Quite possibly, Adam Henrique's final game with the Edmonton Oilers was a brief 176-second stint in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series against Anaheim. Henrique got tangled up with Kasperi Kapanen and hobbled off the ice, possibly ending his tenure with the team on a sour note after 208 games, including 40 in the postseason.
Salary Cap Challenges
Is there a path to re-signing Henrique, now 36, within the Oilers' tight salary cap window? It seems unlikely, even if the centre/winger were to take a significant pay cut from his $3 million AAV. At his age, a deal might drop to around $1 million, but his skating speed has declined, and he is now a fourth-liner on the depth chart. Henrique remains valuable on face-offs and the penalty kill, where he formed the first forward tag-team with Matt Savoie. However, the Oilers already have penalty-killer Mattias Janmark on the books at $1.45 million for one more year, though his return from shoulder surgery is uncertain.
Henrique posted the worst statistical season of his 17-year career, with three goals and 15 points, along with a minus-12 rating. Still, he has been rock-solid on face-offs, winning 55.1 percent in his two-plus years as an Oiler (1,787 draws). For his career, he has taken 13,204 face-offs and won 50.6 percent. He can still play somewhere at the right price point.
GM's Perspective
“We missed Adam a lot (against the Ducks) … he was overlooked,” said GM Stan Bowman, highlighting Henrique's face-off numbers. “He was really good even on his off-side in the right face-off circle, excellent, even as a lefty.” Bowman also valued Henrique's work on the penalty kill, especially starting it, similar to Leon Draisaitl's ease at winning draws on the power play. “It's clear that the face-off to start a penalty kill is more important than in the neutral zone or face-off percentage,” Bowman added.
Henrique took the third-most face-offs this past season (605), won 54 percent of his 310 defensive zone draws, and was 50.3 percent on face-offs while killing penalties. The Oilers might instead re-sign other UFA centre Curtis Lazar, a righty five years younger, who played for $775,000 last season.
Dach or Jones?
The Oilers could certainly use UFA forward Max Jones back for his size, speed, forechecking ability, and willingness to get to the blue paint. However, having both Jones and Colton Dach seems redundant as fourth-line left wingers. Dach, who played five of six playoff games against Anaheim while Jones was injured, is five years younger (23 to 28). Dach is an RFA making $825,000; a new deal would be in the same range as Jones' current $1 million. Jones was a useful winger after his call-up from Bakersfield, but the team can likely afford only one of them.
Dach played while other fourth-line left winger Trent Frederic sat in Game 6 against Anaheim, a vote of confidence for Dach. Frederic has seven years left at a $3.85 million AAV, but on the ice he seems too nice, not what the Oilers need.
