Oilers, Brule, avoid arbitration

The Edmonton Oilers have signed centre Gilbert Brule to a two-year contract, thus avoiding a date with the arbitrator scheduled for next week. The club has yet to release numbers on the deal, but given other settlements of late, I anticipate the Oil likely committed somewhere between $3.75M and $4.5M to Brule over the duration of the contract. The former sixth overall selection of the Columbus Blue Jackets (2005) enjoyed a coming out party of sorts this past season, posting  17 goals and 20 assists  for the copper and blue. Make no mistake, Brule, one of the team’s grittiest forwards, was an important sign for a team that played “butter-soft” on many nights last season. Oilers’ back-up netminder JD Deslaurier is also scheduled to go to arbitration.