Oilers sign F Josh Archibald

The Oilers were active this morning, signing former Arizona Coyotes forward Josh Archibald to a one-year pact at a reported cap hit of $1MM.

The 1992-born Saskatchewan native is from Saskatchewan, which is in Canada. Notable.

So, what does he bring?

Archibald chipped in for 12-10-22 last season. He was fed mostly DZ starts, mostly on the fourth line, and with a healthy dose of PK time for good measure. According to some, he’s an excellent penalty killer, though I can’t profess to have seen enough of Arizona to weigh in myself. He did play a feature role in that group, who finished third in the league by PK% last season. But don’t just take it from me. As per The Athletic’s Jonathan Willis:

“Archibald had sterling numbers on the Coyotes’ penalty kill and chipped in 12 goals and 161 hits while getting a steady diet of defensive zone starts last season. He isn’t big, but he’s a good skater right in the heart of his career and could provide Edmonton with a reliable defensive presence on its third or fourth line.

“He’s been great at sticking to the system and playing it the right way,” Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet told Cat Silverman.”

That’s all well and good, but the numbers don’t seem to indicate that Archibald moves the needle at evens. (I’ve really gotta stop saying move the needle. Time for a new idiom I think.)

Anyway, take a boo for yourself:

Archibald’s 3-year and single-season (last year) Rate-Adjusted-Plus-Minus (explainer found down the page here), courtesy of Evolving Wild:

https://evolving-hockey.com/

Entry / exit / shot contributions, three year, compared to Alex Chiasson, courtesy CJ Torturo:

https://public.tableau.com/profile/christopher.turtoro#!/vizhome/2-yearA3ZPlayerComps/ComparisonDashboard

So, yeah. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. At least with this deal, you can look at the paltry AAV and feel better knowing they didn’t give this guy north of $2MM over two seasons.

With this signing, the Oilers sit at 49/50 contracts, and a shade over $3MM in cap space, though Holland has already publicly suggested they are earmarking at least $1MM of that money for Mike Smith’s bonuses.