Some interesting comments from Kevin Prendergast in the Sun today."I think Denis wanted to do a one-year deal and see how it goes," said Oilers vice-president of hockey operations Kevin Prendergast, who is currently in Kazan, Russia scouting the Under-18 world hockey championship.
"If he has a good year again next year, we can probably extend it from there. But it came from his end as far as the one year."
"If he has a good year again next year, we can probably extend it from there. But it came from his end as far as the one year."
This probably doesn't come as a big surprise to anybody. The adjustment period for Grebeshkov coming over from the Russian Super League was obvious, and all of his statistics reflected it. He would have been foolish to sign a long-term deal if he felt he could make a better deal next year.
"We consider the three guys we've signed to be a big part of our team next year," Prendergast said. "It's a big burden off our hands, and it gives us an opportunity to concentrate on Joni and some of the other guys and now we have a lot of time to get it done."
I know Prendergast tends to gush about prospects, but I'm not sure that his comments about organizational priorities are equally misleading. So take it for what it's worth, but it sounds like they're still looking at Pitkanen as coming back next year, and maybe his not being signed yet is a reflection of his penchant for tough negotiating.