Jack Roslovic, a center who helped the New York Rangers get within two wins of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, has a new home after agreeing to a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers.
The move ends Roslovic’s wait to join a new team after he became an unrestricted free agent on July 1 – he was arguably the best UFA remaining on the market. The 28-year-old changed agents after going unsigned earlier in the summer and had been skating in Columbus as he waited to join a new team. He signed late Wednesday and was not in the lineup for the Oilers’ season-opening 4-3 shootout loss to the Calgary Flames.
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The Rangers acquired the journeyman center on March 8, 2024, sending a conditional fourth-round pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets. “We think he’s a real good player,” general manager Chris Drury said after making the deal.
In 19 regular-season games with New York after the trade, the 2015 first-round pick (No. 25 overall) by the Winnipeg Jets, had eight points (three goals, five assists). He also played in 16 playoff games, finishing with eight points (two goals, six assists).
One of the assists came on Alexander Wennberg’s overtime winner in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Florida Panthers. That goal gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, but they lost the next three games.
However, Roslovic averaged just 13:27 of ice time, and the Rangers didn’t re-sign him.
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Roslovic inked a one-year, $2.8 million contract with the Carolina Hurricanes for 2024-25. He played 81 games with Carolina, matched his career high with 22 goals (largely because of a career-best 15.8 shooting percentage) and finished with 39 points.
However, he played just nine playoff games for the ’Canes, finishing with one goal and four points, and Carolina did not re-sign him — likely because he’s something of a liability defensively. Though his xGF was 50.28 percent last season, per Natural Stat Trick, the Hurricanes were outscored 55-46 with him on the ice at 5-on-5 and were out-chanced 205-173 in high-danger opportunities.
James Guillory-Imagn Images
Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said after the loss to the Flames that Edmonton had been in touch with the 28-year-old dating back to the summer, and that talks picked up in recent days.
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“(I told his agent) ‘We love the player, but we don’t have a whole lot of money to spend right now. So, if he wants to come here and kind of bet on himself and get a bit of a chance to play, we’d love to have him.’” Bowman said. “I think he was weighing his options and came to the decision that this is the place he wanted to be.”
He could make his Oilers debut on Saturday when Edmonton hosts the Vancouver Canucks.
Roslovic has 260 points (102 goals, 158 assists) and is minus-37 in 526 regular-season NHL games. He has 17 points (three goals, 14 assists) in 45 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
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