For many years, the NHL’s free-agency period has annually opened on Canada Day. Except for a few seasons affected by factors such as the pandemic or a work stoppage, July 1 has been the date that teams can begin their offseason shopping.
It wasn’t until the NHL instituted a salary cap in 2005 that the Edmonton Oilers became regular players in the free-agent market. They have inked their fair share of contacts on July 1 over the last 18 years, but they’ve proven to be misses more often than hits. In fact, their best free-agent addition, Zach Hyman, didn’t even join the Oilers on Canada Day – he signed on July 28, 2021.
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That’s not to say that Edmonton hasn’t made some solid signings on July 1, and Oilers fans hope that will be the case again this year. After coming up just short in Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final last week, the Oilers could be just a player or two away from getting over the top in 2025.
So as the 2024 edition of free-agent frenzy opens today (July 1), here’s a look back at some of Edmonton’s top additions on this date in history.
Mark Letestu
On Canada Day 2015, the Oilers inked 30-year-old forward Mark Letestu to a three-year deal worth a total of $5.4 million. He was coming off a season in which he scored seven goals and added six assists in 54 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Letestu’s versatility made him a valuable addition to Edmonton’s bottom six, and his veteran experience would prove valuable on a very young Oilers team (Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Darnell Nurse were all age 22 or under). He also had the ability to kill penalties.
Not only did Letestu provide all the above, but he chipped in on the scoresheet, too. The best offensive season of his career came as a member of the Oilers in 2016-17, when he scored 16 goals and totalled 35 points. Letestu was also a standout for Edmonton in the 2017 Playoffs, finishing second on the team in scoring with five goals and six assists in 13 games as the Oilers won a postseason series for the first time in 11 years.
On Feb. 25, 2018, in the final year of his contract with Edmonton, Letestu was traded to Columbus as part of a three-team deal with the Nashville Predators that saw the Oilers acquire Pontus Aberg (who they would eventually lose on waivers). Letestu finished his Oilers tenure with 34 goals, 45 assists and just 37 penalty minutes in 220 regular season games, and a well-earned reputation for leadership and professionalism. Not bad for $1.8 million per season.
Mike Smith
At the age of 37, goaltender Mike Smith joined the Oilers on July 1, 2019, signing a one-year deal worth $2 million after spending the previous two seasons with the Calgary Flames. He would later re-sign with the Oilers in 2020 to another one-year contract worth $2 million, and again in 2021 to a two-year contract worth $4.4 million.
Smith might not be remembered so fondly in Edmonton because many Oilers fans saw him as the physical embodiment of their frustrations with team management. He was the goalie that wasn’t quite enough to help bring a Stanley Cup to Edmonton, but he was the one that general manager Ken Holland was rolling with because the Oilers were stuck up against the salary cap and the GM either a) couldn’t figure out a way to bring in a better netminder or b) didn’t think he needed to.
But based on what Smith brought to the Oilers relative to his salary cap hit, there’s no arguing that the veteran goalkeeper was a value signing. He spent three seasons with the Oilers, 2019-20 to 2021-22, tag-teaming in the starting goaltender role with Mikko Koskinen, and helped Edmonton achieve its greatest success in over a decade.
The Kingston, Ont., native led the Oilers in wins in both 2019-20 (19) and 2020-21 (21). He started every game for Edmonton in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, going 8-6 with a 3.37 goals-against average (GAA) and .913 save percentage (SV%) as the Oilers advanced to the Western Conference Final for the first time in 16 years.
Smith’s career effectively ended when he failed his physical and was placed on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) in September 2022. In 99 regular season games with the Oilers, Smith posted a 56-27-10 record with a 2.70 GAA and a .913 SV%.
Connor Brown
Connor Brown signed a one-year deal with Edmonton on July 1 of last year. The contract was worth the league minimum of $775,000 but was loaded with incentives that could bring its value up toward $4 million.
The veteran forward got off to a dubious start with the Oilers, failing to score in his first 54 games with the team, and even just a few months ago, the mere suggestion of his inclusion on this list would have been absurd. Now it’s not crazy to suggest that Edmonton wouldn’t have gotten as close as it did to the Stanley Cup without him.
Brown was a sparkplug throughout the playoffs, contributing at both ends of the ice. He was a key part of Edmonton’s record-setting penalty kill, which was an astonishing 66/70 (94.3%) in the postseason, and he became just the third player ever to record a shorthanded point in back-to-back Stanley Cup Final games.
So impressive and impactful was Brown’s play that there are now calls for the Oilers to re-sign him. As THW’s Jim Parsons noted recently, “if teams like the Vancouver Canucks are looking at Brown, the 30-year-old may have a difficult decision to make. Brown is considered one of the most upbeat players in the Oilers locker room. One has to wonder if another season with top-tier offensive players would maximize Brown’s value for next summer versus trying to land a small bump in pay this offseason.”
When all is said and done, signing Brown might wind up being Edmonton’s highlight for a second consecutive Canada Day. But no matter what, July 1, 2024, promises to be a fascinating day in Oil Country.
