Nov. 1 is shaping up to be a pretty interesting day for the Edmonton Oilers, and most of that has little to do with their game that night against the Chicago Blackhawks.
But as for who will be in the lineup for Edmonton in that Saturday matchup … well, therein lies the potential intrigue, due in large part to a rather interesting clause in the contract that was recently signed by new Oilers forward Jack Roslovic.
After a frustrating offseason filled with plenty of rumors but little meaningful discussion, Roslovic finally put his signature on a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Oilers on Oct. 8, with the announcement made while the team played its season opener against the Calgary Flames. It brought an end to what was a disheartening few months for the 28-year-old center, who scored 22 goals with 17 assists last season while on a one-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes.
A member of four different teams in his still young career who has twice been traded, Roslovic was hoping to parlay his second 20-goal season into a contract with term that would give him some stability. Instead, Roslovic was forced to settle for another one-year deal that actually pays him nearly half ($2.8 million) what he earned in Carolina.
Jack Roslovic Had to Settle For Nearly Half the Salary on This Year’s Deal
It appears to be a great value for Edmonton, and there’s little reason to think it won’t be … at least for the next few weeks. But the details in the deal open up the possibility that Roslovic is currently playing on what Zach Laing called “essentially a $1.5 million PTO.”
Appearing Friday on the Oilersnation Everyday blog with Tyler Yaremchuk and Liam Horrobin, Laing, the site’s news director, explained some of the “very fascinating” fine print in Roslovic’s contract. For the first month of the deal, Roslovic has a no-movement clause, meaning that he cannot be traded, sent to the minors, or waived before Nov. 1. On that day, a partial no-trade clause goes into effect, allowing Roslovic to submit a list of four teams to which he would agree to be traded.
“So I’m curious to see what happens,” Laing said. “I really am.”
Particularly because of what else is likely to happen on the first day of November, when forward Zach Hyman is eligible to come off the long-term injured reserve (LTIR) list). And with the pending returns from injury of defenseman Jake Walman and forward Mattias Janmark, the Oilers will have some difficult roster decisions to make to keep their active roster at 23.
The podcast hosts agreed with recent reports predicting that Janmark, and his $1.45 salary for this season and next, will be a roster casualty, either via trade or waiver, once he returns from his undisclosed injury. Yaremchuk noted that additional moves will be necessary to slice $2.1 million from the cap before Hyman returns, suggesting Curtis Lazar, Troy Stecher or Alec Regula could be sent down to clear the space.
“The math just maths too well,” he said.
Jack Roslovic Could Bring Edmonton Much-Needed Secondary Scoring
The math works well on the ice, too, Laing opines, stressing that Roslovic, the No. 1 pick (25 overall) of the Winnipeg Jets in 2015, simply needs to do what he did during his lone season in Carolina. For an Edmonton team that is always looking for secondary scoring behind the two-headed monster of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, Roslovic’s 22 goals last year would have been the fourth highest on the team, and he would have finished sixth in overall scoring.
“I like the deal quite a bit,” Laing said. “I mean, it’s a pretty low-risk, moderate to high-reward deal, I think, for Roslovic.”
Especially considering that only one of his goals last year came on the power play.
“So he’s able to score goals at five on five, and that’s something the Oilers really, really need,” Laing added.
The analysts believe that Roslovic will get a look on the McDavid-Draisaitl line, at least until Hyman returns, but his lack of size and physical play will likely keep him from being a long-term option there. A suggested second line of Roslovic with Andrew Mangiapane and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins would put rookie wingers Ike Howard and Matt Savoie with Adam Henrique.
“Doesn’t sound all that bad to me,” Laing said.
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