The Edmonton Oilers have signed goaltender Mike Smith to a one-year contract.
Smith, 37, played with the Calgary Flames last season, going 23-16-2 with an .898 save percentage and a 2.72 goals against average. He played for new Oilers coach Dave Tippett with the Arizona Coyotes from 2011 to 2017.
Smith has appeared in 571 career games, posting 243 wins and a .912 save percentage.
Watch below: (From March 2018) Calgary girl gets thrill of a lifetime after sending letter to Flames’ Mike Smith.
“At this age, it’s not as much about the money as it is about the opportunity to keep your career moving forward and to have a chance to compete for the playoffs and the Stanley Cup,” Smith said.
“I really believe Edmonton is a team that’s right there.
Listen below: Mike Smith speaks to 630 CHED.
Smith indicated he hopes to be able to help mentor Koskinen.
“I’m going to do everything I can to help the guy out,” Smith said. “We’re on the same team, we’re battling it out and it’s going to be a competitive and friendly battle.
“I had Marty Turco as a young guy and I’m an older guy now and realize that I owe it to whoever I’m playing with to help them along and be a good teammate and a good leader. Marty was like that to me and I owe it to the league and the players I play with to follow in the footsteps of him.”
Up front, the Oilers are bringing back right-winger Alex Chiasson. He made the Oilers team on a professional tryout contract last fall and wound up scoring 22 goals. His deal is for two years worth a reported $2.15-million per season.
“He had 22 goals,” Oilers general manager Ken Holland said of the signing. “He’s popular in the locker-room.”
Listen below: Markus Granlund speaks to 630 CHED.
The Oilers also get Markus Granlund for one year at $1.3-million. Granlund, 26, had 12 goals and 22 points in 77 games with the Vancouver Canucks last season.
“I think I can play good defensively and good offensively too. I think I’m a two-way player,” Granlund said. “A couple years back, I was able to score 19 goals. Hopefully I can do that again.”
Watch below: Some Global News videos about the Edmonton Oilers.
The Oilers agreed to a two-year deal with forward Jujhar Khaira, who was a restricted free agent. Khaira, who will turn 25 in August, has played 154 career games for the Oilers. He had three goals and 18 points last season.
The Oilers also signed forward Tomas Jurco to a one-year contract. He was drafted by Holland in Detroit in 2011. Jurco, 26, has played 201 NHL games but spent all of last season in the minors.
Holland also said the Oilers have agreed to terms with Swiss forward Gaeten Haas, who had 38 goals in 50 games last season playing for Bern.
Haas, 27, has represented Switzerland internationally several times.
Listen below: Oilers GM Ken Holland speaks to 630 CHED on Monday.
Despite Monday’s signings, there are still several question marks hovering over the Oilers roster. The team lacked scoring depth last season and that still looks like a problem.
“Certainly we’d like to add another player that can score 20 goals. We’ll see if we can make that happen,” said Holland, who added that such a player would now likely be acquired through a trade since the free agent pool is smaller.