The Edmonton Oilers filled in the final piece of their free agency puzzle on Saturday when they signed goaltender Mike Smith to a one-year deal worth $2 million for next season. The deal probably doesn’t rank high on the chart for deals Ken Holland pulled off over the past two days, but Edmonton went back to what they knew after not landing on any of their other free agency netminding targets.
CapFriendly clarifies (via Twitter) that it’s a $1.5 million base salary plus $500K in performance bonuses that break down as follows:
- $50K in games played bonuses at 20 games, 25, 30, 35, and 40
- $125K if they win the first round of the playoffs and he plays in two games
- $125K if they win the second round of the playoffs and he plays in two games
While some fans will see this as a bit of a letdown — considering the Oilers were rumored to be in on some pretty big names — the tandem of Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen worked for the Oilers during the regular season. Edmonton wasn’t of the opinion Smith was a bad goalie, Holland merely wanted to see if he could solve the goaltending question for years to come.
This deal gives Edmonton their tandem for the season (barring some kind of trade) and allows the Oilers a chance to see if other moves, trades or improvements can be made simply by talking to other teams and shuffling the roster.
Koskinen Will Likely Get More Starts
Statistically speaking, Koskinen was the better netminder last season (.917 SV%, 2.75 GAA) so he’ll probably get more starts, lowering the chances Smith hits his bonuses. That said, Holland noted that in a condensed schedule, it was important he had two guys that could share the workload.
Next: Tyson Barrie Signs a 1-Yr Deal with the Edmonton Oilers
