A free-agent profile of Alex Chiasson

After his first season with the Oilers, it looked as if the 30-year-old was finally living up to the potential he had shown in flashes in his previous stops.  Twenty-two goals in 73 games is certainly decent for someone who had largely been a role player up to that point, but unfortunately for Chiasson and the Oilers, he was able to manage only 20 goals over the last two seasons combined, spanning 110 contests.

Still, Chiasson stands 6-3 and has shown a bit of a scoring touch with the man advantage, tallying 19 goals over his three seasons with Edmonton. While he certainly wasn’t a play driver on Edmonton's power play, he still filled a useful role on it. Between the size and power-play ability, he’s an intriguing depth option for teams even if he doesn’t fill the prototypical style that many teams covet in their bottom six (physical with an ability to kill penalties).

Stats

2020-21: 45 GP, 9-7-16, -10 rating, 33 PIMS, 65 shots, 45.6 CF%, 12:29 ATOI
Career: 564 GP, 101-101-202, -40 rating, 329 PIMS, 798 shots, 48.1 CF%, 13:51 ATOI

Potential suitors

How much Chiasson wants will largely dictate his market. If he’s willing to play for close to the league minimum, he becomes an intriguing pickup for some cap-strapped teams that are looking for an incremental boost. Otherwise, his options will be limited to teams that project to have ample cap space that could also be open to taking a flyer on him rediscovering that scoring touch from two years ago. For this exercise, we’ll look at the teams with cap space and presume that a cheap deal isn’t on the table just yet.

In the East, the Devils have been quite active already this summer, but someone such as Chiasson would add some more offensive upside to their depth forwards, and they still have plenty of cap space with which to bring him in. The Blue Jackets don’t have a lot of firepower in their bottom six and also have ample cap room for the winger. One of his former teams in the Senators could have a use for Chiasson if they want a younger forward to get some more development time with AHL Belleville as well.

Out West, the Wild should still have enough cap room by the time they re-sign their two big RFAs to add Chiasson in a depth role. The Predators are currently projected to have some inexperienced players in their bottom six and could use Chiasson as a piece to allow someone to spend more time in the minors. The Avalanche didn’t really replace Joonas Donskoi, and while Chiasson is at a lower level than Donskoi is, he’s someone who can move up into the top six at times if needed, and Colorado still has a bit of wiggle room with its cap.

Projected contract

Chiasson ranked 47th on our Top 50 UFA list with a projected two-year, $3.2 million contract. At this point, landing that contract seems unlikely as at this point of free agency, teams are bargain shopping and won’t be swayed by that 22-goal campaign. A one-year pact that’s closer to $1 million might be more realistic now, and considering his power-play production with Edmonton, Chiasson could be an interesting pickup for several teams at that price point.