Oilers' MacTavish looking to free agent signing Pouliot for 'energy' and 'physical play'

Though he'll never live up to his billing as the fourth overall pick at the 2005 NHL entry draft, elite third-lines have a habit of following new Edmonton Oilers forward Benoit Pouliot around. Those elite third-lines had a lot of following to do as well, since Pouliot has played for five different organizations in his eight year NHL career. 

This summer, for the first time since his entry-level contract, Pouliot signed a multi-year deal with an Oilers franchise that hasn't qualified for the postseason since they lost in Game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final. It was his reward for a stellar season and playoff run with the New York Rangers.

The Oilers are hoping that Pouliot can bring some of his "make a depth line function at an elite-level" magic to Northern Alberta.

"It's the work ethic really for me," Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish said of Pouliot in a conversation with NHL.com. "He's an excellent skater who closes gaps and is able to get quickly to forechecks, and it's something that was sorely lacking in our game throughout our lineup. We think that Benoit is going to provide that, and he's got some ability to finish as well."

MacTavish also addressed Pouliot's reputation as an underachiever.

"Everybody grows with experience, and generally you catch up to the expectation, you seldom arrive there," said the Oilers general manager. "I think that he started his career considerably further behind the expectation, but I think he's closed that gap and now he's catching up to those expectations and we hope there is more growth ahead. Even if he's not scoring, he's providing energy for the group and physical play."

He's also driving play. Over the past five seasons Pouliot has played alongside an astounding 34 different skaters for over 150 even-strength minutes. Of those 34 different skaters, 33 have done better by shot attempt differential skating alongside Pouliot than they've done otherwise. That's precisely the sort of thing that could help a thin Oilers club significantly as they look to keep pace in the NHL's loaded Pacific Division.

"Everything in the past three years has been really positive and my game just keeps getting better and better," Pouliot said this summer. "I feel good about that. It's a lot of hard work, but at the end, it pays off, so it was good.

"You have to bring what you can bring. For me, being a little bit more physical and bigger, you don't really change anything in the way you play, you just try to do what the coach wants you to do."

Doing the things that allow a depth line to control play is presumably what Oilers coach Dallas Eakins will expect of Pouliot, who for all his skill and abilities will also need to cut down on the brain dead offensive zone penalties if he hopes to live-up to the expectations that come with his new 5-year, $20 million deal.