I would have put the odds of Edmonton signing Linus Omark alongside the possibility of Miley Cyrus actually looking attractive with her performance at the MTV video music awards. It was “Blurred Lines” and not “Blurred Linus” that Robin Thicke was singing with some…ahem…help from Cyrus. Apparently the Oilers changed their own tune when it comes to the return of Omark to North America.
I can’t believe they inked him to a deal, which as Mark Spector of sportsnet.ca reported, is worth $600,000 at the NHL level and $100,000 in the AHL. I know getting Omark to sign a two-way deal at least made this possible but I didn’t think the amount of ways and the amount of money would ever work to see the winger potentially back in an Edmonton Oilers’ uniform. To quote one of Kevin Lowe’s favourite lines “expect the unexpected.” That’s exactly what this is. Maybe not to the Oilers president of hockey operations but likely to almost anyone else who knows the sour relationship that existed between Edmonton and Omark.
The 26-year-old spent parts of two seasons with Edmonton. His numbers reasonable with 65 NHL games on his resume. In that time he scored eight goals, added 22 assists for a total 30 points, yet what stood out more than that was his creativity. Who could forget his centre ice spin-o-rama before a shootout chance against the Tampa Bay Lightning or his cheeky little flip shots that sometimes worked or other times didn’t? His skill was never an issue but his size (five-foot-10, 174 pounds), and defensive determination were. With Omark on the outs he went overseas and led Zug in Swiss Elite League in scoring with 69 points in 48 games. A bigger ice surface with less checking but still stats the Oilers couldn’t ignore.
By now all expectations were that Omark would have long been traded away. That still might happen but the first time around on that front didn’t go so well. The Oilers weren’t willing to ship him out for nothing but they couldn’t have been asking too much for one of the other 29 teams to take a gamble.
Linus is a nice enough kid but he’s not short on confidence and the fact no one appeared to want him had to hurt. Give him credit for not sulking but instead scoring enough for the Oilers to give him another opportunity.
If you look at Edmonton’s lineup the problem now is even worse than 2010-12 when Omark suited up for Edmonton. They have even more high end scoring depth on the wing and they are all younger, faster and I guess better players than Linus. Having said that he may have as much or more skill but it has yet to translate on the ice.
If Omark was all about money he could play in a European league or for that matter the KHL and make more than he’ll earn in North America. He wants to prove something to himself, the Oilers and possibly every other team that he’s good enough to play in the NHL.
He’ll start doing that when training camp opens. A day which Linus certainly has “Omark”ed down on his calendar.