Adding to their D corps, the Chicago Blackhawks signed 25-year-old defenseman Jordan Oesterle on Saturday, as first reported by The Athletic’s Scott Powers.
The deal is reported be worth two years, with an annual salary cap hit of $650,000.
Oesterle is originally from Dearborn Heights, Mich., just outside of Detroit. He signed with the Oilers as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He’s played just 25 total games with the Oilers in the last three seasons, picking up six assists while still searching for his first NHL goal.
The majority of his playing time has been in the AHL, spending the last two seasons playing 44 games in each season for the Bakersfield Condors. In 2015-16, he amassed four goals and 21 assists, following that up with seven goals and 25 assists in the 2016-17 campaign.
With Niklas Hjalmarsson traded to Arizona last week and Johnny Oduya likely not returning to the team as an unrestricted free agent, there will be ice time aplenty for any incoming Blackhawks defenseman. And you can now add Oesterle to that mix as well.
For more on the Blackhawks free agent situation, click here.