At the start of the season, the free-agent signing was so unproductive there was talk about whether the Oilers should shut him down to avoid triggering a games-played bonus that would roll into next season. He didn’t get a point until his 14th game, and didn’t have a goal until his 55th, in mid-March.
He finished the season with just 12 points, by far the worst full season of his career, and looked like one of the worst one-year UFA deals we’d ever seen.
Now he has a pretty shorthanded goal in the Stanley Cup final, and if the Oilers can win tonight, the contract probably pays for itself based on that one play. Stick with it, kids, you never know when redemption can arrive.
