![]() When coaches Jay Woodcroft and Dave Manson took charge in mid-February, they teamed Ceci with top minute-muncher Darnell Nurse and gave the duo all the tough minutes they could handle, in the process opening up “softer” minutes for both Barrie and Bouchard to exploit. The Oilers became his fourth NHL team after 6 years in Ottawa and 1 each in Toronto, then Pittsburgh.īy default Ceci became the defensive conscience of the right side of an Edmonton defence that included offensive whizzes Tyson Barrie and Evan Bouchard. Let’s briefly dig into each in the order they arrived.Ĭody Ceci inked a 4-year, $13 million contract in the opening hours of free agency in 2021. Like their predecessors identified above, both fit the definition of a journeyman #4-5 calibre defender, the first with a bit more pedigree along with the slightly higher pay grade.īut the question Oilers GM Ken Holland might be asking himself at this juncture is despite the security of the longer term, whether he might wish at least one of these pacts might be expiring right now rather than 2 or 3 years down the line. Both are currently 29 years old and in the heart of their careers, their birthdays a mere fortnight apart. Both were acquired in 2021-22: the first as a UFA signed on the first day of free agency in 2021 the other on the actual trade deadline, then extended for 4 years during the following summer’s free agent window. ![]() Which brings us to the modern Oilers who now feature a pair of defenders of this same general background. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 339 GP, 10-67-77, +10 during his 6 years in Edmonton, including 240 GP, 7-48-55, -2 over the life of that 4-year contract. Early in that contract’s final year “KRusty” wangled a 1-year extension at an extreme cut rate to close out his NHL career. In this case at least, the player contributed 4 actual seasons of hockey, averaging 19 minutes a night that one expects from a #4/5. With free agency almost upon him again the following year, GM Peter Chiarelli signed Russell, then 30, to a 4-year, $16 million extension. The Oilers themselves shocked everybody by making the playoffs for the first time in 11 seasons, with Russell contributing mightily to improved goal suppression. Kris Russell signed a 1-year deal right on the eve of the regular season in 2016 Oct, then shocked everybody by earning outright the 2RD job - on his wrong side, no less.
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