Former Oilers blueliner lands new deal after uncertain future

The New York Islanders announced this morning they've signed defenseman Ethan Bear to a one-year, two-way contract, a transaction that says as much about where the Oilers are headed as it does about Bear's next chapter.

Two-way deals don't generate many headlines. But this one matters to Edmonton fans still processing what happened in April.

Bear spent formative years with the Oilers organization before moving on. GM Stan Bowman didn't bring him back. The blueline was rebuilt around other pieces, and now a player who wore orange and blue is suiting up across the continent for Peter DeBoer's group on Long Island.

That's the part that deserves a second look.

Edmonton's defensive depth was genuinely a problem this past season. Jake Walman played just 53 games and finished at -17. Darnell Nurse, carrying a $9.25 million cap hit, posted only 24 points and went -12 over the regular season.

The Oilers went 41-30-11, good for 93 points and 14th overall. Not bad on paper. But they were swept out in the first round by Anaheim, losing the series in six games.

Oilers' blue line depth got exposed when it mattered

During that playoff run, the defensive corps looked thin behind Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm. Bouchard was elite, putting up 95 points from the back end. Ekholm was a steadying force at +32.

After those two, the drop-off was steep. That's the context around Bowman not re-signing Bear.

The Islanders, meanwhile, finished 43-34-5 and 19th overall. Mathieu Darche is building depth quietly, the same way every contender eventually has to.

A two-way deal costs almost nothing. But it fills a role. That's exactly what Edmonton lacked last spring.

The Oilers beat the Islanders twice this season, dropping both matchups: 2-4 in New York in October, then shut out 0-1 at home in January. Bear watched those games from somewhere else.

Now he'll be on the ice the next time these two meet. That's not a dramatic twist. It's just how roster decisions ripple outward.

Bowman has bigger decisions ahead. The cap is complicated. McDavid at $12.5 million, Draisaitl at $14 million, Bouchard at $10.5 million. The margin for depth signings is thin.

Whether letting Bear walk was the right call or not, the Islanders just made their blue line a little deeper for next to nothing. Edmonton might end up wishing they'd done the same.