The Edmonton Oilers signed forward Drake Caggiula to a two-year contract worth $775,000 average annual value. This will be his second stint with the Oilers after he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2018. He is one of three free-agent signings the Oilers have made, the others being Connor Brown and Lane Pederson. With the Oilers having little to no cap space to work with, they were able to bring Caggiula in to play a depth role at an extremely good price.
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Listed at 5-foot-10, 176 pounds, Caggiula is a left-shot centreman/left wing from Pickering, Ontario. He has been a useful depth player throughout the entirety of his career with multiple teams, and his style is that of an offensive-minded playmaker. He made a name for himself in his collegiate career with the University of North Dakota as one of the best young offensive talents in the NCAA but never transferred his production to the NHL, and instead adapted to being a bottom-six producer.
Caggiula’s Career So Far
Caggiula went undrafted, but after four strong seasons with the University of North Dakota in the NCAA, he was signed as a free agent by the Oilers on a two-year entry-level deal in 2016. He scored 62 goals and added 65 assists for 127 points through 162 games in the NCAA which comes out to a 0.78 points per game average.
Caggiula had some real success in the NCAA capturing the 2016 Frozen Four title and being named the 2016 Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player. He was also named to the All-NCHC second team and earned NCAA West Region All-Tournament Team honors during the 2014-15 season.
Caggiula played his first three seasons of professional hockey with the Oilers. His rookie season was impressive as he scored seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points through 60 games and added 60 penalty minutes. His second season was a little better as he scored 13 goals and seven assists for 20 points through 67 games and added 37 penalty minutes. His third season was when the trade to the Blackhawks happened, but he finished the season with 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points through 53 games.
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Caggiula spent one more season with the Blackhawks, where he scored nine goals and added six assists for 15 points through 40 games, before joining the Arizona Coyotes in the 2020-21 season. He score one goal and added six assists through 27 games before joining the Buffalo Sabres for the remainder of the season. He scored two goals and added an assist through 11 games after joining them.
Caggiula spent one more season with the Sabres where he scored two goals and added three assists for five points through 18 games before joining the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2022-23 season. With the Penguins, he only played four games, but he put up 22 goals and 31 assists for 53 points through 65 games in the American Hockey League (AHL) with their minor league affiliate.
Caggiula’s Fit With The Oilers
The Oilers brought Caggiula in with the hopes he’d not only create internal competition in the bottom-six but also be a leader with the Bakersfield Condors next season. I’m sure he could crack the opening night roster as a 13th forward, but with how tight the money’s going to be for the Oilers I’m not sure they’ll have him around right away.
Caggiula’s strength as a depth player has always been his ability to provide scoring to take some weight off the top-six, and if he gets the opportunity with the Oilers, he will be able to do that again. I really like this signing for the Oilers, it’s a low-risk, high-reward deal that benefits both sides. Hopefully, he provides exactly what they need throughout the season.
