The Edmonton Oilers signed Lane Pederson to a two-year contract worth $775,000 a season on July 1. They haven’t been too active in free agency, and he is one of just three signings the team has made since the start of free agency. They have brought in Connor Brown and Drake Caggiula as well and with their issues with how tight they are on cap space, it’s no surprise they focused on signing players that didn’t break the bank and could be solid depth players; Pederson is precisely that.
Related: Meet The New Oilers: Connor Brown
Listed at 6-feet, 192 pounds, Pederson is a right-shot centreman from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He has been utilized during his career as a depth forward that is called upon in the event of injuries and plays that role quite well. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to find himself a home over the last few seasons as he’s jumped between four organizations so hopefully, he can build some roots with the Oilers.
Pederson’s Career So Far
Pederson went undrafted after an impressive career split between the Swift Current Broncos, Seattle Thunderbirds, and Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League (WHL) but signed with the Arizona Coyotes organization where he played in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Tucson Roadrunners. In his time in the WHL, Pederson scored 53 goals and added 87 assists for 140 points through 199 games which comes out to a 0.70 points per game average.
Pederson played his first three seasons of professional hockey with the Roadrunners before earning his first chance at the NHL level with the Coyotes in the 2020-21 season, where he played 15 games scoring a goal and adding two assists for three points. In his time with the Roadrunners, he scored 51 goals and added 56 assists for 107 points through 167 games which comes out to a 0.64 points per game average. When he went back down to the minors during the 2020-21 season, he became one of the team’s alternate captains.
In the 2021-22 season, Pederson joined the San Jose Sharks organization where he split his time between the Sharks and their minor team, the San Jose Barracuda. With the Barracuda, he scored nine goals and added nine assists for 18 points through 22 games while with the Sharks he didn’t score but had two assists through 29 games.
Related: Oilers: 3 Potential Free Agent Destinations For Devin Shore
The 2022-23 season was interesting for Pederson. He played with two different NHL teams and two different AHL teams. He played 11 games with the Vancouver Canucks, 16 with the Columbus Blue Jackets, four with the Chicago Wolves, and 18 with the Abbotsford Canucks. Between the two AHL teams, he scored 17 goals and added seven assists for 24 points through 22 games. With the two NHL teams, he scored three goals and added three assists for six points through 27 games.
Pederson’s Fit With The Oilers
Pederson has been brought in to be a 13th/14th forward that can step in at any time and fill in for an injured player but will play the majority of his time with the Bakersfield Condors in the AHL. He’s not going to be an offensive powerhouse by any means, but his defensive ability could be beneficial to the Oilers for their bottom six when he gets the opportunity to slot in.
The Oilers will be looking to go all-in for a Stanley Cup this season, so signing depth players that they trust to fill any holes they have during the season is smart. I really like this signing for the Oilers, and I do believe Pederson has an opportunity to crack the roster out of training camp as the fourth-line centerman.
