Oilers sign Delauriers

The Oilers made a risky, yet necessary, move today, signing 24-year old Jeff Delauriers to a 2-year, one-way deal.

As it breaks down, it'll be $550,000 the first year and $700,000 the second. That's not too bad for a potential back-up goaltender.

I know many will ask, "why the hell did Lowe give him a one-way deal?". It's not like Deslauriers was in any position to demand one, seeing as how he's yet to play in an NHL contest. But I think this is more strategy than anything else with Lowe. Let's look into Deslaurier's past why don't we?

Deslauriers was drafted in the 2nd round, 31st overall in the 2002 NHL draft, which is hella early for someone slated to develop into a backup. After suffering through a tumultuous 2002-2003 campaign with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens (.888 S%, 3.81 GAA), Deslauriers really stepped it up in 03-04, where he led the Sagueneens to a deep playoff run after posting a 0.916 S% on the season.

Deslauriers' first taste at the pro game came in the following season, where he played the lockout year with the Edmonton Roadrunners. He wasn't too bad for a rookie, posting a 0.888 S% and 2.96 GAA on a poor, poor team. From there started the tumultuous development period for the Oilers prospects, with the Oilers losing an AHL affiliate. Deslauriers was forced to play stints with teams like the Greenville Grrrowl, Hamilton Bulldogs, Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, and last year, the Springfield Falcons.

Deslauriers suffered with the instability of the Oilers' minor league program, and his stats suffered badly until the 2007-08 campaign. By then, many were saying they'd be surprised if he even makes it as a back-up in the NHL. The guy the Oilers had been touting as a potential starter was clearly not showing it.

Things changed with the Oilers securing an affiliation with the Falcons, and with his spot in the lineup secured, Deslauriers led Springfield with his great goaltending, posting a 0.912 S% on what was one of the worst defenses in the league. He started to show signs of fulfilling the potential that got him drafted early in the 2nd round in 2002.

With that, the Oilers were faced with a dilemma. Deslauriers' contract had expired at the end of the 2007-2008 season, and was ready for an extension. However, as it was, they couldn't send him back down to the minors without having him pass through waivers. Given his recent performance, and the unpredictable nature of goaltender development, it was clear that one of the other 29 teams were going to pick him up as a backup.

Knowing this, Lowe signed Deslauriers to a one-way deal, to ward off teams that wanted to take a flyer on him, and send him down if it didn't pan out.

With Roloson wanting to start, and Garon clearly our starter, it appears that we're on the verge of a changing of the guard in the Oilers' crease. Deslauriers is going to be sticking around, and Roloson may be shipped out early in the season to a team that needs to hit the basement.

And Oiler fans, there's no need to worry. We've seen Deslauriers play at TC and in the pre-season, and he was easily able to hold his own. I've always been impressed with his play in the pre-season games, and I think he'll surprise a lot of his doubters this season.

Good signing by Lowe, assuring that there would be a "kid" movement at the goaltender front as well. This bodes well for Devyn Dubnyk, who is slated to be the starter now in Springfield. Jeff has earned it.