Confirmed with Link: [EDM] Oilers sign Jason Garrison, Alex Chiasson (1 year, $650k)

[Mcnofool6110]

Veteran player does what hes asked, plays a no nonsense solid two way game, going to likely average 4-5 minutes a night? This does deserve an overreaction.

GONNA BUY A GARRISON JERSEY. EYE TEST SAYS HE'LL SCORE 40 POINTS. WAIVE RUSSELL

 

[CupofOil]

And now Auvitu was a "rock star" because of some nice fancy stats in a very limited sample size? This thread has officially jumped the shark.

 

[StevenF1919]

And now Auvitu was a "rock star" because of some nice fancy stats in a very limited sample size? This thread has officially jumped the shark.

Auvitu was a rock star in his role equivalent to the backup to the backup cowbell player, but a rock star nonetheless.

For real though, he was dirt cheap and got results. All you can ask of your #6/7 guy is to not get murdered when he's on the ice. He never got the chance in a bigger role but I would have liked to see it as I think he would have done well.

 

[Tyrolean]

Garrisson is a bad player and the oilers would have been better off bringing back Davidson as 7-8 D man but at least it's cheap?

Maybe he doesn't want to be here that way he was treated? Anyway he got a good contract from the Hawks who need him more.

 

[CupofOil]

Auvitu was a rock star in his role equivalent to the backup to the backup cowbell player, but a rock star nonetheless.

For real though, he was dirt cheap and got results. All you can ask of your #6/7 guy is to not get murdered when he's on the ice. He never got the chance in a bigger role but I would have liked to see it as I think he would have done well.

I actually didn't mind Auvitu and thought he was a bit under utilized but inconsequential really, a fart in the wind.

 

[Little Fury]

How many veteran #6/7 defensemen are there without question marks? And especially guys earning $650K. Its pretty hard to be upset with this signing.

It's less about this signing per se as the fact we're scraping barrel bottom for depth players because of other dumb contracts.

 

[CupofOil]

The funny thing is Garrison is apparently trash because of a -10.3 relGF% two years ago, but Davidson(who had a -11.06 relGF% last season) would have been way better.

I'm actually curious to see Steven's response to this.

 

[nexttothemoon]

Garrison has been subpar the last 150 games (last 3 years in the NHL)... before that he was a very legit top 4 dman.

Interestingly over those past 150 games... he's had fairly tough zone starts and his QoC stats have remained relatively high as well.

I'm a big believer in RelT stats as most know here... I reference them often, but it's true... they have to be used in context AND when you look back over a longer timeframe... say the last 7 years instead of a shorter time frame of just the last 150 games... Garrison's stats looks much, much better.

When you look at that larger sample size of the past 7 years... and look at all the key variables... Zonestarts, TOI, QoT, QoC, individual pts/60, RelT GA/60, RelT GF/60 and even other more esoteric stats like penalties drawn/taken, blocks, hits, takeaways/giveaway stats... I would say that overall Garrison is worth the risk of being a decent vet #7D option at the low cost of $650,000 (league minimum).

If he truly is a detriment at this point in his career... well his entire cap hit is obviously able to be buried and someone like Gravel/Jones/Lagesson likely then gets their shot at the #7 spot on the roster.

 

[nexttothemoon]

Auvitu was a rock star in his role equivalent to the backup to the backup cowbell player, but a rock star nonetheless.

For real though, he was dirt cheap and got results. All you can ask of your #6/7 guy is to not get murdered when he's on the ice. He never got the chance in a bigger role but I would have liked to see it as I think he would have done well.

You may be the only bigger fan of Auvitu than I am so I give you full credit for that.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

I'm actually curious to see Steven's response to this.

I'm sure he'll just skip over it.

 

[OilCountry93]

I respectfully, wholeheartedly disagree. Chia once again failed to address the defense, has Bouchard fall into his lap and then quit trying on acquiring a d-man. Like last year, he didn't bring in any wingers and is placing all hope on young players and internal growth. He overpaid for a sketchy backup- and tied his own hands by giving him a NMC. If he held off on that 2.5M, combined with the money he signed Jarabek for that is 3.5M he could have used to plug another hole. He should have let Drake go, and possibly Benning. That is 6M he could have spent elsewhere, or at least, more efficiently.

Agree 100%. Chia is just not a good GM. What was the point of signing Jerabek, who assuredly is better than Garrison only to trade him and sign a lesser Dman. Makes zero sense.

Good for him, he had an option of coming here for a PTO or Chicago, he didn’t choose Edmonton so it doesn’t really make a difference what he ended up signing for.

But the optics of him rejecting a team where he’d get top 6 minutes for team where he’s a bubble defenseman look bad for us. Our franchise is run by clowns.

 

[StevenF1919]

I'm actually curious to see Steven's response to this.

Davidson had a positive xGF last year, and two prior seasons of moderate success before that. He's also much younger, so we can chalk it up to a rough year rather than an expected drop off due to age. Davidson isn't anything amazing but I like him more than Garrison. Auvitu is the player we should have signed though.

You may be the only bigger fan of Auvitu than I am so I give you full credit for that.

I am firmly #teamauvitu. Might have to get his name put on my jersey.

 

[StevenF1919]

Agree 100%. Chia is just not a good GM. What was the point of signing Jerabek, who assuredly is better than Garrison only to trade him and sign a lesser Dman. Makes zero sense.

I don't think it's fair to criticize him for turning nothing into a 6th round pick. I agree that Jerabek would have been much better though.

 

[StevenF1919]

Agree 100%. Chia is just not a good GM. What was the point of signing Jerabek, who assuredly is better than Garrison only to trade him and sign a lesser Dman. Makes zero sense.

I don't think it's fair to criticize him for turning nothing into a 6th round pick. I agree that Jerabek would have been much better though.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Agree 100%. Chia is just not a good GM. What was the point of signing Jerabek, who assuredly is better than Garrison only to trade him and sign a lesser Dman. Makes zero sense.



But the optics of him rejecting a team where he’d get top 6 minutes for team where he’s a bubble defenseman look bad for us. Our franchise is run by clowns.

So because he decided to go a different route, it makes our franchise look like its run by clowns?

You do know this is not an EASPORTS video game right? You can't just sign everyone you want and force them to sign the contract....

 

[Delicious Pancakes]

Some of the comments in here make me wonder if people even watched the pre-season games or understand that the salary cap affects how an NHL team builds their roster. They signed Jerabek and he came to camp and underperformed especially relative to younger team controlled players in Bear and Bouchard. He was then traded for a 6th rounder, so essentially they received a free asset. It means prospects have arrived sooner than anticipated, what is there to complain about? Garrison who plays a different game was signed to a league minimum deal to be the 7th D and has looked decent in the pre-season. This is just good cap management for a team up against the cap.

If Bouchard, Bear and Garrison all shit the bed and the team runs into injuries on defense while Jerabek flourishes in St. Louis then sure come back and say I told you so. In the present though these are good choices. I'm happy to call out Chia when he f***s up, but this is not one of those times.

 

[Del Preston]

Agree 100%. Chia is just not a good GM. What was the point of signing Jerabek, who assuredly is better than Garrison only to trade him and sign a lesser Dman. Makes zero sense.

Garrison outplayed Jerabek in preseason/camp and signed for $350K cheaper.

But the optics of him rejecting a team where he’d get top 6 minutes for team where he’s a bubble defenseman look bad for us. Our franchise is run by clowns.

He turned down a PTO from the Oilers to sign a PTO with the Blackhawks.

 

[BleedingOil]

Experienced vet signed for league min? I'm failing to see what's wrong with this. We really lacked veteran leadership last year at the very least he provides that.

 

[OilCountry93]

So because he decided to go a different route, it makes our franchise look like its run by clowns?

You do know this is not an EASPORTS video game right? You can't just sign everyone you want and force them to sign the contract....

No ####. Obviously you can’t force someone to sign a contract, that’s not the argument. What makes us look bad is a player would RATHER sign a PTO with a team where they slot in as a #6/7 defenseman than a contract (as was rumored) with a team that he would almost be guaranteed to be in the top 6. Doesn’t look good.

 

[TheNumber4]

If were going to use pre-season as a true evaluation period and a source of internal competition it'd be hard to argue that Garrison didn't earn this job. Of course, he did earn in it in an environment in which the GM couldn't do diddly squat to bring in better competition. That being said, I liked what I saw from Garrison. He has a rocket of a shot and seems to be smart positionally (which comes with all his experience). Whether or not he'll make it once real rosters are in play is still up in the air, but atleast at 650k it doesn't cost anything to see.

If we want Bear or Bouchard as a 3rd pairing, it'd be good for either of them to be paired with someone with so much experience so that's a positive as well.

 

[guymez]

What is the criteria for being put on that list? I assume you would need league approval to avoid teams cheating on bad contracts?

I think thats a pretty solid assumption. Not sure on the details though.
There are however some posters on here who are up on the details of these sorts of things.

 

[suddeninterest]

Auvitu vs Davidson vs Garrison. That’s like putting 3 turds on a plate and asking which one tastes the best.

 

[Daryls Friend]

A
But the optics of him rejecting a team where he’d get top 6 minutes for team where he’s a bubble defenseman look bad for us. Our franchise is run by clowns.

Oh jesus. Is this Jim Matheson posting? Who doesn't realize hes a marginal NHL defenceman, who has been thrown on the trash heap numerous times and whom NO (ie ZERO out of 31 teams) NHL team would agree to sign him to a contract before training camps? Is this the same guy?

 

[Del Preston]

No ####. Obviously you can’t force someone to sign a contract, that’s not the argument. What makes us look bad is a player would RATHER sign a PTO with a team where they slot in as a #6/7 defenseman than a contract (as was rumored) with a team that he would almost be guaranteed to be in the top 6. Doesn’t look good.

The Oilers only offered Davidson a PTO.

Edmonton Oilers reportedly offer Brandon Davidson PTO

 

[Marty McSurly]

No ####. Obviously you can’t force someone to sign a contract, that’s not the argument. What makes us look bad is a player would RATHER sign a PTO with a team where they slot in as a #6/7 defenseman than a contract (as was rumored) with a team that he would almost be guaranteed to be in the top 6. Doesn’t look good.

If you're going to rant get your facts straight.

1. The Oilers offered him a PTO as well.

2. The Oilers traded him twice in the last two seasons, they are not going to offer him a contract outright. In fact, no team did.

3. He's a 6/7/8 defenseman, get over it.