Report: Edmonton Oilers sign Jason Demers to professional tryout
The Edmonton Oilers have signed defenseman Jason Demers to a professional tryout, The Athletic‘s Daniel Nugent-Bowman reported Thursday.
Demers, 34, is a 6’1″ right-handed defender who most recently played with the Kontinental Hockey League club Ak Bars Kazan during the 2021–22 season.
He also represented Canada at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, recording two assists in five games en route to a sixth-place finish.
Not for certain, but it appears the Oilers are out on RW Jake Virtanen.
D Jason Demers, 34, will be coming to camp on a PTO. He played 5 KHL games and w/ Canada's Olympic team last season.
EDM is also discussing the idea of extending a PTO to former Flames RW Brett Ritchie.
The San Jose Sharks originally selected Demers in the seventh round (No. 186 overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft. Demers spent the first six seasons of his NHL career in San Jose before being traded to the Dallas Stars in 2014.
After two solid seasons in Dallas, Demers signed a five-year UFA deal with the Florida Panthers in 2016. But his tenure in Florida ended one year later when the Arizona Coyotes acquired him in exchange for forward Jamie McGinn.
Demers spent the next four seasons with the Coyotes, helping the club reach the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but he remained without an NHL contract throughout the 2021–22 season. His UFA status enabled him to compete in the Olympics for the first time in his career.
In 699 career NHL regular-season games with San Jose, Dallas, Florida, and Arizona, Demers has scored 45 goals and 214 points. He’s added 16 points in 61 playoff contests with the Sharks, Stars, and Coyotes.
Demers will likely compete with Ryan Murray, Slater Koekkoek, and rookie Philip Broberg for minutes on the Oilers’ blueline. He could be joined in camp by fellow PTO candidate Brett Ritchie, an unsigned checking forward formerly of the Calgary Flames whom Nugent-Bowman noted is also under consideration by Oilers management.