Roman Hamrlik on Waivers. Should Oilers Consider It?

Roman Hamrlik was placed on waivers today by the Washington Capitals. A healthy scratch more than not this season, Hamrlik has played in only four games, has one assist and is a plus-minus -1.

Hamrlik is no stranger to the Oilers, having played here three seasons starting in '97 and was a respectable blue-liner for the club. That said he's 38 now and definitely on the down-side of his career. He's also been the topic of some off-ice news when he made public comments about the NHLPA and wanting to get back to playing while the players were sitting out. He may have been a bit of an outsider on his own team thanks to those comments.

Should Edmonton consider Hamrlik as an option? He is in the final year of a $3.5 million dollar per year contract. Pro-rated over the next couple months, it's a small price to pay doesn't really hurt the Oilers cap and while older, might be an improvement over a Cory Potter or Theo Peckham.

The question is, is Hamrlik a better option than Ryan Whitney?

It appears as though Whitney is being shopped by Edmonton. If so, he might only get the Oilers a 3rd round pick. So essentially, one would be trading Whitney for a 3rd, Hamrlik and a bit of cap space. The age difference is a factor, but apparently so is Whitney's ability to keep up with the speed of today's NHL and the requests being made by current Oilers coaching staff.

Or, do you demote a Theo Peckham and keep Whitney if you choose to, adding Hamrlik to your defence corp which would the consist of N. Schultz, J. Schultz, Smid, Petry, Potter and Fistric? Potter and Fistric are both out of the line-up with injuries.

Hamrlik is a bit long in the tooth, but could be a stability that Edmonton needs while not sure what to do with Whitney and nursing a few injuries. He's a big body, not easily pushed around and on the short-term, which his contract is, couldn't be worse than a Cam Barker or Kurtis Foster, which the Oilers have unsuccessfully tried to implement into their roster.

His ticket may scare a few teams off, but who knows. Hamrlik might be worth one last look.