The Oilers had a pretty good day during the free agent frenzy, picking up a few more names, including one of my top 21. Eric Belanger was the big prize for the Oilers, signing him to a 3-year, $5.25 million deal, helping to solidify the centre position. Also being signed, forward Darcy Hordichuk (one year, $825,000) and defenseman Cam Barker (one year, $2.25 million). 
As mentioned, Belanger was the biggest prize for the Oilers on Friday, as the centre brings some help to the team's second or third line. Belanger played in all 82 games for the Coyotes in 2011, scoring 13 goals and adding 27 assists, he is a solid face-off guy and can play both ways. Signing for less than $2 million per year makes this one of the real bargains of the day.
Hordichuk is a fourth line winger, who grinds out his limited minutes on the ice and doesn't provide a great deal of offense. He should be able to give the young team another veteran presence in the dressing room, helping some of the kids adjust to the big game.
Finally, Barker is somewhat of a bust 1st round draft pick from the 2004 draft (taken 3rd overall), as he hasn't found the two-way game that had earned him all the accolades and the high draft position. Possibly with a younger team, some better minutes and possibly a pairing with Ryan Whitney, he might be able to get his game back on track, but I don't think I would take that risk right away. Barker finished with 5 points in 52 games for the Wild in 2011, a number that should go up, but I'm not sure by how much.
| Forwards | Defense | Goalies |
| Ryan Smyth | Ryan Whitney | Devan Dubnyk |
| Jordan Eberle | Tom Gilbert | Nikolai Khabibulin |
| Taylor Hall | Ladislav Smid | |
| Sam Gagner | Cam Barker | |
| Ales Hemsky | Jeff Petry | |
| Eric Belanger | Andy Sutton | |
| Magnus Paajarvi | ||
| Shawn Horcoff | ||
| Linus Omark | ||
| Ryan Jones | ||
| Ben Eager | ||
| Gilbert Brule | ||
| Darcy Hordichuk |
Three new players on the team table and the Oilers are also quickly moving up the ranks of high cap projection teams for the 2012 season, it's amazing what committed ownership will do for a club. Currently, I have the Oilers at $55.5 million for 21 players and two buyouts. The 13 players are mixed well, to a point where they could dress this team and play today.
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