Rumor: Edmonton Oilers to Sign Another Defenseman

The Edmonton Oilers have a bunch of fresh faces heading into training camp next month and it turns out there could be a couple more added to their mix. According to Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal, the Oilers are eyeing depth defensemen to create some competition in camp.

They’re probably looking to spend Trevor van Riemsdyk money ($950k). Two primary names to keep an eye on are Slater Koekkoek and Jordie Benn. We should assume the Oilers and agent Rich Winter have already chatted about returning the 27-year old Koekkoek. He made $850k last year. 34-year old Jordie Benn could also be an option. Might his agent J.P. Barry be interested in doing the Oilers a favor after one of his other clients, Adam Larsson, suddenly departed Edmonton in the off-season? Benn made $2m last year.

Jordie Benn makes a ton of sense as he's much more physical of the two and Edmonton could use more of that from their defenders. The 34-year-old can also play both the right and left sides and this versatility is appealing to Oilers general manager Ken Holland.

Last season he split between the Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks and considering how many times Edmonton got an up close look at Benn's game, it makes all the sense they would be comfortable enough to bring him in for next season.