a situation where he can accrue top six minutes on a good team (it is a bit oxymoronic to imply that a team giving POS top six minutes would be a good team, but bear with me), he could provide some fantasy value. Think something along the lines of 45 points and a slight minus rating, so keep him on your radar over the off-season to see where he ends up.
Next up is ex-captain Ethan Moreau. Moreau fell out of favour this season as he, like POS, registered as many minuses as he did points. Some would chalk this up to age, while others the fact that he got too much ice time on a terrible team. If you are in the latter group, it is worth it to keep your eye on him in Columbus if you are in a very deep league or one that values PIMS. As long as he can keep his plus/minus around the even mark, 20 points and 80 PIMS would be a decent contribution. That being said, I am definitely in the former group, so do not go anywhere near Ethan Moreau.
Finally, Ryan Potulny. Call me crazy, but I kind of like him. He put up 32 points in 64 games last year, and like the guys above, his -21 rating has to be taken with a grain of salt considering the quality of the players on the Oilers roster. He was not offered arbitration buy the Oilers, and has become a UFA. I could see a team out there throwing him on the 3rd or 4th line and letting him sink or swim. Again, we are talking very deep leagues, or ones that don’t take into account position because he loses lots of value as a center.
It can be a very risky strategy rostering players from the defending last-place champions who were deemed not good enough by their former employer. However, I am just looking to give the rosiest possible outlook on these guys for your fantasy benefit because if you are not an Oilers fan, chances are you don’t know much about them.
