EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers got bigger, faster and more experienced Tuesday by signing three free agents who general manager Craig MacTavish, say will significantly address a serious shortcoming in the teams on-ice performance. The Oilers jumped into the free agent market early by signing defencemen Keith Aulie (six-foot-six, 228 pounds) and Mark Fayne (6-3, 210 pounds) and left-winger Benoit Pouliot (6-3, 197-pounds). Two days earlier MacTavish traded lightweight forward Sam Gagner to Tampa Bay for 6-3, 203-pound right winger Ted Purcell. On Tuesday they also re-signed 6-3, 240-pound left winger Luke Gazdic, who had 15 fighting majors last season, to a two-year contract. "They all have size," stressed MacTavish. "We added a lot of size in the last two days. We havent touched the core group of guys we ended the season with and weve added what we think is a much more well rounded complement to those players with size and speed and puck pursuit. "All these moves are going to go a long ways to addressing a serious shortcoming in our on-ice performance and I think we can expect to be much better next year." MacTavish said he went into the day with two targets: Fayne and Pouliot. After a strong sales pitch he signed Pouliot to a five-year contract worth $20 million, got Faynes name on a four-year, $14.5-million deal and inked Aulie for $800,000 for one year. "We made a case for our situation here in Edmonton," he said. "It was a compelling story for them, as it was for me to tell. The situation is improving here, in spite of the fact that the results have lagged, but it was a compelling enough situation that at the end of the day we were able to quickly react to these players." Pouliot, 27, has played for five different NHL teams, including the New York Rangers last season when he collected 15 goals and 36 points in 80 games and 10 points in their run to the Stanley Cup final. "Pouliot was our most important addition because we needed someone with speed," MacTavish said, explaining why he agreed to the $20-million deal for the player who made $1.5 million last year in New York. "We talked about size, we talked about increasing our competitiveness and hes a guy who tracks the puck very well and pressures the puck very well. Hes a great skater and we really felt we needed to add that element." Both he and Fayne said they were eager to get to Edmonton because of the direction the team appears headed in and the young talent on the roster. "I think with everything that Edmonton has gone through and everything that is now going for them, I think its a good opportunity with the young guys and everything," Pouliot told the Oilers website. "Its going to be a good fit for me." MacTavish said Fayne brings them a guy who makes simple plays with the puck, but makes them highly effectively and is a very good defender. He thinks Aulie is one of the players with the opportunity to enhance his value on a one-year contract. "He has the opportunity because of his age and his skill set to have a significant impact on our team. When you look at the make-up of our defence now it looks like an NHL defence, which it didnt always last year," he said. The one area the Oilers didnt address is centre ice where they lack size and aggressiveness. Their No. 1 centre is Ryan Nugent-Hopkins at 6-1 but only 180 pounds. "We didnt address all of our needs today," MacTavish agreed. "Ideally we would like to be able to add a centreman. We do have some depth there but they are young, developing players. "Were still hopeful we can add a centrepiece to what weve done alreadyawe will be trying to do something in that regard." MLB Jerseys China .5 million. The 25-year-old Varlamov is thriving under first-year coach and Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy, posting a 26-9-5 record with a 2. Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys . 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The Marlies never trailed on the way to a 5-2 American Hockey League playoff victory over the Chicago Wolves in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinal. "Its a little bit scary. Youre up 3-0 and two of those goals came pretty early," Spott said. "It definitely didnt feel like a 3-0 game. We knew they were going to come at us, they did." The Marlies used two power-play goals to grab an the early advantage while goaltender Drew MacIntyre turned back 37 shots. "It was a 60-minute effort," Spott said. "All four lines played very hard tonight." Centre Trevor Smith opened the scoring with his first goal of the post-season, a power-play goal on a short backhand at 10:54 of the first period. Toronto converted another power-play chance at 14:55 as centre Peter Holland slipped a backhand over the glove of Wolves goaltender Jake Allen. The teams were at even strength in the second when Greg McKegg scored his second goal of the playoffs at 5:02 with a slapshot for a 3-0 lead. "Once they got up a couple of goals they (played) a little freer, they felt good about themselves and it took us a while to get back on track," said Chiicago coach John Anderson.dddddddddddd The Wolves got on the board five minutes later as Christian Hanson dumped a short rebound shot past MacIntyre. Chicago winger Michael Davies cut the deficit to 3-2 at 17:26, beating MacIntyre on a one-on-one. Toronto restored a two-goal lead at 3:53 of the third period. Winger Carter Ashton slipped while shooting but his wide, wobbly shot was deflected off Allens stick into the net. The Marlies closed out the Wolves on Sam Carricks fourth post-season goal at 17:19. "There were a couple of mistakes that cost us goals," Spott said. "We didnt get in the shot lane when we should have and had a bad line change in the second period. But beyond those two mistakes I thought we played a pretty thorough road game." Allen finished with 30 saves for Chicago. In two regular season meetings this season, seven-of-eight combined goals by the Wolves and Marlies came on power plays. The Marlies claimed a 3-2 overtime win at Chicago on Jan. 17 while the Wolves had a 2-1 triumph eight days later in Toronto. The series resumes Saturday in suburban Chicago then shifts to Torontos Ricoh Coliseum next Wednesday for at least two games, and three if necessary. The post-season series is the first between the teams since 2008. The Wolves went 4-1 on the way to their most recent Calder Cup. ' ' '