Formenton Fills a Slot. Whether That's Enough Is Another Question.

Alex Formenton is in, signed to a one-year deal at $850,000, and the coverage has understandably focused on the circumstances surrounding his return to the NHL — he's the third player acquitted in the Hockey Canada sexual assault case to receive a contract since the trial ended last summer, and Stan Bowman went out of his way to defend the decision publicly. That context is real and worth noting. But from a pure roster-construction standpoint, this is a depth move, and it needs to be evaluated as one.

The Oilers enter camp with five players out — Andersen, Henrique, Janmark, Regula, and Savoie — and Formenton's speed gives Babcock something to work with on the wing while that list sorts itself out. Zach Hyman played only 25 games last season, and the forward group has been thin enough that a low-cost, high-pace option in the bottom six is a reasonable response to the situation. Formenton also reunites with D.J. Smith, who coached him in Ottawa, which at minimum removes a learning curve.

The harder question is whether moves like this one — sensible, inexpensive, situational — can actually address what cost Edmonton the playoffs. The team went 13-for-35 in one-goal games last season. That's a structural problem, not a depth problem. Babcock's job is to fix the close-game identity, and that work happens in practice and in-game deployment, not in the transaction wire. Formenton can help fill minutes. He can't fix the reason this team finished .500 with McDavid putting up 82 points in 48 games.

Twenty days to the opener against Vancouver. The injury list is still the story, and Formenton is a footnote to it.