Should Oilers take a chance on Brandon Saad?

EDMONTON — How old is too old?

How many rings won in some other city, for some long-ago champion, is too many? How much experience does a hockey team really need?

As Brandon Saad walks away from $5.1 million in salary that was owed to him by the St. Louis Blues, the team now being run by his old general manager from Chicago — Stan Bowman — is musing about whether he’d be a smart add.

It begs the ultimate question:

How many “I used to be pretty good, but now my game is somewhere below that” players can you add to an Edmonton Oilers roster that already has already houses Corey Perry, Jeff Skinner, Adam Henrique, Viktor Arvidsson, Kasperi Kapanen, and perhaps even 32-year-old Mattias Janmark?

“If I were the Oilers I’d be concerned that they have a lot of guys in the same boat as (Saad). Shadows of once good players,” a scout texted on Wednesday night.

So we went to the rink on Thursday morning and found Adam Henrique, not so much a “shadow of a once good player” but a centreman who has accepted a lesser role in Edmonton than what he was used to in Anaheim.

All in exchange for the chance to win a Stanley Cup.

“It’s a fine line,” said Henrique. “There’s only so much (ice time) to go around, and everybody’s got to buy in, in order to be a top team.”

On a 20-man roster, what’s the right number?

“I think as many as are willing to buy in and accept a bit of a lesser role than in the past,” said Henrique, a nearly 1,000-game player who has never won a Stanley Cup while playing in New Jersey and Anaheim.

Saad, meanwhile, won Cups as a Blackhawk in 2013 and 2015 playing (mostly) on a line with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa. Now he’s mired in a St. Louis rebuild that he forgave $5.1 million in salary to get away from.

Henrique, as with most any current NHL player, has mad respect for that player and what he could bring to a team.

“Not a ton of guys have experience like that, and have been through those sorts of things or been with players at that level,” Henrique acknowledges. “On all those good teams, all those guys have a willingness to buy into a role — otherwise you wouldn’t be there. You’d want to go to a team that’s not as good, where there’s more ice time to be available.”

OK, so the experience, the knowledge — all those intangibles — are highly valued in hockey. But the player has to be able to play.

In Saad’s case — a 32-year-old, middle-six left-winger who would spend some of his time next to Leon Draisaitl — he has to have certain qualities.

Sure, Saad — who scored 26 goals last season — has better hands than Vasily Podkolzin. But can he dig pucks out for Draisaitl the way Podkolzin does, play defence like Podkolzin does, and skate at anywhere close to the pace that Podkolzin does?

Let’s ask some scouts:

“He is better than most of the Oilers’ bottom-six currently,” said a Central Division scout.

“I don’t mind him. Skating and shot not what they used to be. Down low game can be good, but it’s inconsistent. He’ll be motivated and likely better than he was in St. Louis.” — Central Division scout.

“Plays in straight lines. Big, strong power forward-type who plays well in the playoffs. Lost a step but still a functional middle-six guy. Plays best in big games.” — Atlantic Division scout.

“Nada. Nothing (left).” — Metropolitan Scout.

“Last one on the ice and first one off. Maybe a change of scenery helps.” — Former player.

“Hard player to defend/contain when he has his motor going. Similar to Klingberg, why not take a chance? A free acquisition — if it doesn’t work out, no big deal.” — Central scout.

So it’s a bit of a flyer, like the last scout said, but so what?

The Oilers, already the oldest team in the National Hockey League, are currently taking a similar flyer on defenceman John Klingberg, who is scheduled to make his debut Thursday versus Detroit. Klingberg says he’s never played pain-free in the NHL after double hip surgeries at ages 18 and 21.

But after a third surgery he claims to be pain-free today. If it turns out he is a better defenceman than Troy Stecher, Ty Emberson or both, the Oilers will have improved themselves without spending an asset — other than a bit of cap space and the owner’s money.

If Saad can take some time away from Podkolzin next to Draisaitl, or be more productive on the third line next to Henrique than Skinner, Kapanen or Janmark, then the same is true in this case.

But he’s got to be able to play before any of the leadership and experience qualities mean a thing.

“What we want is best players possible, no matter what their age,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch, who was not referencing Saad in particular. “Bringing in talent is the most important thing, and then having roles.

“If you get a bunch of offensive players, they might be the best players but they can’t utilize their skill if they’re not on the first-unit power play. And we’ve got a pretty good first-unit power play,” he said. “Now, for veterans, it comes down to what they’re bringing and how good they are. If they do have some experience, It’s going to help with when the team goes through tough times.

“But just because they’ve got experience, that doesn’t mean they’re going to be a better player than the guys you already have.”

So far, the only veteran acquisitions that have been regrettable is Skinner. That was a Jeff Jackson call, and the Oilers will simply have to eat that $3 million deal if Saad came in and pushed Skinner further down the roster at left wing.

Then there’s the imminent return of left winger Evander Kane…

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