TALKING POINTS: Jeff Jackson speaks after Day 1 of Free Agency

Oilers CEO of Hockey Operations Jeff Jackson spoke to the media on Monday following a busy first day of NHL Free Agency for the Oilers.

The Oilers made 13 total signings on Day 1, re-signing eight players and signing five others to contracts to join the club – including free-agent forwards Viktor Arvidsson, Jeff Skinner and defenceman Josh Brown.

Jackson held the media interview prior to the re-signing of forwards Adam Henrique and Mattias Janmark being made official later in the afternoon and responded to questions about Edmonton's free-agent additions, their places on the roster, Evander Kane and more.

Read the full transcript and watch the full media interview with the Oilers' executive below.

Jackson on the additions of Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner and the offence they add to Edmonton’s already star-studded list of forwards:

“Yeah, we're very pleased to add both Viktor and Jeff to our top-six group. I think they're complementary players to the guys we already have in those roles.

“Viktor has great speed, very tenacious, a puck-battle winner and he can score, so we really like him. I don't know [where he'll play] exactly, but you’d have to talk to Kris and I'm sure they'll jig things around a little bit here and there during the season, but we'll probably see him playing on the right side with Leon and we think that's a good fit.

• BLOG: Arvidsson already feeling a fit with Oilers

“With Jeff Skinner, obviously he’s a guy who’s had a long career, scored a lot of goals in the League a couple of years ago and had almost 80 points. He’s a very good player, a very smart player, can play with lots of skill, and has played with skilled players. So the thing we really liked about him too is that he's just like Viktor. They're good five-on-five players. They produce, they score goals and produce offence at five-on-five, so both of those guys are going to add a really nice element to our top six.

“We're super happy and very pleased to get both of them and we look forward to next year with them in our group.”

• RELEASE: Oilers sign Jeff Skinner to one-year contract

Jackson on the status of Evander Kane and if injury will prevent him from being ready for the start of the 2024-25 season:

“As we’ve said, he’s been dealing with an issue with his hip and we're just going through a process right now to see what we need to do on that front. He's getting the best care he can get on the advice from our doctors, and we're going to consult with both Evander and his agent Dan Milstein to make sure that we're getting second opinions and things like that. So that's sort of where it's at. Nothing's planned as of yet beyond that, so first is a consultation with a specialist. He’s on our roster and on our cap and we’ve got to take care of his health first and foremost to make sure he's healthy."

Jackson on the changes to right defence for Edmonton and how they view the roles of each blueliner for the upcoming season:

“[Broberg] played right D primarily with Darnell in the playoffs and played very well. But again, it's going to be a coach’s decision. We're going to find room for Broby to play, so that'll sort itself out as we get into camp. But that'll be a coaching decision at the end of the day. Somebody will probably have to move over to the right side. It might be Broby.

“Adding Josh Brown, we knew we weren't going to be able to bring back Vinny for cap reasons, so we knew we wanted to go out and get some size. He's a hard player to play against. He's good at boxing out in front of the net. He's tough. He adds that element. A great teammate. We did our due diligence and talked to coaches that he's had in the NHL, so we added him for that element and we see him fitting in there.

"We're looking to add depth. We want to make sure we have a very deep D-core, so we're still exploring that. Stech is one of the guys that's an option for us. We’re not quite done there on anything yet, but we signed Connor Carrick. He’s played NHL games in his career. A great skater and high character that he adds to our group and he’ll have a chance to play. Add in Cam Dineen and Ben Gleason down in Bakersfield and we feel really confident with our call-up group. We're working on a couple of things still, but we don't have anything to sort of announce."

• RELEASE: Oilers re-sign Stecher to two-year contract

Jackson on the reinstating of Stan Bowman by the NHL on Monday and his candidacy for the Oilers’ vacant GM position:

“To be honest, I was so busy today that I only heard about it when we finished up some of the things we were trying to get done, so I haven't really thought about it. Stan's obviously a long-time GM, a successful one, and the NHL reinstated all three of the guys today. I'm running a bit on fumes here because of the schedule with the playoffs and then the draft and free agency, so I haven't given any of it any thought, to be honest. I’ve got to sort of decompress for a couple of days, but then I’ve got to move forward with my GM search. So to be honest, I can't comment right now."

Jackson on a deep run to the Stanley Cup Final by the Oilers resulting in more free agents wanting to sign with Edmonton this offseason:

“It helps to go to the Final for sure, but at the end of the day, there are two things I sort of see:

“We've got players like Connor, Leon, Hyms, Nuge, Nursey, Ekky, and Bouch who are great players and great teammates. We've got a great group and that goes around the League, so players know that. And then, the players that are here and we re-sign, they know it. They've lived it, and I just want to say that Ken Holland built a really good culture here over the last five years – a winning culture. It becomes a destination in many ways, and when the team is as competitive as we are, that clearly helps. So it's a combination of things I think.”

• RELEASE: Oilers sign Connor Carrick to one-year contract

Jackson on the short to mid-range contracts given out by club on July 1:

“I think it's sometimes the player's preference is to do a short-term deal just based on timing and stuff. The guys that we did today, that just aligned with our ability to manage the cap and project out into the next two or three years. So to get a deal done with anybody, all of that stuff has to align and that's sort of what happened today with all the guys that we were going to bring back like Brownie, Janny and [Perry]. Then the guys that we brought in, that they wanted those sorts of deals, so it worked out well.

Jackson on the sense of community within the Oilers locker room that’s boosting the attraction of Edmonton for potential free agents:

“I think it's critical. To go as far as we did and then have players scatter, that's tough. That's always tough, and I think these guys all believe in their teammates. They're an extremely close group of guys, a tight-knit group, which to me is probably one of the most important elements to having a team that can win. ‘How much do you love your teammates? Because you'll do anything for them', and that's the way our group was. So all those guys coming back tells me everything I need to know about this team and we're happy to have all those guys back. It's great."

Jackson on signing trade-deadline acquisition Adam Henrique to stay in Edmonton:

"I would say we're still working on that. It's to be determined, so we would love to have him back. We just have to find a way to do it. I'm sure he's got interest from other teams. He's an outstanding individual and he's a very good player. A veteran player. So we're working on it, but we're not at the finish line yet. We'll see how that goes."

• RELEASE: Oilers re-sign Henrique to two-year contract