On Sunday, October 1, Brandon Sutter released a statement simultaneously with the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers announced that they are releasing Brandon Sutter from his PTO with the club, while Sutter announced his retirement from the NHL.
Sutter had missed the last two full NHL seasons due to long COVID symptoms. He was often short of breath when engaging in activities and, therefore, couldn’t participate in any rigorous activity for the last two seasons. Having finally mostly recovered from his symptoms and being cleared by doctors to resume training this past offseason, Sutter went to work trying to get in shape for one last shot in the NHL. The Oilers were the team willing to give him that opportunity, offering him a PTO on August 28th.
Sutter was exactly what the Oilers needed for their hockey club: a fourth-line center who could play tough defensive minutes, win a lot of face-offs, and kill penalties. The only issue was that he hadn’t played an NHL game in two years and is currently 34 years old. It was a bet the Oilers and Sutter were hoping would work out.
Sutter dressed for 3 games for the Edmonton Oilers this preseason, averaging 13:51 TOI/GP, scoring 1 assist, and went 56.76% in faceoff %. He was playing the role almost exactly as the Oilers needed, including winning a huge 3 on 5 PK faceoff for the Oilers that drew many people’s attention. The issue, though, was speed ultimately for Sutter. The pace of the game seems to be getting quicker every year, and when shortness of breath is an issue already, and you haven’t played in the league for two years, it’s mighty hard to catch back up.
Today, in what seems like a player decision, not necessarily a team decision, the Oilers released Sutter from his PTO, and he announced his retirement. It is the end of an experiment that could have worked out marvelously for both the player and the team if he could have gotten up to speed.
Swap?
As unfortunate as this news is for the Oilers, who seemed to really like Sutter despite the speed issues, there’s one person on the Oilers’ roster who must be jumping for joy. That person is Raphael Lavoie. The 2019 2nd round pick of the Oilers is having a true battle and his first true shot at making the Edmonton Oilers by trying to get into his first career NHL game this season. Things were looking good for him in August. He had just finished a career year in Bakersfield, where he lit the AHL on fire from Christmas all the way down the stretch for the Condors. He looked to be a lock to play in the Oilers’ bottom 6 due to his low cap hit and lack of other options.
The arrival of Erne, Gagner, and Sutter, have all put a damper on the claim Lavoie had on that last roster spot available in Edmonton. Lavoie was going to need to have a really good preseason to make the big squad out of training camp this year all of a sudden.
Slowly but surely, things have started to turn Lavoie’s chances around again after taking a huge nosedive with the PTO signings. First, Gagner mentioned that he was injured and wouldn’t be able to play to start the season. The first hurdle cleared for Lavoie as Gagner took himself out of the running.
Adam Erne hasn’t done a whole lot to prove to the Oilers that he is worth their final roster spot. The Oilers like Lavoie; he is a drafted and developed talent that they would like to give a shot too. The second hurdle seems to be cleared for now.
Sutter was perhaps the biggest hurdle Lavoie needed to jump over. Sutter had all the tools the Oilers were looking for and was also a center; he seemed to have an inside track to that final roster spot until Sunday’s announcement. Perhaps not due to Lavoie’s work but Sutter’s retirement, either way, the hurdle has been cleared.
Hurdle number 4 was Lavoie himself: could he show up to camp and show he deserves a spot? So far, through the preseason, he has 1 goal in 3 games, and it was a nice one – a sniper’s shot, which he is known for. He has also posted the second-highest shots per 60 minutes this preseason for the Oilers. Lavoie has always been a volume shooter, something Edmonton needs more of, especially from someone who would be looked at to pinch up in the lineup in case of injuries later this season. So Lavoie has shown that he can do in the preseason what he’s been known to do. Throughout training camp, Lavoie’s linemates may be considered below-average, but he has still managed to come away with an even 50% goals for percentage through 3 games. His defensive work has also been pretty good; he hasn’t looked out of place or exposed in the preseason. If he is going to play in the bottom 6, he is going to have to adjust his game to learn how to defend well and use his 6’4″ frame effectively out there to keep pucks away from the Oilers’ goal.
The only thing standing in Lavoie’s way now is Lane Pederson. One of the only advantages Pederson has is that he is a natural center, Lavoie is not. The Oilers do have Derek Ryan who could slide to center, giving Lavoie a space on the wing though if they decide that Lavoie is their guy to start the season.
I still think Lavoie will make this team out of training camp. We’ll see what a few more preseason games bring. What do you think? Leave a comment below about whether or not Lavoie makes the Oilers roster out of the training camp.
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