After a month of weighing their options and letting the NHL marketplace set itself, agent J.P. Barry and the Edmonton Oilers agree it's time to see if they can strike a deal for Petr Nedved.

Barry suggested so Monday - the Oilers are on a shortlist of three teams Nedved is interested in signing with - and Edmonton assistant GM Scott Howson was on the same page yesterday.

With the Oilers and Barry in agreement, and Nedved reiterating yesterday he wants to stay in Edmonton, it seems only a matter of time until the parties arrive at the same place on the dotted line.

"We always believed we'd be one of the two or three teams," said Howson. "(Nedved) had a good experience here. He played very well here. He made a difference for our hockey team.

"We always felt, and J.P. certainly told us all throughout this process, he was going to keep us informed and we'd be able to act if there was another offer out there."

Nedved, 32, became an unrestricted free agent July 1 when the Oilers declined to pick up an option for $5 million. The parties have talked several times since then, but there's been nothing along the lines of negotiations on a contract.

In the interim, Barry entertained inquiries from five other teams and GM Kevin Lowe did his due diligence by asking about Jason Allison, Michael Nylander and Alexei Zhamnov.

"I think there's a timeline and I think that timeline is getting closer now," Howson said of opening negotiations. "I think everyone has seen what the market has dictated.

"Perhaps Petr wanted to make a decision for his own personal sake, too. The time is coming where we're going to have to decide one way or the other which way we're going to go."

Speculation Nedved wanted to return to the New York Rangers or sign with Los Angeles because of his marriage to model Veronica Verakova has been dismissed by Barry. The Rangers and Kings inquired about Nedved, but aren't on his list of three teams.

AROUND THE RINK: The Oilers named Stew MacDonald, the team's former director of marketing, president of the AHL Roadrunners yesterday.