The Calgary Flames have an interesting off-season coming up. With reports that Daymond Langkow has a deal in place in the 5M/yr range, cap space virtually guarantees that Kristian Huselius will land elsewhere next season. Stephane Yelle and Owen Nolan are also unrestricted free agent forwards of note.Would any of these forwards be of interest to the Oilers? Let's compare the three players statistically.
Time On Ice
Huselius: 13:37 EV, 3:50 PP, 0:14 SH
Nolan: 12:34 EV, 2:06 PP, 1:51 SH
Yelle: 9:19 EV, 0:10 PP, 2:27 SH
Points/60
Huselius: 2.23 EV, 4.83 PP
Nolan: 1.55 EV, 2.21 PP
Yelle: 0.96 EV
GFON/GAON per 60 at 5-on-5
Huselius: 3.00GF, 2.39 GA EV
Nolan: 2.38GF, 2.13 GA EV
Yelle: 1.22GF, 1.57GA EV
Quality of Competition Rank at 5-on-5
Huselius: -.03 (8th)
Nolan: .02 (4th)
Yelle: -.04 (T-9th)
GFON/GAON per 60, Special Teams
Huselius: 7.14GF, .61GA PP
Nolan: 3.03GF, .38GA PP; 1.37GF, 7.76GA SH
Yelle: 0.34GF, 7.46GA SH
What can we say about these players?
Kristian Huselius was fantastic against weak opposition at even strength, and added a strong presence on the powerplay. Unfortunately, he's also a) about to receive a big-time contract and b) the kind of small, skilled, needs-to-be-shielded player that already abounds on Edmonton's roster. Huselius is not a player of interest to the Oilers.
Owen Nolan did a decent job outscoring good-to-middling opposition at even strength; he was also a poor performer on special teams. He's a big body and good in the face-off circle (52.3%), but he's slowing down and recorded just over 1 hit per game. He does shoot a lot (163 in limited ice-time) and I think he'll add value to some team in a third-line checking role. He isn't better than Pisani, though, and probably not far ahead of Stortini either at this stage in his career. Nolan may be a player of interest, but it seems unlikely.
Stephane Yelle is getting outscored by weak opposition at even strength and is no longer a positive contributer shorthanded. I wouldn't sign him to a league-minimum deal.