The Edmonton Oilers added to their absolutely stellar free agent haul this year by inking Stanley Cup champion goaltender Frederik Anderson to a one-year deal at just $1M plus bonuses.
This is an incredible deal for a goalie who put up stellar numbers en route to a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes a month ago.
The deal is $1M in salary, with up to $1.8M in bonuses that break down as follows:
- $600K for 10 GP
- $400K for 20 GP
- $200K each playoff round won where he plays 50% or more of the games
The contract also includes a no-movement clause (NMC), and a 15-team modified no-trade list (M-NTC).
Who is Frederik Andersen?
Andersen is a veteran NHL goalie who has played for the Anaheim Ducks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Hurricanes. When he was with the Leafs, he was coached by Mike Babcock and was teammates with current Oilers Zach Hyman and Kasperi Kapanen.
Over the course of his long NHL career, Andersen has amassed 552 games played, 28 shutouts, a 2.59 GAA, and .913 SV%. He is a legitimately excellent goaltender, albeit older at 35-years-old.
The one knock on Andersen is his durability. He has only played more than 35 regular-season games once in the past six seasons, and got hurt in the Stanley Cup Final as well.
The Oilers will need to manage his workload strategically.
Where does Frederik Andersen fit into the Oilers lineup?
Right now the Oilers have three NHL goalies under contract: Andersen, Tristan Jarry, and Devon Levi.
Levi has struggled to find his footing in the NHL up to this point, so it’s safe to assume the NHL tandem will be a fairly even split between Andersen and Jarry to start the season.
Hopefully this proves to be a stable tandem as both Jarry and Andersen are not durable enough to carry the load of a traditional starting goaltender, but can deliver strong results with reduced workload.
This is a home run for the Oilers.
Let us know your thoughts on the signing in the comments!
