Oilers linked to signing defenceman to tryout who has history with Coach Knoblauch

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Liam McCormick
August 20, 2024 (8:56 PM)

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The Edmonton Oilers already needed to make an upgrade to their defence, but after losing Philip Broberg to St. Louis in an offer sheet, a move to shore up the defence may be coming.

On today's episode of OilersNow, insider Bob Stauffer hinted that the team could be considering extending a tryout contract to a defenceman with NHL experience and a history with Coach Knoblauch. Based on this criteria, it only leaves a few candidates.

Among remaining free agent defenceman, Kris Knoblauch has coached Travis Dermott, Jarred Tinordi, and Libor Hajek.

Travis Dermott is the most experienced of the three candidates, having played 329 NHL games with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, and Arizona Coyotes. Dermott played for Knoblauch with the Erie Otters from 2013-16, and is now 27 years old.

Jarred Tinordi is now 32 years old, and was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the 2010 Draft. After bouncing between the NHL and AHL for years with the Canadiens, Tinordi has bounced around the league before finding consistent playing time in Chicago the last two years. Knoblauch coached him briefly with the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack in 2021-22.

Finally, Knoblauch also coached Libor Hajek in the 2021-22 season with Hartford. Hajek is a 26 year old second round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning, ho has played 110 NHL games with the New York Rangers.

Look for the Oilers to make another depth addition to their defence before training camp in the coming weeks. They have plenty of internal options as well with Ty Emberson, Troy Stecher, and Josh Brown, but adding another veteran to the system at the beginning of a long season never hurts. Then, throughout the year and up to the trade deadline, the Oilers will likely try to add an impact defender in trade.

Source for all statistics: HockeyDB