Everybody loves a good comeback story, and Edmonton Oilers fans might be treated to the ultimate such narrative in 2023-24. Multiple sources are reporting that the Oilers have signed center Brandon Sutter to a professional tryout contract (PTO). He will attend Oilers training camp as the veteran of 13 NHL seasons attempts to return to the league after missing the last two seasons because of Long COVID.
Related: Oilers Have 3 Good PTO Options to Consider
The 34-year-old hasn’t played a shift of pro hockey since May 1, 2021, when he was a member of the Vancouver Canucks. Should he suit up for either of Edmonton’s first two preseason outings, versus the Winnipeg Jets on Sept. 24 and Sept. 25, it will be Sutter’s first game action in more than 125 weeks.
That’s a huge layoff for someone who is now entering their mid-30s, never mind having battled the debilitating symptoms of long-haul COVID, which can last for years. But the Oilers are in the business of winning hockey games, and Sutter wouldn’t be coming to camp if general manager Ken Holland didn’t believe that there might still be something left in Sutter that could benefit the team.
Sutter Brings Penalty Kill Experience
Penalty killing has always been Sutter’s bread and butter, right from his first NHL season with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2008-09. In 770 career regular season games, the 6-foot-3 Sutter has averaged 2:17 per game on the penalty kill. When he last played in 2020-21, he was on the ice for a total of 116:33 while shorthanded, most among Canucks forwards.
From 2008-09 to 2020-21, Sutter logged 1761:25 on the penalty kill, 10th most among all forwards in the NHL over that 13-season span. That’s valuable experience that he could bring to Edmonton’s PK, which ranked just 20th in the NHL last season at 77 percent and was even worse at 75.6% during the playoffs when it allowed a costly 11 power-play goals in 12 games. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is the lone forward currently on the Oilers with more than 1,000 career regular season minutes on the penalty kill.
Even if Sutter has lost a step physically, intelligence and acumen are important aspects of killing penalties that only time can teach. He can also complement Edmonton’s ability to strike on the penalty kill. Last season the Oilers scored a league-leading 18 shorthanded goals, tied for third-most by any NHL team since 1998. Sutter has 14 shorthanded tallies in his NHL regular season career, which is tied for 165th all-time, and he led the Canucks with two shorties in 43 games in 2020-21.
Sutter Provides Veteran Leadership
When a player is of Sutter’s age and experience, they’re expected to set the tone, but he has already been in a leadership role for nearly a decade now: He first became an NHL alternate captain with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2014-15, before being traded to the Canucks on July 28, 2015.
After Canucks captain Henrik Sedin retired following the 2017-18 season, Vancouver opted to go captain-less in 2018-19, instead naming a quartet of alternate captains that included Sutter. The right-shot Sutter wore an ‘A’ for the rest of his time on the Canucks active roster, right up until the end of the 2020-21 season.
Even when he was unable to suit up for the Canucks, Sutter continued to have a positive impact on the organization. In 2021-22, he received the Daniel & Henrik Sedin Award, recognizing the Canucks player who best exemplifies outstanding community leadership qualities and humanitarian contributions to the community. He also had his own ticket program that provided opportunity for those who otherwise might not be able to attend Canucks games, and he served as an ambassador for Special Olympics BC.
Sutter is a Longshot to Make the Oilers
Based on character alone, Sutter is someone that any GM would want as part of their organization. And if he still has some tread left in his tires, he might be a player the Oilers want in their lineup as they look to capture the Stanley Cup in 2024.
It might be a long shot that Sutter cracks Edmonton’s roster. But the longer the odds, the better the comeback story. He is an easy player to root for and one of the true good guys in the game.
Because of the pandemic which resulted in Canadian teams playing in empty buildings for the 2020-21 season, Sutter hasn’t even had a chance to play in front of a live crowd since March 10, 2020 – three and a half years ago. So it’s going to be one of the feel-good moments of the preseason when he skates out for his first shift. Only then will the hockey world learn if he has any tread left on his tires.
