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Darnell Nurse Leaves Game After Taking Hit To The Head

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In a scary incident from tonight’s game against the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs, Darnell Nurse was on the receiving end of an illegal check to the head from Ryan Reaves. Reaves was given a five-minute major penalty on the play and was ejected from tonight’s contest.

Nurse was visibly shaken up after the hit and was bleeding from his head. The Oilers quickly announced that Nurse wouldn’t return to tonight’s game. Nurse will likely miss some time which hasn’t happened in his career since the 2021-22 NHL season.

[SOURCE LINK]

Viktor Arvidsson Out With Undisclosed Injury

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  • Jason Gregor of Sportsnet 1440 reported that the Edmonton Oilers would be without forward Viktor Arvidsson against the Nashville Predators tonight. Gregor didn’t allude to any injury concerns for Arvidsson but did say he’s expected to play this weekend. Arvidsson has scored two goals and five points through 16 games in his first season in Alberta.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Oilers Activate Brady Stonehouse From SOIR, Loan To OHL

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  • In more injury news from the Pacific Division, Edmonton Oilers’ reporter Tony Brar shared that Mattias Janmark is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. There won’t be a major shakeup in Edmonton’s roster in Janmark’s absence with the veteran forward averaging under 13 minutes a night on the season.
  • Staying in Edmonton, the organization announced Brady Stonehouse had been activated from the season-opening injured reserve and loaned back to the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s. Stonehouse will begin his fourth season with the 67’s after signing his entry-level contract with the Oilers 13 months ago. In his first three years with OHL Ottawa Stonehouse has collected 75 goals and 136 points in 200 games.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Oilers Reassign Noah Philp

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With the news of Connor McDavid’s earlier-than-anticipated return to the lineup tonight, the Oilers announced they’ve reassigned center Noah Philp to AHL Bakersfield. They’re no longer carrying an extra forward and have two open roster spots.

Philp, 26, made his NHL debut in McDavid’s absence. The Alberta native skated in all three games that Edmonton was without McDavid, centering the club’s fourth line between Corey Perry and Drake Caggiula, who was sent back to Bakersfield yesterday.

The 6’3″, 198-lb pivot didn’t look out of place, especially for a player who sat out the 2023-24 season entirely. He recorded his first NHL point, an assist, and recorded a +1 rating while averaging 10:13 per game and going 14-for-29 in the faceoff circle (48.3 FO%). The Oilers didn’t control shot attempts with Philp on the ice at even strength but did manage to come out on top in terms of possession quality, controlling 56% of expected goals.

Philp, the younger brother of Capitals minor-league forward Luke Philp, landed with the Oilers in 2022 out of the University of Alberta. He landed an NHL contract despite playing just eight combined regular-season games over the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons due to COVID-19 and injuries. Bakersfield made him a regular in the AHL lineup out of the gate, recording 19 goals and 37 points in 70 games in 2022-23.

After the season, ex-Oilers general manager Ken Holland said Philp had informed the team he was retiring due to personal reasons. However, a few days later, they issued him a qualifying offer to retain his signing rights, and Philp evidently never filed official retirement paperwork with the league. Still technically a restricted free agent this past offseason, he returned to the Oilers organization by inking a two-way deal ($775K/$90K) on July 1.

Philp earned a long look in training camp, and Edmonton waited until the day before opening night rosters were due to cut him from the roster. He got his first NHL call-up after scoring twice with a +2 rating in six games for Bakersfield to start the season. Considering he’ll remain waiver-exempt this season if he plays fewer than 60 NHL games, he’ll likely get another chance on the roster whenever another injury strikes the Oilers’ forward group.

Connor McDavid Returning To Oilers’ Lineup Ahead Of Schedule

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Oilers star Connor McDavid will be in the lineup Wednesday against the Golden Knights just nine days after he sustained an ankle injury, the team informed reporters, including Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

McDavid sustained the injury just 37 seconds into his first shift against the Blue Jackets on Oct. 28. He fell awkwardly into the boards on his left leg while attempting to cut around Columbus defenseman Ivan Provorov.

The Oilers initially said McDavid would miss two to three weeks with the injury. The earliest that timeline would have allowed him to return was next Tuesday against the Islanders. Instead, he’s back in the lineup five days and two games ahead of schedule.

An early return isn’t entirely unexpected after McDavid returned to practice earlier this week and declared himself day-to-day. Speaking with reporters on Monday, he implied he was targeting Saturday against the Canucks as a return date. However, a quick turnaround time means he’s back in to face a key divisional rival in Vegas.

Before the injury, McDavid was off to a slow start by his standards. The five-time Art Ross Trophy winner had three goals and seven assists for 10 points in 10 games, on pace for the worst point-per-game rate of his 10-year NHL career. He’s still got plenty of time to turn things around, though, and a three-game absence won’t take a bite out of his end-of-season totals too much. He missed six contests last season with various injuries and still managed to tie for the league lead with 100 assists.

McDavid, 27, will center Zach Hyman and Jeff Skinner in his return tonight, per team TV host Tony Brar. It’s a bit of a new look. He’d spent nearly all of his time with Hyman before the injury but had alternated between Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on his other wing.

The Oilers will take the help and the return of their captain as they begin to hit their stride. After dropping their first three games, the defending Western Conference champions are 6-3-1 in their past 10 and are one point back of the Blues for the second wild card spot.

McDavid never landed on injured reserve, so no transactions are required for him to return to play.

Evening Notes: Oilers, Clarke, Salary Deferrals

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The Edmonton Oilers are currently sporting the worst penalty kill in the league and the 26th ranked powerplay (as per Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic). These special teams’ issues have left the Oilers in an early season funk as the reigning Western Conference Champions have started the season 6-6-1.

Edmonton’s penalty kill has a success rate of 60%, while the powerplay has stumbled out of the gate, clicking at just 14.7%. This is a significant drop from last season when Edmonton’s cumulative total in the playoffs for the powerplay and penalty kill was 123.6. Some optimists may point to Connor McDavid’s absence as the cause of the powerplay falling off, but Edmonton had just a 13% success rate on the powerplay with him in the lineup.

In other evening notes:

  • Eric Stephens of The Athletic writes that Los Angeles Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke is living up to the billing that made him the eighth overall pick in 2021. Clarke is filling in for injured Kings defenseman Drew Doughty and has done an incredible job, despite having played just 38 NHL games to this point. The 21-year-old has a goal and 11 assists in 13 games thus far this season and has embraced the Kings’ philosophy of turning him into a complete defenseman.
  • A small trend has started to emerge in the NHL which is seeing players defer some of their salary to reduce their current cap hits. Despite the tactic being used in new deals for Carolina Hurricanes Jaccob Slavin and Seth Jarvis, NHL general managers, agents and league executives aren’t expecting much of an uptick in the application of this maneuver (as per Chris Johnston of The Athletic). Jake McCabe had the same tactic used in the five-year deal he signed last week, and despite this happening more and more, it doesn’t appear as though it will be anything more than a niche thing. Player agent Scott Bartlett of Bartlett Hockey told The Athletic that he doesn’t believe it will happen very often because it is typically not in the interest of the player to defer money.

Oilers Reassign Drake Caggiula

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The Oilers have returned forward Drake Caggiula to AHL Bakersfield, per a team announcement.

Edmonton had recalled Caggiula, 30, last week along with Noah Philp after Connor McDavid exited the lineup with an ankle injury. They had 13 healthy forwards with them both on the roster, though. Caggiula did get into the lineup twice, recording an assist and a +1 rating in a paltry 7:36 of average ice time, but he was a healthy scratch for the Oilers’ most recent contest against the Devils.

The pair of games marked Caggiula’s first in the NHL in two years. The 5’10” winger also spent last year in the Oilers organization, his second run in Edmonton after initially landing with them as an undrafted free agent in 2016. He spent the entire season on assignment to Bakersfield.

McDavid is close to a return, but Caggiula’s reassignment doesn’t indicate he’ll be back in the lineup tomorrow against the Golden Knights. Their following game against the Canucks this weekend remains a possibility. Instead, the reassignment delays the expiration of Caggiula’s temporary waiver exemption since he wasn’t going to be in the lineup tomorrow anyway, by all indications.

Before the call-up, Caggiula had two goals and three assists for five points, 8 PIMs, and a +2 rating in five showings for Bakersfield. Last season, he was among the team’s top point producers with 37 in only 43 appearances. The Ontario native has 46 goals and 92 points in 284 career NHL appearances in parts of eight seasons, most of which came during his first two and a half NHL seasons with Edmonton.

The Oilers now have one open roster spot. It’s inconsequential for McDavid’s return as he was never placed on injured reserve. Caggiula will be an unrestricted free agent next summer after completing his current two-year, two-way deal with Edmonton that pays him a $550K salary in the minors this season.

Philadelphia Flyers Acquire Ben Gleason From Oilers

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The Philadelphia Flyers have acquired defenseman Ben Gleason from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for defenseman Ronnie Attard. The swap sees a pair of AHL defensemen on the move as neither player has been able to secure a full-time NHL role to this point in their respective careers. The move is necessary for the Oilers, as their affiliate, the Condors, are short on veterans as they embark on a four-game, seven-day marathon through Canada.

At the age of 26, Gleason has spent the entirety of this season with the Oilers AHL affiliate in Bakersfield. The native of Ortonville, Michigan, has a goal and three assists in those seven games and has registered 15 shots on goal. He originally signed with the Dallas Stars as a free agent back in 2018 and played four NHL games with the Stars that year, grabbing his first NHL point on November 10th, 2018. He went on to play five seasons with Dallas’ AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, and then eventually signed as a free agent with the Oilers in the summer of 2023.

Attard was drafted by Philadelphia back in 2019 (72nd overall) and went on to play 29 NHL games in the past three years, posting two goals and four assists. The 25-year-old has dressed in 123 career AHL games with Lehigh Valley between 2022-24 and has 22 goals and 37 assists during that time.

Connor McDavid Could Return This Weekend

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There’s growing optimism within the Edmonton Oilers organization that captain Connor McDavid could return sooner than expected. Tom Gazzola of Edmonton Sports Talk reported video of McDavid skating on his injured ankle earlier this morning adding he hasn’t ruled out playing this upcoming weekend.

The Oilers originally believed McDavid would miss two to three weeks with an ankle injury but two weeks may be the maximum. The fact that McDavid is already back skating on the ice is a positive step in the right direction regarding his recovery timeline.

McDavid hasn’t played since Edmonton’s blowout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 28th. The Oilers have done as well as possible in his absence securing wins against the Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames but have two difficult games this week against the New Jersey Devils and Vegas Golden Knights. Should McDavid return this weekend in the Oilers’ contest against the Vancouver Canucks he will have only missed a total of four contests.

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Salary Cap Deep Dive: Edmonton Oilers

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office.  Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those that don’t often see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2024-25 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia.  We’re currently covering the Pacific Division, next up is the Flames.

Edmonton Oilers

Current Cap Hit: $88,224,659 (above the $88MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

None on the active roster.

Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level

D Evan Bouchard ($3.9MM, RFA)
F Connor Brown ($1MM, UFA)
D Travis Dermott ($775K, UFA)
D Ty Emberson ($950K, RFA)
F Corey Perry ($1.15MM, UFA)
F Derek Ryan ($900K, UFA)
F Jeff Skinner ($3MM, UFA)

Potential Bonuses
Perry: $250K

Skinner was somewhat of a surprising late entrant to the market after Buffalo elected to buy him out.  He found what should be a good landing spot for a pillow deal, as long as he can stay in the top six.  If he does, he could push past $4MM on a multi-year deal, closer to $5MM if he’s able to reach the 50-point mark.  Perry fit in well after joining the team midseason, earning this agreement to stick around.  At 39, it’s safe to say he’ll be going year-to-year from here on out.  Bonus-wise, he’ll make $150K at the 15-game mark while $50K depends on Edmonton winning at least two playoff rounds and playing at least half the playoff games.  The other $50K is if Edmonton makes it to the Stanley Cup Final while playing in half the games.

Brown’s cost this season is a bit misleading as the Oilers are also eating the $3.225MM in bonuses he earned last year.  But for what he’s making in salary this year, he provides good value as a depth player who showed in the playoffs that he can be a key piece.  Ryan has seen his role and production decline in recent years and he’ll be 38 before the end of 2024.  This is a roster spot they’ll need to keep cheap so it’s possible they ask him to stay on a small cut in pay.  If not, he could be a candidate for a PTO next summer.

Former GM Ken Holland really only had one option with Bouchard last summer, they had to do a bridge deal to fit within their cap structure at the time and no offer sheet materialized while he wasn’t arbitration-eligible.  The result is that Bouchard spent last season on a below-market deal and it’s the same thing this season.  However, the pendulum is about to swing the other way in a big way.  Bouchard had a breakout effort last season, averaging just over a point per game and did even better in the playoffs.  His qualifying offer will be $4.3MM next summer but it’s widely expected he’ll double that and then some, especially if the sides are able to work out a long-term deal.

Emberson was picked up from San Jose as part of the Cody Ceci deal, one that netted Edmonton some cap savings and an intriguing blueliner.  Now 24, he only made his NHL debut last season and he’ll need to get into 50 games this year for the Oilers to retain his RFA rights.  It’s possible arbitration eligibility makes him a non-tender option but failing that, a small raise into the $1.3MM range could be doable.  Dermott had to go the PTO route this year and if he stays in a reserve role, it’s quite likely he’ll stay at the minimum moving forward.

Signed Through 2025-26

F Viktor Arvidsson ($4MM, UFA)
D Mattias Ekholm ($6MM, UFA)*
F Adam Henrique ($3MM, UFA)
F Evander Kane ($5.125MM, UFA)
D Brett Kulak ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Connor McDavid ($12.5MM, UFA)
G Calvin Pickard ($1MM, UFA)
F Vasily Podkolzin ($1MM, UFA)
G Stuart Skinner ($2.6MM, UFA)
D Troy Stecher ($787.5K, UFA)

*-Nashville is retaining an additional $250K of Ekholm’s contract.

McDavid’s next contract is one that has been speculated about for several years now and discussion on that front will only pick up with him becoming extension-eligible this summer.  His current contract was a record-breaker at the time for the highest AAV.  His next one will set a new benchmark on that front and possibly could overtake Alex Ovechkin for the richest deal in league history ($124MM total over 13 years) despite the maximum length now only being eight seasons.  That would bring the cap hit to $15.5MM and while that’s a very high price tag, McDavid has led the NHL in scoring in five of the last eight years.  If Edmonton doesn’t give that type of money to him, someone will.

Kane has been effective when healthy since joining the Oilers, playing a legitimate top-six role.  Considering he’s a power forward (those players often cost a premium), the cap charge is reasonable, as long as he’s in the lineup.  He’s on LTIR right now, allowing Edmonton to exceed the cap for the time being.  Arvidsson was Edmonton’s biggest commitment in free agency, a move that came as a bit of a surprise as the veteran was a candidate for a one-year pillow deal to try to rebuild his value after an injury-riddled 2023-24 campaign.  Instead, the Oilers got him at a bit of a below-market rate assuming he’s able to produce at the second-line level he has before.  He hasn’t done that early on but they’re probably not worried about that at this point.

Henrique was expected to just be a rental pickup for Edmonton but they were able to get him to take less than he was being offered elsewhere to stick around.  Given his track record, it’s a good value contract as long as he can at least hold down a spot on the third line.  That said, that role will also hinder his open-market value two years from now.  Podkolzin was brought in to essentially fill Dylan Holloway’s roster spot following his offer sheet in St. Louis.  At this point of his career, he’s unlikely to live up to his draft billing (tenth overall in 2019) but if he can emerge as a regular in the bottom six, Edmonton will get good value from the contract and acquisition if nothing else.  He’ll be arbitration-eligible when this deal expires and depth pieces with that eligibility tend to be non-tender candidates.  On a cap-strapped team like the Oilers, they’ll need to keep this roster spot around this price tag whether it’s Podkolzin or someone else.

Ekholm has been a terrific addition to their back end since being acquired near the 2022 trade deadline.  He has helped stabilize things defensively while also showing more in the offensive zone than he did with Nashville.  That said, he’ll be 36 when his current deal expires; players that age don’t tend to get significant raises.  Instead, it wouldn’t be surprising if a three or four-year deal around this price point was the end result.

Kulak has seemingly been on speculative thin ice for a couple of years now with their cap crunch but he has remained each time.  As a third-pairing blueliner, this contract is a bit on the expensive side but with them being comfortable moving him into the top four when injuries arise, it has held up okay so far.  It wouldn’t be shocking to see him land another deal in this range (both term and price) in 2026.  Stecher has been a serviceable depth defender for several years now but as long as he’s still in more of a limited role, his price tag should continue to be around the league minimum.

It would be fair to say that Skinner has been hit or miss while on this contract with not a lot in between.  Nevertheless, at the price point of a decent backup, his overall success rate has been better than that despite a slow start this season so they’ve received good value so far.  If he can improve and play more consistently, it’s possible that he could double this price point but if he continues to be on the extreme ends of hot or cold, it’d be hard to see enough of a market emerge for him to get starter money.  Pickard had primarily been a third-string option until partway through last year which is why his contract was still quite low for a backup.  If he holds that down and is somewhat consistent, he could also possibly double this price point although Edmonton would be hard-pressed to pay that much for their second goalie.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Mattias Janmark ($1.45MM, UFA)

Janmark struggled considerably during the regular season and it looked as if they’d be moving on from him.  However, he wound up playing a key supporting role during their playoff run, giving him a boost in value heading to the open market which allowed him to get a small raise, some job security, and even some trade protection.  Assuming he stays in the same role as he has been lately, it’s hard to foresee him getting much more than this three years from now.

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