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The Edmonton Oilers announced that they signed, defender, William Lagesson to a two-year deal on Wednesday afternoon. The deal will hold a AAV of 725k and will be a two-way deal in year one, but will turn into a one-way deal in year two.
The #Oilers have agreed to terms with defenceman William Lagesson on a two-year contract through the 2021-22 season! The deal is a two-way contract in year one followed by a one-way contract in year two with an AAV of $725,000. https://t.co/3iEyG7wHGE
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 4, 2020
Lagesson has shown promise as an NHL defender in the past few seasons. He has been a reliable call-up option for the club and has performed fairly well in the NHL action he has seen. This past season he appeared in eight games for the Oilers and recorded no points. In Bakersfield he was trusted with top four minutes and played primarily in a shutdown role. He was able to notch 10 points in 24 games in the AHL last season.
He has been playing for Vita Hasten in Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan where he has produced a respectable eight points in 10 games played.
The most interesting part of this deal is that it transitions to a one-way deal in the final year. This signals some confidence from Ken Holland that Lagesson will be able to crack the roster at some point during this contract. With the emergence of Evan Bouchard and Philip Broberg on the right side and the uncertainty of Oscar Klefbom’s future on the left side, this is a solid bet. Lagesson will not blow you away with his offensive game but he has shown some defensive abilities. The bargain bin 750k AAV seems about right for the unproven Lagesson.
All in all, a pretty good piece of work by Holland but one that was expected. The Oilers will now need to turn their attention to fellow RFA defenceman, Ethan Bear as he is in need of a new contract before next season.
Do you think Lagesson can crack the roster next season?