The Edmonton Oilers have re-signed defenseman Jordan Oesterle to a one-year deal, the team announced Monday. The two-way contract is reportedly worth $585,000 at the NHL level and $85,000 in the AHL with $100,000 guaranteed. That’s less than he was making last season in the NHL, and a slight bump in the AHL.
The soon-to-be 24-year-old depth defender inks for slightly less than his qualifying offer, in a similar fashion to what happened with Brandon Davidson last summer. That’s not a bad situation for the player or the team. The team gets another low-cost lottery ball on an NHL defender who they’ve given some time to already.
The #Oilers have signed Jordan Oesterle to a one-year contract. pic.twitter.com/sgXHwVeVGK
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) June 20, 2016
For Oesterle, he’s sticking with a club that has opportunities on the blue line. They’re expected to do some work during the offseason and come back with a bit of a revamped look, but there are likely to still be opportunities for young defenders to step up and be a part of the team’s future.
Last season he grabbed 17 NHL games, giving him a total of 23 in his first two pro seasons. It gets a little tricky for Oesterle this year though. He is no longer going to be waiver exempt, meaning that his cracks at the NHL lineup are going to become far more valuable than they have been in the past.