The Edmonton Oilers took a bold approach to free agency, giving money and term to a couple of fancy stats darlings. Numbers Game breaks down the signings of Benoit Pouliot and Mark Fayne.. The Oilers Get: LW Benoit Pouliot, D Mark Fayne and D Keith Aulie. Pouliot, 27, has been a hockey nomad, bouncing from team to team in recent seasons, but hes been pretty good at each stop along the way. While playing for four different teams (Montreal, Boston, Tampa Bay, N.Y. Rangers) in the past four seasons, Pouliot has put up strong possession numbers in each stop and hes been a pretty effective goal-scorer in limited time. He had a career-high 36 points in 80 games for the Rangers last season. The issue that crept up with Pouliot, and was particularly notable during the Rangers Stanley Cup run, was his alarming tendency to take offensive zone penalties and that lack of discipline can be frustrating but, in the grand scheme, Pouliot has been drawing more penalties than he takes. He has good size and plays enough of a physical game to get under the skin of the opposition from time to time and Pouliots willingness to go to the net could give him a shot at a 20-goal season if he ends up playing a bigger role in Edmonton. Where Pouliot fits with the Oilers is a bit of a question. He looks like a third-line left winger -- thats the role that hes handled effectively -- and the Rangers do have enough talent on the right side that they could have some decent offensive production out of their third line. While Pouliot is lauded by those who appreciate advanced stats, most would do a double-take before signing any third-line winger to a five-year contract. Maybe five years and $20-million was the cost of doing business, but that does seem like a serious commitment, particularly if there isnt room for Pouliot among the Oilers top six forwards. The Rangers have some holes to fill up front, and knew that they would not be able to get him re-signed at market prices, especially when the Oilers were willing to spend at this level. Fayne is a 27-year-old defenceman who has good size (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) and plays a sound defensive game, something that is sorely needed in Edmonton. There were two defencemen in the league who played tough opposition, started more shifts in the defensive zone yet finished with a better shot differential per 60 minutes than Fayne. One was Zdeno Chara and the other was Faynes frequent partner, Andy Greene. The interesting part of that possession success is that, last season, Fayne was the weak link in that pairing -- Greene had much better possession stats (54.2 Corsi%) without Fayne than Fayne had (47.2% Corsi%) without Greene -- but that was a flip of the year before, when Fayne was at 57.2% without Greene and Greene was 54.4% without Fayne. Ultimately, Fayne has been a reliable defensive defenceman who should upgrade the Oilers and, signed for $14.5-million over four seasons, hes not unreasonably priced if he can handle top-four minutes in Edmonton. The Devils have some young defencemen on the way up, including Jon Merrill, Eric Gelinas and Adam Larsson, that can take over some of the minutes that Fayne had been playing. 25-year-old Keith Aulie is a 6-foot-6 defenceman who has played 136 career NHL games, but has been crushed in possession terms, over his four NHL seasons. Hard to imagine that hes anything more than a spare part, even for the Oilers. While Pouliot and Fayne arent marquee names, they have been quietly solid players for several seasons. While the Oilers went long on Pouliots term, they were aggressive to acquire a couple of players that ought to make them more competitive. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Adidas NMD Wholesale . HABS HEADED TO CONFERENCE FINAL The Montreal Canadiens scored early in Game Seven, built a lead and protected it well on their way to a 3-1 series-clinching win over the Boston Bruins. While this game or series isnt necessarily a referendum on the value of fourth lines, the Canadiens certainly benefitted from production lower down their forward depth chart. Air Force 1 Low Wholesale . -- Mike Shanahan gave Robert Griffin III a rest, and may have turned up the pressure on himself, too. http://www.nikeshoesoutletwholesale.com/adidas-ultra-boost-sale.html . Three pitches later, he was hugging Mike Napoli at home plate after his teammates winning home run. Napoli and Ortiz hit consecutive homers with one out in the 10th inning and the Boston Red Sox rallied past Minnesota 2-1 Wednesday, sending the Twins to their fifth straight loss. Vapormax Flyknit Outlet .C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes used a strong third period to extend their winning streak to three games. Nike Cortez Mens Clearance . Winnipeg trailed by five points in the final minute when quarterback Drew Willy completed a 13-play, 75-yard drive with Feoli-Gudinos 18-yard touchdown catch on third down to lift the Bombers to a 34-33 victory over the Montreal Alouettes on Friday night.NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Zach Mettenberger thinks he is the answer to the Tennessee Titans quarterback problem, not Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston.The Titans have four months to decide if they agree before going on the clock with the second overall pick in the 2015 draft.Its an important decision for us, for the organization going forward, and I think that thats one that we have time to make that decision, coach Ken Whisenhunt said. Were going to go through that process and look at it. Im sure in time well come to the right one.Whisenhunt wrapped up his first year with a 2-14 record that is this franchises worst since 1994. The Titans tried one last time to see if Jake Locker might be their quarterback. He didnt get the chance to return after his second injury in five games before the Titans turned to Mettenberger, a sixth-round draft pick out of LSU.Mettenberger started six games before hurting his right, throwing shoulder, and the season slipped away with 10 straight losses, including 14 of the final 15.Mettenberger finished with 1,412 yards passing, becoming the eighth quarterback to lead the Titans in passing in eight seasons. Tennessee now has struck out on two quarterbacks selected with a top eight draft pick or better since 2006. The Titans also extended their playoff drought to six seasons.We didnt get it done, so weve got work to do to get to that point, Whisenhunt said. Whenever you have a season like we did, theres going to be changes. Youre going to get better. Weve got work to do. We understand that.Whisenhunt brought in both a new offence and had defensive co-ordinator Ray Horton switch the Titans from a 4-3 scheme to a 3-4. Neither produced, with the Titans ranking 29th in total offence and 27th in total defence. They couldnt run, scoring only six touchdowns on the ground all season, a franchise-low in a 16-game season. They also couldnt defend against the run, ranking ahead of only Cleveland.Titans president and CEO Tommy Smith insists he is sticking with general manager Ruston Webster and Whisenhunt despite fans wanting both fired. Whisenhunt knows hes on the clock.It better get better than this, or youlll be talking to somebody else next year, Whisenhunt said.ddddddddddddHere are a few things to know about the Titans:THE METT SHOW: The rookie quarterback played in seven games, starting six, and was 107 of 179 for 1,412 yards, averaging 7.89 yards per attempt. He was sacked 18 times and posted a passer rating of 83.4 with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. Mettenberger said he will be sticking around Nashville for the off-season working to improve and get stronger a year after spending his time rehabilitating a torn ACL.Mettenberger has a bright future ahead of him, safety Michael Griffin said.BAD OFFENSE: Blame the constant turnover on the offensive line or Titans slow to pick up Whisenhunts new offence. But Tennessee scored 254 points, this franchises lowest total since 1984, when the then-Houston Oilers scored 240 in a 16-game season. The Titans also finished with the worst point differential at minus-184 since 1984 (197).ROSTER TURNOVER: The Titans put 15 players on injured reserve and played seven offensive tackles, five tight ends and four quarterbacks. They go into the off-season with at least 17 players with expiring contracts, including both punter Brett Kern and kicker Ryan Succop. The Titans also have to decide if its worth keeping struggling right tackle Michael Oher and left guard Andy Levitre.ROOS FUTURE: Left tackle Michael Roos finished his season on injured reserve, and he said Monday he may be leaning toward retirement after having a version of microfracture surgery on his right knee. The longest-tenured player currently with this team after 10 seasons, Roos contract is up in March. He said he will see how he feels when done with rehabilitation in a couple months.SENIOR BOWL: Holding the No. 2 pick overall gave the Titans the coaching assignment at the Senior Bowl, and Whisenhunt said hed like the chance to start evaluating college players up close. This franchise last picked second overall in 1984 when it took tackle Dean Steinkuhler out of Nebraska.___Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___Follow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker ' ' '