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Edmonton Oilers sign defenseman Jakub Jerabek to one-year deal

By Thomas G |
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 04: Jakub Jerabek #28 of the Washington Capitals attends warm ups before playing in Game Four of the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights at Capital One Arena on June 4, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 04: Jakub Jerabek #28 of the Washington Capitals attends warm ups before playing in Game Four of the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights at Capital One Arena on June 4, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Edmonton Oilers have found their Andrej Sekera replacement in Jakub Jerabek.

A minor signing for the Edmonton Oilers will bring 27-year-old defenseman, Jakub Jerabek, to Edmonton. He spent time with the Montreal Canadiens and the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals during the 2017-18 season, his first season in North America. After the injury to Andrej Sekera, they needed to add a defenseman and Jerabek was the best on the market.

Jerabek scored four points in 25 games with the Canadiens and four points in 11 games with the Capitals. This gives him a total of 8 points in 36 games, this season. In addition, Jerabek appeared in two games in the postseason for the Caps, picking up an assist.

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From 2008-09 through 2016-17, he played with Plzen HC of Czech Republic’s Tipsport Extraliga, and with the Podolsk Vityaz of the KHL. Jerabek attracted interest from NHL teams, scoring 34 points in 59 games games in 2016-17 in the KHL.

After signing with the Canadiens at the beginning of May in 2017, he was assigned to the AHL affiliate Laval Rocket, where he played 17 games, scoring a goal and 10 assists for 11 points.

When the Habs finally admitted that the entire season was a complete disaster, Jerabek was dealt at the 2018 NHL trade deadline. In exchange for a 2019 5th round pick, he was traded to the Washington Capitals.

He stands 5’11” in height and weighs 200 pounds. He is a native of Pilsen, Czech Republic.

Advanced analysis of the signing

In terms of advanced statistics, Jerabek was a little bit all over the place. Considering rather small sample sizes with both teams, this can simply be explained by statistical variance. With the Canadiens, he posted a fairly impressive 50.4 CorsiFor percentage and a relative CorsiFor percentage of 2.4. Considering the generally abysmal state of the Habs this season, this was especially encouraging.

On the Capitals, however, he was a completely different story. He posted a 46.6 CorsiFor percentage, and relative CorsiFor percentage of -1.4. Even though his point pace increased, his overall play appears to have worsened. Regardless, as mentioned, 25 games and 11 games are small sample sizes. A full season of play this season, would definitely give everyone a better picture.

Conclusion

Jerabek’s time in the AHL is probably over, and he can potentially be a good, albeit, low-pairing addition to Edmonton’s defensive core. Due to experiencing mixed results in terms of advanced stats, it remains hard to know what kind of player he really is.

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The Edmonton Oilers need defensive assistance. Hopefully, Jerabek can provide that.

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