Deadline Primer: Edmonton Oilers

With the trade deadline fast approaching, we will be taking a closer look at the situation for each team.  Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs?  Next up is a look at the Edmonton Oilers.

What a difference a year can make.  Following a strong regular season that saw them post 103 points plus a solid showing in the playoffs where they lost in the second round, the Oilers were expected to take another step forward in 2017-18 and push for the Stanley Cup.  Instead, the opposite has happened and they find themselves in a spot that they’ve become all too familiar with in recent seasons where they’re on the outside looking in.

Record

23-25-4, sixth in Pacific Division

Deadline Status

Seller

Deadline Cap Space

$37.4MM full-season cap hit, 0/3 retained salary transactions, 48/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Draft Picks

2018: EDM 1st, EDM 2nd, EDM 3rd, EDM 4th/5th*, EDM 6th, EDM 7th
2019: EDM 1st, EDM 2nd, EDM 3rd, EDM 4th, EDM 5th, EDM 6th, EDM 7th

*- Edmonton’s fourth-round pick transfers to Montreal if Al Montoya plays in seven or more games with the Oilers with at least 30 minutes played in each.  If that happens, Edmonton will instead have their fifth rounder.

Trade Chips

As is always the case with selling teams, the first place to look is the players on expiring contracts.  Winger Patrick Maroon highlights that list as a power forward that has certainly held his own in a top-six role with Edmonton.  After being practically an afterthought at the trade deadline two years ago, he will be one of the more sought-after players this time around.  The Oilers are believed to want to keep him around long-term but with Connor McDavid’s $12.5MM AAV contract kicking in next season, they may not have the cap room to keep him around.

With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see GM Peter Chiarelli look to try to offload some money off the books for next season and beyond.  While winger Milan Lucic may be very tough to move with five years left on his deal, someone like Ryan Strome – a pending RFA with arbitration rights who will see a raise on his current $2.5MM deal and carries a $3MM qualifying offer – could be someone that they look to move to free up a little bit of space for next year.  Strome has two years of team control remaining.

Five Players To Watch For: W/C Drake Caggiula, C Mark Letestu, LW Patrick Maroon, LW/RW Anton Slepyshev, RW/C Ryan Strome

Team Needs

1) Defense: This has been at the top of the list in Edmonton for several years now and while they have taken steps to improve it, this is still an area that needs considerable improvement.  Andrej Sekera has struggled this season since returning from a torn ACL and while they’re hopeful that a full summer will help get him closer to his usual form, that’s not a guarantee.  Kris Russell is best served in a depth role while Oscar Klefbom has taken a few steps backward this year.  This group isn’t good enough if they want to contend so more additions will need to be made.  They may be able to get a decent prospect for Maroon if they value that over a draft pick but otherwise, this may be a need that gets addressed in the summer.

2) Picks, Cap Flexibility: Edmonton doesn’t have its full complement of draft picks to work with this year nor do they have any extra selections from trades with other teams.  That should change over the next few weeks with players like Maroon and Letestu expected to yield something in a trade which will give them a few more selections to work with.  For 2018-19, the Oilers have nearly $61MM tied up in just 13 players.  That doesn’t give them a lot of room for additions even if the salary cap goes up as expected.  At this time of the season, players with term remaining on their contracts don’t often move but expect Chiarelli to try to find a way to free up some more cap room for next season and beyond.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.