When the news broke that Ryan Ellis would be out for half the season, that meant guys like Matt Irwin, Yannick Weber, Anthony Biteto, and for reasons still unknown Alexei Emelin would have to fill his skates until he was healthy again.
While Irwin and Weber weren’t stand-outs, Poile must have liked what he saw because he signed both of them to cushy, two-year, 1.3 million dollar contract extensions. They may not be top-four talent, but they’ll be around until Poile is ready to bring the likes of Alexandre Carrier or Frederic Allard into the fold.