Latest news with #ex-Oiler
Ottawa Citizen
31-07-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Former Edmonton Oilers' captain Jason Smith named Oil Kings head coach
When the longest-serving Edmonton Oilers ' captain Jason Smith was here in June for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final against Florida, he was saluted lustily by the adoring home crowd as he waved from a suite at Rogers Place. Article content He never thought he would be back a month later. But there he was Thursday, introduced as the new WHL Oil Kings' junior head coach, replacing Luke Pierce, whose contract wasn't renewed after the rebuilding team lost to Prince Albert in seven games of the first playoff round this spring. Article content Article content Article content It's not his first rodeo as a junior coach; he was head man in Kelowna, where he's living now, for three seasons(2016-2019) and also had a stint as ex-Oiler Mark Lamb's right-hand man on the bench in Prince George for one year before joining Philadelphia Flyers organization as an assistant to Ian Laperriere on their AHL farm team at Lehigh Valley, Pa. for four years. Article content Article content But now Smith, who was a fierce, no-holds-barred defenceman through his 542 Oilers games and 45 more in the playoffs — with one of the highest pain thresholds of any player — is back in the city where he captained from 2001-2007. He wore the C in their 2006 Cup final against Carolina. Article content 'I'm extremely excited to come here to a place where I have comfort, where I know people in the city away from the rink,' said Smith, who had his former Oiler coach Craig MacTavish and 2006 playoff hero Fernando Pisani in the crowd at his press conference at Rogers Place, a building he never played in (Rexall Place was his stomping grounds) but he knows from his days as a WHL junior coach. Article content Article content Article content He was happy working for the Flyers organization, looking after their minor-league D corps, sending Cam York and Egor Zamula to the bigs, but when they moved on from Laperriere this summer and named assistant John Snowden head man, Smith wanted a change of scenery, and the Oil Kings came calling. Article content Article content 'I decided it was time for a change for myself…a new challenge, a new change in life (as a coach). It's exciting to be back west. I'm looking to help these young players grow and win games,' said Smith, who was traded to the Flyers on July 1, 2007, along with Joffrey Lupul for Joni Pitkanen and Geoff Sanderson and immediately became Philly's captain for a season before finishing his 1,008-game NHL career in Ottawa with the Senators.
Calgary Herald
31-07-2025
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Former Edmonton Oilers' captain Jason Smith named Oil Kings head coach
When the longest-serving Edmonton Oilers ' captain Jason Smith was here in June for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final against Florida, he was saluted lustily by the adoring home crowd as he waved from a suite at Rogers Place. Article content He never thought he would be back a month later. But there he was Thursday, introduced as the new WHL Oil Kings' junior head coach, replacing Luke Pierce, whose contract wasn't renewed after the rebuilding team lost to Prince Albert in seven games of the first playoff round this spring. Article content Article content Article content It's not his first rodeo as a junior coach; he was head man in Kelowna, where he's living now, for three seasons(2016-2019) and also had a stint as ex-Oiler Mark Lamb's right-hand man on the bench in Prince George for one year before joining Philadelphia Flyers organization as an assistant to Ian Laperriere on their AHL farm team at Lehigh Valley, Pa. for four years. Article content Article content But now Smith, who was a fierce, no-holds-barred defenceman through his 542 Oilers games and 45 more in the playoffs — with one of the highest pain thresholds of any player — is back in the city where he captained from 2001-2007. He wore the C in their 2006 Cup final against Carolina. Article content 'I'm extremely excited to come here to a place where I have comfort, where I know people in the city away from the rink,' said Smith, who had his former Oiler coach Craig MacTavish and 2006 playoff hero Fernando Pisani in the crowd at his press conference at Rogers Place, a building he never played in (Rexall Place was his stomping grounds) but he knows from his days as a WHL junior coach. Article content Article content Article content He was happy working for the Flyers organization, looking after their minor-league D corps, sending Cam York and Egor Zamula to the bigs, but when they moved on from Laperriere this summer and named assistant John Snowden head man, Smith wanted a change of scenery, and the Oil Kings came calling. Article content Article content 'I decided it was time for a change for myself…a new challenge, a new change in life (as a coach). It's exciting to be back west. I'm looking to help these young players grow and win games,' said Smith, who was traded to the Flyers on July 1, 2007, along with Joffrey Lupul for Joni Pitkanen and Geoff Sanderson and immediately became Philly's captain for a season before finishing his 1,008-game NHL career in Ottawa with the Senators. Article content Even though Smith was a long way removed from the Dub, coaching pro in Pennsylvania, he wasn't totally divorced from the junior league.
Edmonton Journal
31-07-2025
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
Former Edmonton Oilers' captain Jason Smith named Oil Kings head coach
When the longest-serving Edmonton Oilers ' captain Jason Smith was here in June for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final against Florida, he was saluted lustily by the adoring home crowd as he waved from a suite at Rogers Place. Article content He never thought he would be back a month later. But there he was Thursday, introduced as the new WHL Oil Kings' junior head coach, replacing Luke Pierce, whose contract wasn't renewed after the rebuilding team lost to Prince Albert in seven games of the first playoff round this spring. Article content Article content It's not his first rodeo as a junior coach; he was head man in Kelowna, where he's living now, for three seasons(2016-2019) and also had a stint as ex-Oiler Mark Lamb's right-hand man on the bench in Prince George for one year before joining Philadelphia Flyers organization as an assistant to Ian Laperriere on their AHL farm team at Lehigh Valley, Pa. for four years. Article content Article content 'I'm extremely excited to come here to a place where I have comfort, where I know people in the city away from the rink,' said Smith, who had his former Oiler coach Craig MacTavish and 2006 playoff hero Fernando Pisani in the crowd at his press conference at Rogers Place, a building he never played in (Rexall Place was his stomping grounds) but he knows from his days as a WHL junior coach. Article content Article content Article content He was happy working for the Flyers organization, looking after their minor-league D corps, sending Cam York and Egor Zamula to the bigs, but when they moved on from Laperriere this summer and named assistant John Snowden head man, Smith wanted a change of scenery, and the Oil Kings came calling. Article content 'I decided it was time for a change for myself…a new challenge, a new change in life (as a coach). It's exciting to be back west. I'm looking to help these young players grow and win games,' said Smith, who was traded to the Flyers on July 1, 2007, along with Joffrey Lupul for Joni Pitkanen and Geoff Sanderson and immediately became Philly's captain for a season before finishing his 1,008-game NHL career in Ottawa with the Senators. Article content Even though Smith was a long way removed from the Dub, coaching pro in Pennsylvania, he wasn't totally divorced from the junior league.
Ottawa Citizen
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Gulutzan officially hired by Stars; Perry's new jersey; Arvidsson's bear tale
Article content Article content Viktor Arvidsson, a healthy scratch for Kasperi Kapanen in Game 6 in Florida last month, is really a third-line player now, but the Bruins, who are woefully weak of NHL veterans on the wing, might well give their trade add a look on left side with Swedish countryman Elias Lindholm on their second line after the Oiler trade. Article content The Bruins only have four real top-six players pencilled in now — David Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha, Morgan Geekie and Lindholm — so Arvidsson will get a look there in training camp, most likely, but maybe on his off-wing, playing for Marco Sturm. Sturm was an L.A. assistant coach for one of Arvidsson's earlier years with the Kings. They may try another Swedish kid, Fabian Lysell, on RW on a second line with Arvidsson on left. Article content 'I've been lucky in my career to have Swedes on all the teams I've played on, That's really important. You go to a team first, and that (familiarity) helps,' he said. Article content Article content This 'n that: Oiler UFA John Klingberg's $4M AAV for one year in San Jose is peanuts compared to what guys were signing for, but he now is the highest-paid Sharks D. Mario Ferraro is next at $3.25 million. The Sharks are miles under the salary cap floor… No surprise that Ken Holland is signing Cody Ceci in Los Angeles after scrambling to bring him to the Oilers when Adam Larsson left for Seattle. Holland gave Ceci a four-year deal here with 10 teams trying to sign Ceci as a UFA for three years in 2021. Same four years in LA on Canada Cay at $4.5 million AAV. Good for Ceci, now on his fourth team since the 2024 Cup final (Edmonton, San Jose, Dallas and L.A.) but that's a lot of cheese for a guy who might be in the Kings' third pair. So now (check notes) we've got ex-Oilers Ceci and Perry, also Warren Foegele in LA now…. Kings signed Ceci and Brian Dumoulin at a combined $8.5 million AAV to try and mitigate the loss of their UFA D Vlad Gavrikov to the Rangers, but with all due respect to those vets, they aren't Gavrikov. He was the Kings' most consistently good D last season… Amazing what a Cup ring will do. Florida's third-pairing D Nate Schmidt, on a slim $800,000 last year, just got three years in Utah at $3.5 million AAV. And the smart Panthers are replacing Schmidt with Jeff Petry at $775,000 with bonuses… If Oilers are into buy-low on UFA's there are a few still out there. Like Victor Olafsson (Vegas), Anthony Beauvillier (Washington), Anthony Mantha (Calgary), and some fourth-liners like Curtis Lazar (New Jersey) and Joel Kiviranta (Colorado). Justin Brazeau (Minnesota) signed a two-year deal in Pittsburgh, Adam Gaudette, another possibility, signed two years with the Sharks… Ryan McLeod's new four-year, $20 million deal to stay with the Sabres is maybe a tad low for the ex-Oiler who had a career high 53 points this past season… When the Oilers didn't qualify farmhand starter Olivier Rodrigue, it sounds like they made an organizational decision that the 25-year-old wasn't going to be an NHL goalie, or they have a veteran in mind to take his spot in Bakersfield. Late Tuesday afternoon, they announced they had signed Edmonton-born Matt Tomkins, most recently of Tampa Bay, to a two-year, two-way contract with $775,000 AAV… One-time Oiler draft pick Matej Blumel, who had 86 points in 81 games on Dallas's Texas Stars team last season, signed in Boston for $875,000 one-way. Mistake, it says here, not to have signed Blumel… Ex-Oiler D Ethan Bear, who played for Washington's farm team last season, is on the move again, signing a two-way deal for $775,000 (NHL) and $325,000 (AHL)… The Avs signed Bakersfield UFA defenceman Ronnie Attard, who came to the farm last season from Philly for Ben Gleason, to a one-year deal… Ex-Oiler Kailer Yamamoto, who had 56 points in 54 games last year in the AHL, decided to re-sign with Utah, a two-way deal just like last year, with guaranteed $500,000 to play in Tucson. Article content
Calgary Herald
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Gulutzan officially hired by Stars; Perry's new jersey; Arvidsson's bear tale
Article content Article content Viktor Arvidsson, a healthy scratch for Kasperi Kapanen in Game 6 in Florida last month, is really a third-line player now, but the Bruins, who are woefully weak of NHL veterans on the wing, might well give their trade add a look on left side with Swedish countryman Elias Lindholm on their second line after the Oiler trade. Article content The Bruins only have four real top-six players pencilled in now — David Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha, Morgan Geekie and Lindholm — so Arvidsson will get a look there in training camp, most likely, but maybe on his off-wing, playing for Marco Sturm. Sturm was an L.A. assistant coach for one of Arvidsson's earlier years with the Kings. They may try another Swedish kid, Fabian Lysell, on RW on a second line with Arvidsson on left. Article content Article content This 'n that: Oiler UFA John Klingberg's $4M AAV for one year in San Jose is peanuts compared to what guys were signing for, but he now is the highest-paid Sharks D. Mario Ferraro is next at $3.25 million. The Sharks are miles under the salary cap floor… No surprise that Ken Holland is signing Cody Ceci in Los Angeles after scrambling to bring him to the Oilers when Adam Larsson left for Seattle. Holland gave Ceci a four-year deal here with 10 teams trying to sign Ceci as a UFA for three years in 2021. Same four years in LA on Canada Cay at $4.5 million AAV. Good for Ceci, now on his fourth team since the 2024 Cup final (Edmonton, San Jose, Dallas and L.A.) but that's a lot of cheese for a guy who might be in the Kings' third pair. So now (check notes) we've got ex-Oilers Ceci and Perry, also Warren Foegele in LA now…. Kings signed Ceci and Brian Dumoulin at a combined $8.5 million AAV to try and mitigate the loss of their UFA D Vlad Gavrikov to the Rangers, but with all due respect to those vets, they aren't Gavrikov. He was the Kings' most consistently good D last season… Amazing what a Cup ring will do. Florida's third-pairing D Nate Schmidt, on a slim $800,000 last year, just got three years in Utah at $3.5 million AAV. And the smart Panthers are replacing Schmidt with Jeff Petry at $775,000 with bonuses… If Oilers are into buy-low on UFA's there are a few still out there. Like Victor Olafsson (Vegas), Anthony Beauvillier (Washington), Anthony Mantha (Calgary), and some fourth-liners like Curtis Lazar (New Jersey) and Joel Kiviranta (Colorado). Justin Brazeau (Minnesota) signed a two-year deal in Pittsburgh, Adam Gaudette, another possibility, signed two years with the Sharks… Ryan McLeod's new four-year, $20 million deal to stay with the Sabres is maybe a tad low for the ex-Oiler who had a career high 53 points this past season… When the Oilers didn't qualify farmhand starter Olivier Rodrigue, it sounds like they made an organizational decision that the 25-year-old wasn't going to be an NHL goalie, or they have a veteran in mind to take his spot in Bakersfield. Late Tuesday afternoon, they announced they had signed Edmonton-born Matt Tomkins, most recently of Tampa Bay, to a two-year, two-way contract with $775,000 AAV… One-time Oiler draft pick Matej Blumel, who had 86 points in 81 games on Dallas's Texas Stars team last season, signed in Boston for $875,000 one-way. Mistake, it says here, not to have signed Blumel… Ex-Oiler D Ethan Bear, who played for Washington's farm team last season, is on the move again, signing a two-way deal for $775,000 (NHL) and $325,000 (AHL)… The Avs signed Bakersfield UFA defenceman Ronnie Attard, who came to the farm last season from Philly for Ben Gleason, to a one-year deal… Ex-Oiler Kailer Yamamoto, who had 56 points in 54 games last year in the AHL, decided to re-sign with Utah, a two-way deal just like last year, with guaranteed $500,000 to play in Tucson. Article content
