It’s not a world freezing signing, but it’s an important one for the farm. The Edmonton Oilers re-signed prospect goaltender Olivier Rodrigue to a one-year, two-way contract that will pay him $775K. The 22-year-old, turning 23 on Thursday, drafted 62nd overall in the 2018 NHL Draft, is coming off his best season statistically with the Bakersfield Condors in the American Hockey League. He had 29 starts, posted a GAA of 2.77, and a SV% of .912 to accompany his 14-14-1 record.
Now, the Oilers already have their future in net as an NHLer with Stuart Skinner. He should be owning that net for close to ten years. But in a salary cap league, you’ll also need to have solid cheap players on your NHL roster to support your main core. While I do believe in Jack Campbell having a bounce back year this coming season, it’ll still be tough to keep his $5M cap hit around for the next three years afterwards. If, at any point, he becomes a cap casualty, perhaps Rodrigue keeps improving his play in the AHL and earns himself a permanent back-up spot. 2022/2023 was a huge on ice improvement for Rodrigue. All the best to him; he’ll look to make an even bigger one in 2023/2024.
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