The Edmonton Oilers-directed team signed Drake Cagiola to the A.F Two-year contract $775,000 average annual value. This would be his second stint with the Oilers after he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2018. He is one of three free agent signings made by the Oilers, the others being Conor Brown and Lynn Pederson. Since the Oilers don’t have much space to work with, they were able to bring in Caggiula to play deep at a very good price.
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Listed at 5-foot-10 and 176 pounds, Caggiula is a left winger/left winger from Pickering, Ontario. He has been a useful deep player throughout his career with multiple teams, and his style is that of an attack-minded playmaker. He made a name for himself in his career with the University of North Dakota as one of the top young offensive talents in the NCAA, but he never moved his production to the NHL, instead adjusting to being the sixth lowest producer.
Cagiola’s career so far
Cagiola went undrafted, but after four solid seasons with the University of North Dakota in the NCAA, he was signed as a free agent by the Oilers on a two-year entry-level deal in 2016. He scored 62 goals and added 65 assists for 127 points through 162 NCAA games which You average 0.78 points per game.
Caggiula has had some real success in the NCAA capturing the 2016 Frozen Four title and being named the 2016 Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player. He was also named to the All-NCHC Second Team and earned NCAA West Region All-Tournament Team honors during the 2014-15 season.
Cagiola played his first three seasons of professional hockey with the Oilers. His rookie season was impressive as he scored seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points over 60 games and added 60 penalty minutes. His second season was slightly better as he scored 13 goals and seven assists for 20 points over 67 games and added 37 penalty minutes. It was his third season when the deal happened with the Blackhawks, but he finished the season with 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points through 53 games.
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Cagiola spent another season with the Blackhawks, scoring nine goals and adding six assists for 15 points through 40 games, before joining the Arizona Coyotes for the 2020-21 season. He scored one goal and added six assists over 27 games before joining the Buffalo Sabers for the remainder of the season. He scored two goals and added an assist in 11 matches after joining them.
Cagiola spent another season with the Sabers, where he scored two goals and added three assists for five points over 18 games, before joining the Pittsburgh Penguins for the 2022-23 season. With the Penguins, he only played four games, but tallied 22 goals and 31 assists for 53 points through 65 AHL games with their minor league affiliate.
Fit cagiola with oilers
The Oilers brought in Caggiula with hopes that he would not only create inside competition in the bottom six, but also be a captain with the Bakersfield Condors next season. I’m sure he can crack the roster of openers as the No. 13 catcher, but with how tight the money will be on the Oilers, I’m not sure they’ll get him right away.
Caggiula’s strength as a deep player has always been his ability to deliver the scoring to take some weight out of the top six, and if he gets the chance with the Oilers, he’ll be able to do it again. I really like this signing with the Oilers, it’s a low-risk, high-reward deal that benefits both sides. We hope it delivers exactly what they need throughout the season.