The Edmonton Oilers are in desperate need of adding legitimate NHL defenders to their team. They have some decent prospects working their way through the system that will no doubt be mainstays in the future. Klefbom, Nurse, Simpson, and Marincin are all players who are projecting well. The problem is they aren’t ready yet (though Marincin showed very well this season). They still need time to learn the game, adapt to the speed, grow and fill out physically. It is exciting to think that in just two seasons the Oilers could boast a top 4 defense consisting of Petry, Marincin, Klefbom and Nurse. That will be a great day in Oiler country.

But we aren’t there yet, and the temptation is there to rush these young guys into the NHL before they are ready. This temptation comes from a simple lack of depth on the NHL roster. There is no legitimate defenseman on this current roster, outside Jeff Petry, who has shown the ability to be a consistent top 4D. Marincin has shown promise, though a full season would be far more telling, Schultz has struggled mightily to grasp the defensive side of the NHL, and Andrew Ference is not equipped to handle big minutes and big competition.

Which means the Oilers need to look outside the organization for help. Chronicled earlier in this series were both Dion Phaneuf and Kris Letang, both of whom would offer vast improvements to this defensive core. The problem is that both are under contract and would cost tangible assets from the current roster.

One option out there that would cost nothing but money and term is Matt Niskanen. Niskanen is an upcoming costless agent who played with the Pittsburgh Penguins this past season. He had one of his most impressive campaigns, and has developed into a really solid option on defense. In Pittsburgh they have some very solid defensive prospects. On top of this the Penguins may make resigning Brooks Orpik a priority over Niskanen simply because of cost. Orpik brings a different style to the table and he will cost less than Niskanen. On top of this is the simple fact that the Penguins have players who resemble Niskanen already. Letang, Maata, Martin and Pouliot who is working his way up offer Pittsburgh the ability to let Niskanen go should he not fit in their salary structure. These factors make the potential of Niskanen shaking loose very real.

Where does he fit?

Niskanen brings a very nice range of skills to the table. He is a solid puck mover, he is effective on the powerplay (though his numbers would be inflated somewhat due to playing with Malkin and Crosby), and he makes smart decisions in his own end. He has been very healthy and really stepped up in Pittsburgh when Letang was unable to play due to a stroke.

He is not a bruising defensemen, he doesn’t punish guys the way a Dion Phaneuf would. But he plays efficiently, in other words he makes plays without needing to rely on physicality. He makes smart stick plays, and keeps players on the outskirts effectively while shutting down passing lanes.

Courtesy of extraskater.com Player GP G A P TOI/60 CF% CF% Rel FF% Rel QoC TOI% Niskanen 81 10 36 46 21.0 53.4% +7.3% +6.3% 28.4% Marincin 44 0 6 6 18.9 47.5% +7.0% +4.9% 28.7% Petry 80 7 10 17 21.3 46.7% +3.7% +2.5% 29.0% Ference 71 3 15 18 20.8 42.9% -3.1% -4.1% 28.9% Schultz 74 11 22 33 23.0 42.9% -2.6% -2.3% 28.8%

This chart shows just how Niskanen would fit in the top 4 in Edmonton. He would be another option on the stagnant Oilers PP, and would help the entire defense by taking minutes away from Ference, Schultz and Marincin. This is one of the most important qualities that any addition to the Oilers defense has to bring. The entire Oiler defense was victimized repeatedly this season because they were asked to much. They were playing too many minutes, against competition that they are not yet able to handle. As such we saw a guy like Schultz struggle mightily, and we saw just how foolish the Ference signing looks. However, adding a guy that can take some of the tough minutes will relieve the pressure on the rest of the lineup. It will allow softer minutes and more development time.

Another positive from Niskanen is that he is in the prime of his career, at age 27 he should have a solid six years left at the very least. He brings a solid shot from the point, a good first pass and amazing skating ability. In Edmonton the emphasis has been to move towards a high possession team, with an emphasis on skating and passing abilities. These are skills that Niskanen excels at and he would bring a nice solid option for Edmonton.

What Would He Cost?

The beauty of a costless agent is that it simply costs money. The downside of a costless agent is that he has to believe your team is the best suited for him. In Edmonton this means overpaying in order to make up for the circumstances surrounding being an Oiler. He will get more than Ference, but obviously less than the top end guys like Subban and Doughty. The problem is that because of the need to overpay, the question of term could be a sticking point. With so many young up and coming defensive prospects, combined with an already expensive top 6, Edmonton has to be careful not to handcuff themselves for the long term to satisfy the short term ineffectiveness.

He is not a number one defenseman, but number one defenseman don’t grow on trees. With Niskanen the Oilers save the assets they would lose in a trade, and bring in a player in the prime of his career, who has been trending upwards consistently the past couple of seasons. This would be a great grab by Mactavish, the only question is whether Niskanen feels the same way about Edmonton.