Oilers defenceman fires his agent while in contract talks with Edmonton

Ty Emberson has just passed the 80 game threshold to make him an RFA at the end of this season, and the Oilers were reportedly in discussions to sign him.

Bartlett Hockey, an agency group that also represents teammate Alec Regula, announced today that Emberson has hired them for representation. Emberson's former agent was Daniel Plante of the Forward Hockey agency group.

Now with new representation, Emberson and the Oilers should be able to move forward with contract negotiations, after it seemed to stall earlier this season. Initially, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported a deal could come around January.

Perhaps Emberson believes he should be getting a better deal, and changed agents to try to achieve that. With news of a rising salary cap next season, all players will be in a better position to ask for more salary.

Earlier estimates this season projected Emberson would be signed for a 3 year contract near $1.5M, but with the cap reaching over $110M within that timeframe, it could be a horrible deal for Emberson himself.

Through 52 games this season, Emberson has continuously improved and settled into his role as a defensive defenceman. He's only got 9 assists this year, but has been an asset on the penalty kill and 5v5 minutes, and the 23 year old will only continue to improve with time.

With the 4 Nations Faceoff break coming up, the Oilers will have a good opportunity to sit down with Emberson's new agent and strike a deal, at least for next season.