The Edmonton Oilers will be entering the upcoming season as one of the top contending teams in the NHL and arguably the favourites to hoist the Stanley Cup next June. They are now a grizzled group full of experience. They fought back from being down three games in the Cup Final last spring, before losing Game 7 by a single goal (2-1) to the Florida Panthers.
In hindsight, the comeback in the Cup Final was not surprising considering how the team persevered after a horrendous start to their season last fall (3-9-1). The team has figured out a way to elevate its compete and dig themselves out of holes when presented with massive challenges.
This off-season they added to their impressive roster of forwards by signing Jeff Skinner (one year, $3 million) and Viktor Arvidsson (two years, $8 million) in free agency and acquiring Vasily Podkolzin via trade with the Vancouver Canucks. They also extended veteran Adam Henrique (two years, $6 million). Even after losing Dylan Holloway to the St. Louis offer sheet, the Oilers have better balance throughout their forward group.
Defensively, the Oilers elected to not extend towering rearguard Vincent Desharnais, and lost Philip Broberg to St. Louis. They extended Troy Stecher (two years, $1.575 million) and signed rugged right-shot defender Josh Brown (three years, $3 million).
But the most interesting transaction for me on the back end occurred when the Oilers traded veteran Cody Ceci and a third-round pick to the San Jose Sharks in return for right-shot defenceman Ty Emberson.
On the surface the trade looked only like a transaction to save cap dollars for the Oilers, with Ceci scheduled to count for $3.25 million this season. But Emberson has a chance to be a very valuable addition to the Oilers defence group this year.
What to expect from Ty Emberson
Emberson is best described as a mostly defensive defenceman who possesses some two-way ability and offence only on occasion. Overall, he brings a low-risk approach. Dating back to his development years at the USNTDP and NCAA Wisconsin, he has always been reliable defensively. He blocks shots, boxes opponents out around his crease, and battles to win pucks along the wall.
He won’t move the needle a great deal on offence, but he’s capable of directing pucks on net from distance and chipping in some depth offence.
Here are some examples of what I’m describing:
Reading and reacting with an active stick
Stick positioning is an underrated element of a defenceman’s game. Players who position their stick appropriately intercept passes, take away shooting lanes, poke check pucks out of high danger scoring areas and consistently block shots. Emberson is especially proficient at fronting the play and positioning his stick to break up plays defensively.
In the following clip Emberson identifies that he has to take away the middle of the ice while defending against the Seattle Kraken breakout. Notice how he tracks laterally to front the speed rush in his lane, positions his stick to interrupt the zone entry, goes to the crease to read how the play develops, then pounces on a loose puck below the goal line.
Emberson’s history through the pros
Emberson ended up in San Jose last season after the New York Rangers attempted to send him to the AHL through waivers. Emberson was out of options and free to any team that put in a claim for his services. The fact he was plucked by San Jose speaks to his value. The Sharks would have been the first-team to have a chance to claim Emberson and they pounced on the opportunity.
Emberson skated in 30 games for the Sharks and averaged 18:30 of ice time. Almost all of that ice time came at even strength and the penalty kill, and Emberson was partnered with San Jose’s top defenceman, Mario Ferraro, for the majority of his shifts. He matched up against top six forward groups and contributed 1G-9A offensively. More impressively he was only a minus-4, considering the Sharks struggled to score goals and keep the puck out of their net last season. Emberson was their top defender overall.
Emberson had a hard time fighting off the injury bug in San Jose, however. His season ended prematurely after suffering a lower body laceration in February that required surgery. It was the primary reason he only played 30 games for the Sharks last season, though he also missed most of December with another lower-body injury and some January games with an upper-body injury.
Group 6 Free Agent
The Oilers will need to dress Emberson for a minimum of 50 games this season. If Emberson fails to earn a full-time slot on Edmonton’s blue line he could become a candidate for Group Six free agency.
Group six free agents have to meet the following standards before becoming unrestricted free agents for the following off-season:
• The player must be at least 25 years old by the end of June of the current season. Emberson turns 25 in May.
• Have completed at least three professional seasons.
• Have played fewer than 80 games in the NHL. Emberson’s 30 games last season is his career total.
(Note: the number is lower for goalies. Their threshold is 28 games played.)
I’m not forecasting a path to Group Six free agency for Emberson. I believe he will end up with a regular role on the Oilers’ defence, but it’s something to be aware of as training camp breaks and the season rolls along.
I also don’t see Edmonton being able to slip Emberson through waivers at the beginning of the season if they aren’t sure about his role following training camp. He’s not expensive ($950K) and so another team would surely claim him off the waiver wire, just as the Sharks did last season.
Competition for a roster spot
At this stage, with Evan Bouchard locked in at the top of the depth chart, there appears to be three right-shot defencemen competing for two slots on the Oilers roster at training camp. Each one brings a different element to the group:
• Veteran Troy Stecher is a highly competitive two-way defenceman. He’s smaller (5-foot-10, 185 pounds) than Emberson (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) and Brown (6-foot-5, 220 pounds) but he doesn’t shy away from battling in the trenches. Stecher plays quick and he’s similar to Emberson offensively.
• Brown is easily defined as a towering defensive defenceman who will chip in some depth offence on occasion. Brown uses his length and size to disrupt flow in the defensive zone. He’s also willing to drop the mitts when required.
• At the outset of my analysis, I outlined Emberson’s skill attributes and overall upside. He plays the game safe and responsibly. He’s the kind of player who complements a risk-taking defence partner with his approach.
One of the advantages Emberson might have over Brown and Stecher is the fact Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch coached Emberson in AHL Hartford while with the Rangers organization. Emberson contributed the most offence of his career under Knoblauch’s leadership (7G-20A) in their last year together (2022-23). The player and the coach know what to expect from each other. The fact they are reuniting in Edmonton leads me to believe the Oilers’ coach is a huge believer in the way Emberson prepares and plays the game.
Risk, reward and the budget
Ceci had a solid season in Edmonton last year, suiting up for 79 regular season games, contributing 5G-20A and averaging 20 minutes of ice per game. All of his ice time came at even strength and the penalty-kill. But, as mentioned, his cap hit was $3.25 million.
The combined cap hits for Emberson ($950K), Brown ($1M), and Stecher ($787K) is $2.737 million for the upcoming season. Each player has an opportunity to contribute to the Oilers defence with their individual roles/skill set and the team is paying all three less than what Ceci makes on his own.
I’m forecasting the Oilers’ pairings to look like this:
Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Emberson
Kulak-Brown
Stecher
Every contending team has choices to make when assembling their rosters under the salary cap. Edmonton is banking on Emberson taking another step forward with his career. Both Brown and Stecher are known commodities at the NHL level and the Oilers know what to expect from the two veteran defenders.
The wild-card is Emberson, but I truly believe he is capable of defending at least as well as Ceci did last year, and very likely better than the veteran overall.