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The Oilers weren't first out of the gate this afternoon, but they were close and they made a couple of big moves, beginning with the first step towards righting the defense:
#Oilers agree to terms with defenceman Mark Fayne on a four-year contract and winger Benoit Pouliot on a five-year contract.
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) July 1, 2014
Fayne was the subject of trade discussions in our comment section as far back as 2012, and both the term and price seem reasonable:
Oilers sign D Mark Fayne to four-year, $14-million deal.
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) July 1, 2014
Fayne will likely take on top pairing competition with Nikita Nikitin, Edmonton's other new defenseman moving Justin Schultz down the depth chart.
Fayne's contract could spell the end of Jeff Petry's time in Edmonton as the restricted free agency has been mentioned by a number of sportswriters as being on the trading block for a forward.