No one was quite sure what to make of the Edmonton Oilers coming into the 2019-20 season. Back in 2016-17, the team made a promising playoff run, suggested that Connor McDavid was set to take Edmonton to years of deep playoff runs. Instead, the team collapsed for two straight years, being bounced from the playoffs both years and struggling with a weak defense and a lack of top-six talent. Add a new general manager in Ken Holland and the team under new head coach Dave Tippett is back in the playoff race, beginning to look like that 2016-17 team.

Hart Trophy For Draisaitl?

McDavid may be the face of the franchise, but Leon Draisaitl has been grabbing many of the game-to-game headlines as the German center has finally moved from McDavid’s wing to center his own line and has found success. He has formed his own line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Kailer Yamamoto, which has had great success throughout much of the second half of the season. The 24-year-old who had 50 goals and 105 points a year ago, has already surpassed that point total in less games. He has 43 goals and 110 points through 71 games and is leading the league in scoring.

Could Draisaitl be joining McDavid as a Hart Trophy winner? He is 13 points ahead of McDavid who is second in the league in scoring. With the turnaround success of the Oilers, who are in second place in the Pacific Division, Draisaitl may just be the lead candidate for the trophy.

Trade-Deadline Acquisitions

The Edmonton Oilers picked up three players at the trade deadline in a hope to bolster their defense and their offense to another level. The team gave up two second-round picks in order to pick up the speedy Andreas Athanasiou, while also moving a future fifth-rounder for winger Tyler Ennis. They also moved Kyle Brodziak and a fourth-round pick to Detroit for veteran defender Mike Green.

However, the Oilers have yet to get much of a return on those investments as Athanasiou has appeared in just nine games with just one goal. Ennis has fared better with two goals and four points in nine games. Green has appeared in just two games due to injuries. The hope is all three can make significant strides when/if play resumes. However, if the season is cancelled, the Oilers will only have Athanasiou left as the other two will be unrestricted free agents and no guarantees that they will return next season.

With so few games under their belt, the learning curve for all three players could be significant as they have to learn a new coaching system and how to play with new linemates.

Loss Of A Teammate

With all the tragedy stemming from the COVID-19, the Oilers suffered a separate loss when forward Colby Cave passed away on Apr. 11 when he was placed into a medically-induced coma due to a brain bleed. The forward had appeared in 44 games with the Oilers over the past two years and he played in 11 games this year with Edmonton.

While he wasn’t a full-time player with the Oilers, he was a big part of the team and the Oilers will have to deal with that loss as a team. How the team handles it could have a big effect on how the team performs in the playoffs when/if the league gets the season re-started.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

It is with great sadness to share the news that our Colby Cave passed away early this morning. I (Emily, his wife) and both our families are in shock but know our Colby was loved dearly by us, his family and friends, the entire hockey community, and many more. We thank everyone for their prayers during this difficult time.

Oilers GM Ken Holland and team chairman Bob Nicholson also issued the following statement:

On behalf of the Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club and the Bakersfield Condors, we wanted to express our deepest condolences to the family and friends after the passing of our teammate Colby Cave earlier this morning. Colby was a terrific teammate with great character, admired and liked everywhere he played. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Emily, his family and friends at this very difficult time.

Cave was placed in a medically-induced coma on Tuesday after suffering a brain bleed overnight and underwent emergency surgery to remove a colloid cyst that was causing pressure on his brain soon after.  While the procedure was successful, he remained in a coma until his passing today.

Cave played in 67 career NHL games over parts of three seasons between Boston who signed him as an undrafted free agent back in 2015 and Edmonton who claimed him off waivers in January of 2019.  Earlier this week, his agent Jason Davidson indicated that Cave’s situation did not appear to be linked to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The entire staff at PHR joins the rest of the hockey world in sending our condolences to Cave’s family and friends.

Last night and today have been the worst days of my life. Colby is currently in surgery and they are fighting to keep him alive. We need a miracle. Please pray for my husband and best friend.

Cave’s agent also told Mark Spector of Sportsnet that his client’s condition is not related to COVID-19 and Cave was not in an accident of any kind.

12:50pm: The Edmonton Oilers have announced some terrible news today. Forward Colby Cave has been placed in a medically-induced coma and was admitted to the critical care unit at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto. Cave suffered a brain bleed overnight.

Cave, 25, came to Edmonton during the 2018-19 season from the Boston Bruins and has played in 67 games so far in his NHL career. He split the 2019-20 season between the Oilers and the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL, where he had 23 points in 44 games.

No other details on his condition have been released at this point, but the entire staff at PHR and the rest of the hockey world send our best regards to Cave and his family.

Colby Cave (Edmonton) – A year ago, it didn’t look like Cave would be in this situation.  He spent the majority of 2018-19 in the NHL, getting into 52 games between Boston and Edmonton but failed to earn a regular role with the Oilers this season.  Instead, he has played in 43 games with their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield this season and just 11 with the big club.  That leaves him 13 games shy of remaining RFA eligible.  While he won’t get there with regular season games, playoff games count as well and he’s likely to be up with them for their playoff run.  With AHL Bakersfield well out of playoff contention, he’s someone they could recall right away if they wanted to knock some games off before the postseason starts.

Mackenzie MacEachern (St. Louis) – Of the four, this is the likeliest one to get to 80 and remain a restricted free agent as long as he doesn’t get injured in the near future.  MacEachern has spent the entirety of the season in St. Louis, albeit in a limited role as he has averaged less than nine minutes a night in 48 games while spending a lot of time as a healthy scratch.  Nonetheless, he’s just two NHL games shy of 80 and with the Blues comfortably in a playoff spot, they can afford to toss him on the fourth line a couple more times to secure his rights for another season.

Michael McCarron (Nashville) – The 2013 first-round pick saw NHL action in each of his first three pro campaigns but hasn’t since then.  Instead, he has played a more limited role in the minors and a midseason trade from Montreal to Nashville hasn’t changed his fortunes much although he has nine goals in 26 games with AHL Milwaukee.  He’s ten NHL games shy of 80 but barring a rash of injuries, he’s unlikely to make it back to the NHL this season or at least play enough to reach the threshold.

Boo Nieves (NY Rangers) – This is another one that didn’t seem likely a year ago.  Nieves played in 43 games with New York in 2018-19 and did well enough that they gave him an early one-way contract extension to avoid him hitting the UFA market as a Group VI player last season.  However, he has played in just four NHL contests this year which leaves him four shy of reaching 80.  With the Rangers’ fourth line seeing limited minutes, it’s not crazy to think that they could bring Nieves up for a week or so to give him another look and ensure they keep his rights for next season.

If any of these players get to 80 total NHL games, they will be eligible for restricted free agency with salary arbitration eligibility this summer.

Earlier this month, CapFriendly compiled a complete list of players on track to become free agents early. To refresh your memory on how a player qualifies for Group VI free agency, they must meet three requirements:

1. The player is 25 years or older (as of June 30th of the calendar year the contract is expiring).
2. The player has completed 3 or more professional seasons – qualified by 11 or more professional games (for an 18/19 year old player), or 1 or more professional games (for a player aged 20 or older). This can include NHL, minor league, and European professional league seasons played while under an SPC.
3. The player has played fewer than 80 NHL games, or 28 NHL games of 30 minutes or greater for a goaltender.

The entire list of players at risk can be found below, but make sure you check out CapFriendly for more detailed information on how they could avoid the designation this summer.

*Indicates that the player could still play in enough games this season to become ineligible for Group VI free agency

Anaheim Ducks

Andrew Poturalski
Justin Kloos

Arizona Coyotes

(none)

Boston Bruins

Ryan Fitzgerald

Buffalo Sabres

(none)

Calgary Flames

Ryan Lomberg
Rinat Valiev
Jon Gillies

Carolina Hurricanes

(none)

Chicago Blackhawks

(none)

Colorado Avalanche

Antoine Bibeau

Columbus Blue Jackets

Doyle Somerby

Dallas Stars

Gavin Bayreuther
Dillon Heatherington

Detroit Red Wings

(none)

Edmonton Oilers

Colby Cave*
Shane Starrett

Florida Panthers

Danick Martel
Jack Rodewald

Los Angeles Kings

(none)

Minnesota Wild

Carson Soucy

Montreal Canadiens

Laurent Dauphin
Gustav Olofsson

Nashville Predators

Michael McCarron*

New Jersey Devils

Brandon Baddock
Dakota Mermis

New York Islanders

Jordan Schmaltz

New York Rangers

Boo Nieves*
Vinni Lettieri
Danny O’Regan
Nick Ebert

Ottawa Senators

Morgan Klimchuk

Philadelphia Flyers

Reece Wilcox

Pittsburgh Penguins

Riley Barber
Thomas Di Pauli
Adam Johnson

San Jose Sharks

Anthony Greco

St. Louis Blues

Mackenzie MacEachern*
Andreas Borgman

Tampa Bay Lightning

Daniel Walcott
Patrick Sieloff
Spencer Martin

Toronto Maple Leafs

Kasimir Kaskisuo

Vancouver Canucks

Ashton Sautner

Vegas Golden Knights

Valentin Zykov
Oscar Dansk

Washington Capitals

Liam O’Brien
Colby Williams
Tyler Lewington

Winnipeg Jets

J.C. Lipon

• The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled a pair of players, including Las Vegas native Gage Quinney. The 24-year-old forward has finally earned an NHL appearance with 32 points in 42 games so far this season, among the top producers on the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. The trade of Cody Eakin opens up a roster spot up front in Vegas for Quinney and his teammates in the minors, at least until Alex Tuch returns from injury or the Knights make a trade addition. Also returning to the top level is defenseman Zach Whitecloud, who has skated in seven games with Vegas so far this season.
• Scott Wilson is on his way back down to the minors, as the Buffalo Sabres announced that they have reassigned the veteran forward. The move is somewhat surprising, as Wilson has contributed two points in four games since being recalled earlier this month and seemingly looked like he would either stick with Buffalo for a while longer or could potentially be a candidate to be traded as an affordable depth addition for a contender. Instead, the impending free agent will head back to the AHL’s Rochester Americans, where he has 19 points in 29 games this year.
• After losing Cody Goloubef on waivers yesterday, the Ottawa Senators have promoted Christian Jaros to fill his place on the back end. Jaros, 23, played in 61 games with Ottawa last season but only six so far in 2019-20. As the Senators get set to trade away multiple pieces before the deadline on Monday, Jaros is one of a number of minor leaguers from AHL Belleville expected to see an increased role down the stretch.
• The injury-riddled Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled defenseman Gabriel Carlsson from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. Carlsson was just sent down yesterday, but the team will need him as they take on the Predators tonight without any regulars expected to return to the lineup. Carlsson, a big, stay-at-home defender, has been a good fit in Columbus as a spot starter, even if he has yet to produce a point in six games this season.
• Darcy Kuemper is taking an important step towards returning to the lineup as the Arizona Coyotes have assigned him to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners on a conditioning stint.  He has missed just over two months with a lower-body injury but was one of the top goalies in the league before being injured.  Assuming there are no setbacks, he should return to Arizona sometime next week and give them a huge boost in their push for a playoff spot.
• The Philadelphia Flyers have returned defenseman Mark Friedman to AHL Lehigh Valley, reports Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Daily News and Inquirer.  He has been shuffled back and forth in recent days and managed to get into Thursday’s game with the big club where he logged more than 16 minutes of ice time.
• With Erik Gustafsson being held out of the lineup with the trade deadline on the horizon (he won’t be joining the Blackhawks for their upcoming road game), Chicago will be recalling defenseman Lucas Carlsson from the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL, reports Mark Lazerus of The Athletic.  If he gets into the lineup, it will be his first NHL action.  Carlsson is in his second season with Rockford and has 26 points in 48 games this season.
• The Colorado Avalanche announced they have recalled forward Logan O’Connor from the Colorado Eagles of the AHL. With only 12 healthy forwards on the roster, O’Connor should provide some insurance in case of injury for the time being. The 23-year-old returns after a stint with the Avalanche in December where he played seven games with one goal. The forward has 12 goals and 25 points in 40 games with the Eagles.
• The Edmonton Oilers announced they have assigned forward Colby Cave and defenseman Evan Bouchard to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL. Cave has played in six games since being recalled on Feb. 10, but hasn’t picked up a point in that span. He has one goal in 11 games for Edmonton this season. His assignment likely indicates that Connor McDavid is ready to return to the Oilers’ lineup. As for Bouchard, the 10th-overall pick in 2018, he will have to wait to make his 2019-20 debut. He was recalled Wednesday and has been a healthy scratch twice. He is expected to play with Bakersfield on Saturday and could return to be Edmonton’s seventh defenseman on Sunday again.

• The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced that rookie center Ryan MacInnis has been reassigned to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. MacInnis, 23, has just one point in nine games with Columbus this season. The once-promising pivot looks as though his future in the NHL will likely be as a bottom-six contributor, rather than the top-six forward he was projected as when the Arizona Coyotes selected him in the second round in 2014.  His spot is being taken on the roster by top prospect Liam Foudy as his OHL team in London announced that the 20-year-old has been recalled on an emergency basis.  The 18th pick in 2018 has 43 points in 32 games with the Knights this season and can play in up to nine games without burning the first season of his entry-level deal.
• After sending defenseman Lawrence Pilut to the AHL on Saturday, the Buffalo Sabres have turned around and called him back up this morning. Pilut has been an impressive contributor for the Rochester Americans this season, but has been held off the scoreboard with Buffalo.
• Conversely, the Washington Capitals have demoted their young defender Martin Fehervary after he was recalled and added to the lineup yesterday ahead of the team’s game against the Flyers. CapFriendly reports that Fehervary is on his way back to the AHL’s Hershey Bears, where he has already logged 45 appearances this season.
• CapFriendly also reports that Edmonton Oilers forward Tyler Benson has been returned to the AHL. The promising prospect leads the Bakersfield Condors with 35 points in 42 games so far this year.
• The Vegas Golden Knights announced that oft-on-the-move forward Nicolas Roy has again been reassigned to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. The big forward has split his season between both clubs and has been a consistent contributor at both levels. At least if Roy continues to be a frequent mover next season, the trip will be shorter, as the Knights hope to bring an AHL affiliate to the Las Vegas area.
• The Athletic’s Eric Stephens relays that the Anaheim Ducks have swapped a trio a prospects. Heading to the parent club are defensemen Brendan Guhle and Josh Mahura, while forward Kiefer Sherwood will return to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. The uneven exchange and the addition of two defensemen indicates that veteran Erik Gudbranson has been moved to the injured reserve. The defensive duo should be able to fill in nicely, as they have each registered four points in a combined 29 points this season.
• With the Bruins “expecting something” from Jeremy Lauzon’s hearing with Player Safety this morning, Brandon Carlo flying to meet the team in Detroit after a personal day on Saturday, and John Moore leaving yesterday’s game in the third period, the team had more than enough reason to use an emergency recall on Urho Vaakanainen. However, the top D prospect is not expected to play after all, as Carlo and Moore are anticipated to be good to go for the matinee. Vaakanainen was sent back to Providence after the game, the team announced.
• The Detroit Red Wings have activated defenseman Mike Green off of injured reserve, according to CapFriendly, and he is playing against the Boston Bruins Sunday. Green has missed six contests with an upper-body injury. He has just eight points this season to go with a minus-27 rating.
• The Arizona Coyotes announced they have assigned defenseman Robbie Russo to the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL. Russo was recalled on Thursday to serve as an extra defenseman, but wasn’t needed and didn’t appear in a game for the Coyotes. The 26-year-old has 14 points in Tucson.
• The Edmonton Oilers announced they have recalled forward Colby Cave from the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL. Even after sending Tyler Benson down earlier today (look above), the team still had an opening on the roster, which Cave should fill. He has just one goal in five games with Edmonton this season and 10 goals in 40 games in Bakersfield.

• After last night’s win, the Carolina Hurricanes returned forwards Brian Gibbons and Clark Bishop to the AHL, as announced by the Charlotte Checkers. The duo have been on the move frequently this season and that is unlikely to change soon. With both being sent down, the Canes currently have just 12 forwards and 19 skaters on the active roster and are about to embark on a long, five-game road trip on Tuesday. They are unlikely to depart before filling at least one of their two remaining roster spots with another forward, highly likely to be either Gibbons or Bishop, if not both.
• Rookie forward J.C. Beaudin is headed back to the minors, as the Ottawa Senators announced that he has been reassigned to AHL Belleville. Beaudin, 22, has played in 15 games with Ottawa this season but has recorded one lone point. In five games with Belleville, he has also been held to just one point. The Senators would likely like to see him rediscover his scoring touch before bringing him back up.
• Joseph Blandisi is another player being demoted, as the Pittsburgh Penguins announced that the two-way veteran has been sent down to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Blandisi has split his season evenly between the NHL and AHL, but with double the scoring in the minors, unsurprisingly. Now in his fifth pro season, Blandisi has grown accustomed to splitting his time between the two levels and playing very different roles depending on the locale. A top-six forward in the AHL, Blandisi has been almost exclusively asked to play a bottom-six role in Pittsburgh, as well as with previous teams.
• The Chicago Blackhawks have made a swap, sending Anton Wedin down to the AHL and recalling Dylan Sikura. Sikura, the former Northeastern University standout, has not played in the NHL this season after skating in 33 games last year. However, he has finally earned the call as he leads the Rockford Ice Hogs with nine goals and 16 points in 22 games. Wedin, a rookie in his first season in North America, also has a nice 4-7-11 line in 17 games with Rockford but was held off the scoresheet in four games with Chicago, prompting his return.
• Austin Poganski has been reassigned to the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage, the St. Louis Blues announced. The move comes more than a week after Poganski was recalled, yet the young forward did not make an appearance in that time with the Blues. Poganski is still searching for his NHL debut, two years removed from a strong run at the University of North Dakota.
• While the Boston Bruins placed defenseman Steven Kampfer on waivers earlier today, CapFriendly also noted that the Colorado Avalanche have put forward T.J. Tynan on waivers as well. The 27-year-old career minor-leaguer got an extended run with the Avalanche this year after only appearing in three NHL games prior to that. He got 14 games in Colorado, only picking up one assist in that span. Tynan has already appeared in 377 AHL games and would be an unlikely candidate to be claimed.
• The Edmonton Oilers announced they have activated forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins from injured reserve and have assigned forward Colby Cave to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL. Nugent-Hopkins has missed the last six games with a hand injury, but will now return to the team and give their top-six a significant boost. Nugent-Hopkins has five goals and 16 points through the Oilers’ first 25 games before going down with the injury. Cave will return to Bakersfield where he has two goals and five points in 16 games.
• The Montreal Canadiens have recalled forward Riley Barber from the Laval Rocket of the AHL, according to Montreal Gazette’s Stu Cowan. The 25-year-old Barber, who signed with the Canadiens in the offseason after four years in the Washington Capitals system, leads Laval with 18 points, but has been much more impressive over the past two or three weeks and could help Montreal as a speedy fourth-line option.
• The Vancouver Canucks have returned goaltender Michael DiPietro to AHL Utica, notes TSN 1040’s Rick Dhaliwal.  He had been up as the backup while Jacob Markstrom was away from the team but with Markstrom back, he’ll go back to the Comets to get some playing time.

With Josh Archibald being ready to be activated off injured reserve, the Oilers needed to free up a roster spot.  They’ve done so by announcing (Twitter link) that center Colby Cave has been placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Bakersfield.

Cave has played in two games so far this season in a fourth line role while also serving two as a healthy scratch.  Recent signing Riley Sheahan appears to be ready to make his season debut while offseason acquisition Gaetan Haas is also in the mix as well which appears to have made Cave the odd man out.

The 24-year-old has had some success offensively at the minor league level but it has yet to translate into much success in the NHL where he has just three goals and five assists in 58 games between the Oilers and Bruins (who signed him as an undrafted free agent).  He did average over a point per game in 15 appearances with Boston’s AHL affiliate last season though.

While someone of Cave’s profile doesn’t necessarily move the needle too much, it’s worth noting that his cap hit of $675K actually sits below the league minimum.  That was part of the appeal when the Oilers claimed him a year ago and there are teams that could certainly benefit from the extra cap space, even if it’s only $25K over the course of a full season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Elsewhere around the league:

• Sportsnet’s Mark Spector relays (via Twitter) that he was once told that the Bruins would have interest in bringing center Colby Cave back if he was to be made available. Cave was put on waivers earlier today so now is their opportunity to get him.  They are carrying a full 23-man roster at the moment though so a move would need to be made to bring Cave back.  Karson Kuhlman is the only waiver-exempt forward among their 14 active forwards.
• The Islanders may once again be without a pair of veterans once again tonight. After missing Friday’s game, Newsday’s Andrew Gross reports that center Casey Cizikas is listed as doubtful for their upcoming game against Florida while defenseman Nick Leddy is questionable.  Cizikas hasn’t been skating during the week due to an unspecified issue despite stating that everything is fine health-wise while Leddy is also dealing with an undisclosed issue.
• Kings defenseman Kurtis MacDermid is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, notes Lisa Dillman of The Athletic (Twitter link). The blueliner was injured on Tuesday against Calgary in his first game of the season.  Los Angeles has been carrying eight defenders this season so they won’t need to bring anyone up while he’s out.

“I’m not panicking. We’re a good hockey club,” Tocchet said. “These guys worked hard. These are winnable games. It’s a ‘woulda, coulda, shoulda,’ and I don’t play that game. But with a little bit of push here and there for some individuals, we could be 2-0. We need everybody to push a little bit harder, but I thought generally, the team played hard.”

One thing that Tocchet is happy with is the play of the team’s first line of Clayton Keller, Derek Stepan and Phil Kessel, who have already developed chemistry together. Against Boston on Saturday, Kessell and Keller each had five shots on goal each with several close goals. What the team needs to improve is the power play which is 0-for-3 this year and that same power play, coached by new assistant Phil Housley, is just 0-for-6 on faceoffs.

“We haven’t got much set up on the zone time,” Kessel said of the power play. “I mean if you can’t set it up, you’re not going to have much success. So we’ve got to get it set up and work for each other, and hopefully get it going.”

• The Athletic’s Jesse Granger reports that the Vegas Golden Knights could get one of their injured players back soon. While he is not expected to play Tuesday against Boston, center Cody Eakin skated on his own. Head coach Gerard Gallant said that he could be ready to play after the Boston game. Eakin was expected to center the third line, but when he got hurt, the Golden Knights opted to keep Cody Glass on the roster and promoted him to the second line to center Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty, while shifting Paul Stastny to the third line. With everyone playing well, Eakin might be pushed down to the fourth line now.
• The Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins writes that the team has really missed center Riley Sheahan and the team is expecting the third-line center back in the lineup soon. With Sheahan out, Leon Draisaitl has had to take full penalty killing duties and has been averaging 26:26 of ATOI in the first two games, something that isn’t sustainable. However, once Sheahan returns, the team must decide whether to remove Colby Cave or Gaetan Haas from the lineup.
• Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma writes that the Vancouver Canucks could get back forward Tyler Motte soon. The forward was seen practicing in a contact jersey Sunday. The 24-year-old scored nine goals and 16 points in 74 games last season and has provided solid depth on the team’s bottom-six.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2019-20 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Edmonton Oilers

Current Cap Hit: $79,066,999 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Joakim Nygard (one year, $925K)
F Cooper Marody (two years, $925K)
F Kailer Yamamoto (two years, $894K)
D Evan Bouchard (three years, $894K)
F Tyler Benson (two years, $808K)
D Caleb Jones (one year, $720K)
D Ethan Bear (one year, $720K)

Potential Bonuses

Bouchard: $850K
Yamamoto: $230K
Marody: $75K
Jones: $70K
Bear: $20K

The team have a number of young players on entry-level deals, but so far while there is a ton of potential here, not one player has stepped up and established themselves as a full-time player on the Oilers roster. Yamamoto, the team’s 2017 first-rounder, was expected to provide the speed that the team needed to develop a fast-paced offense, but after 26 NHL games, he’s provided just one goal and four assists. Marody has appeared in six games with no points, while Benson, despite quite a bit of success in the AHL, hasn’t gotten a chance at the NHL level, although that’s likely to change this season. The team also has high hopes in Nygard, who is a speedy winger, who is coming off a 21-goal campaign in the SHL, but remains a mystery.

On defense, the team might get their 2018 first-round pick, Evan Bouchard, to make the team and contribute quickly, but he also must prove to the team that he’s ready for that opportunity. However, Bouchard already has seven games of experience with the Oilers (scoring one goal), while posting three goals and eight points for the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL in eight playoff games. Other defenseman might also be ready, including Bear and Jones. Bear has played two seasons now in the AHL, while Jones got 17 games with the Oilers last season and might be the most NHL-ready.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

D Darnell Nurse ($3.2MM, RFA)
F Sam Gagner ($3.15MM, UFA)
D Brandon Manning ($2.25MM, UFA)
G Mike Smith ($1MM, UFA)
F Zack Kassian ($1.95MM, UFA)
D Matt Benning (1.9MM, RFA)
F Markus Granlund ($1.3MM, UFA)
F Kyle Brodziak ($1.15MM, UFA)
F Josh Archibald ($1MM, UFA)
D Joel Persson ($1MM, RFA)
F Tomas Jurco ($750K, UFA)
F Colby Cave ($675K, RFA)

The bulk of the Oilers contracts seem to be one-year deals, which means that many players will have to prove to the Edmonton front office that they deserve a new contract. The team will likely unload the contracts of both Gagner and Manning after this season, which should free up $5.4MM of cap space. The Oilers traded for the veteran Gagner near the trade deadline and he contributed five goals and 10 points in 25 games for Edmonton, but he likely will take a bottom-line role with Oilers this season, while Manning has never been a good fit after being acquired from the Blackhawks in December last season. Smith is another veteran the Oilers have high hopes for, but the team will reassess its goaltending situation at the end of the year and whether to bring the then 38-year-old back for another season. The same can be said for players like Archibald, Granlund and Jurco.

The team will have pay up next season for Nurse, a restricted free agent, who put up career-high numbers last season with the Oilers. The 24-year-old put up 10 goals and 41 points and averaged 23:49 of time on the ice. He also blocked 146 shots, while adding 162 hits as well, making him a solid all-around player despite seeing his plus-minus drop from a plus-15 in 2017-18 to a minus-five last year. The team must decide whether to keep Benning, who will also be a restricted free agent. Benning saw his playing time drop by almost three minutes since the previous year and might lose his job to some of the team’s young defensive prospects.

The team also have a number of veteran players, who will hit unrestricted free agency, including Kassian, who saw career highs in ATOI (14:48) and goals (15) and also put up 191 hits as a bottom-line forward for the team. At 28, he could be considered an important keeper for the Oilers. Unfortunately, Brodziak’s success in Edmonton wasn’t as impressive as the veteran center averaged just 11:42 of ATOI, while scoring career low six goals and nine points.

Two Years Remaining

F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($6MM, UFA)
D Adam Larsson ($4.17MM, UFA)
D Kris Russell ($4MM, UFA)
F Alex Chiasson ($2.15MM, UFA)
F Jujhar Khaira ($1.2MM, RFA)

This could be an interesting year for Nugent-Hopkins, who has always been an excellent defensive player, but now has established himself as a solid offensive player as well with a career-high 28 goals and 69 points. However with his contract coming up in two years, the Oilers might want to decide whether he is worth handing a long-term, expensive deal to. If they aren’t ready to lock him up, the Oilers might get the most value for Nugent-Hopkins at the trade deadlines. After all, top-six centers rarely come available and considering that any team that trades for him automatically gets another full season out of him, he might become quite a valuable trade chip.

The Oilers must also decide what they want to do with two of their highly-paid defensemen in Larsson and Russell. Both blueliners receive more than 20 minutes a night, but neither provides much offensive talent and haven’t been that helpful lately on defense either and between the two of them, the Oilers are giving them $8.17MM. Larsson put up comparable offensive numbers last year, but saw his defensive numbers drop as his minus-28 plus-minus was his lowest in his career by far. Russell also had comparable numbers from the last couple of years and kept his plus-minus in the positive, but the team may look to find a taker for either of them at the trade deadline.

Chiasson earned his two-year deal after posting a career-high 22 goals last season after winning a job in training camp on a PTO. The team hopes that the 28-year-old can duplicate that season. Khaira scored just three goals last season and will have to prove that he belongs on the roster next season.

Three Years Remaining

G Mikko Koskinen ($4.5MM, UFA)

Edmonton surprised many when former general manager Peter Chiarelli signed Koskinen to a three-year, $13.5MM extension last season despite a small sample size as an NHL goaltender. Koskinen didn’t fare that well in the second half of the season after signing the extension, putting up a 3.07 GAA and a .902 save percentage, which could make this a rocky relationship if Koskinen can’t prove to Edmonton that he is a No. 1 goaltender. The 31-year-old goaltender has spent most of his career in the KHL and may not be the answer that the Oilers were hoping for.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Connor McDavid ($12.5MM through 2025-26)
F Leon Draisaitl ($8.5MM through 2024-25)
F James Neal ($5.75MM through 2022-23)
D Oscar Klefbom ($4.17MM through 2022-23)

The team has a couple of stud players in McDavid and Draisaitl and most would suggest that they are worth their contracts and they might even be bargains considering how well they were playing. Both have proven to be top-line players and they both broke the 100-point barrier last season and combining for 91 goals. The fact that both are locked up for at least another six years (seven for McDavid) shows that Edmonton already has a base of two franchise players and just need to fill out the rest of their roster with solid players who can fill out the rest of the team.

Neal is an interesting gamble by new general manager Ken Holland. The team was looking for a way to unload the untradeable contract of Milan Lucic, but managed to get the long-term deal of Neal, who is coming off 10 straight seasons of 20 goals or more, before his seven-goal performance last year in Calgary. The team hopes that the 31-year-old can prove that last year’s egg was just a fluke and the veteran can bounce back and provide some scoring on the wing for a team that really needs it.

Klefbom is another interesting defenseman, who the team hopes can improve, especially offensively. The 26-year-old managed 38 points back in the 2016-17 season, but has hasn’t been able to break 30 points since then. While his minutes are impressive, Edmonton needs to get more from one of their defensemen, who they signed assuming he would develop into a top-line defender.

Buyouts

D Andrej Sekera ($2.5MM in 2019-20 & 2020-21; $1.5MM in 2021-22 and 2022-23)
F Benoit Pouliot ($1.33MM per year through 2020-21)
D Eric Gryba ($300K in 2019-20)

Retained Salary Transactions

F Milan Lucic ($750K per year through 2022-23)

Still To Sign

F Jesse Puljujarvi

Much has already been written about the impasse between the Oilers and Puljujarvi, who has demanded to be traded because he believes he can’t become a top forward in Edmonton. Holland has received no viable offers from other NHL teams and it looks likely that Puljujarvi might have to stay overseas for a season and hope that he can develop his game overseas with Karpat of the Finnish League and come back in a year with a new sense of purpose. However, nothing has happened yet and there’s always a possibility that he opts to come back to Edmonton and tries it again. The only problem: he’s not waiver exempt anymore, meaning he must stay on Edmonton’s roster or be placed on waivers and undoubtedly would be claimed by another team.

Best Value: Draisaitl
Worst Value: Koskinen

Looking Ahead

The team has its franchise players and with plenty of cap space freeing up next season, the team might have a way to add even more talent. However, what Edmonton needs more than anything is to see some of their young talent take that next step and begin making some major improvements. The Oilers have a dearth of talent on defense that should slowly be trickling in over the next few years, but more than anything Edmonton needs scoring. While McDavid and Draisaitl cost the franchise a great deal, the team must find the wingers that can get the team back into the playoffs.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Without an AHL affiliate in 2017-18, St. Louis was forced to split their minor league prospects between several AHL teams. With limited options for play time in net, the Blues opted to leave Ville Husso with many of his teammates on the San Antonio Rampage – now the team’s new affiliate – and loaned Binnington by himself to Providence for the year. Binnington played well, but made just 28 appearances over the course of the season as the backup to the Bruins’ Zane McIntyre. More importantly, he spent the whole campaign with the team.

Could this be an advantage for Boston in their upcoming Stanley Cup clash with the Blues? It certainly won’t hurt, but the bulk of the Bruins’ regulars did not spend much time in Providence last season. Of the players to skate in at least half of Boston’s games this season, only Danton Heinen and Matt Grzelcyk suited up for Providence last season and the pair combined for just 18 early-season games. Even current Bruins reserves like Peter Cehlarik, Trent Frederic, and Karson Kuhlman (none of whom are likely to draw into the Cup Final anyway) only spent limited time playing with Binnington. And the P-Bruins’ top players from last season – Austin Czarnik, Kenny Agostino, Colby Cave – have since departed the organization.

The one outlier, and potential Stanley Cup x-factor, is defenseman Connor Clifton. Clifton played the full season in Providence last year and spent much of this season in the AHL as well. However, Clifton has jumped on the opportunity presented by injuries to Kevan Miller and John Moore and has asserted himself as a starter for the Bruins this season. Even with Moore now healthy, as well as Steven Kampfer in the mix, the rookie defenseman has held on to his spot on the right side of the team’s bottom pair. Clifton has been trusted with meaningful minutes and even recorded his first NHL goal in the Eastern Conference Final. A player on the smaller side who makes up for his lack of stature with both tenacity and intelligence, Clifton is not a player to be overlooked and his experience playing with Binnington could be key for the Bruins.

Of course, Providence head coach Jay Leach and organizational goalie coach Bob Essensa, among others, will also surely have input on Binnington. So too will former net mate McIntyre, who has served as Boston’s emergency third-string goalie in recent weeks. There’s no reason to believe that one season as the minor league backup for the Bruins will give the team all they need to totally figure out the red-hot goaltender, but Boston may have a slight advantage over other teams this postseason when it comes to beating Binnington.

Monday: The Boston Bruins have placed Colby Cave on waivers today according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, exposing the 24-year old forward to the rest of the league. Cave will be joined on waivers by Phillip Di Giuseppe, who was only recently claimed by the Nashville Predators.

Cave has played 20 games for the Bruins this season after getting off to the best start of his minor league career, and has shown enough to perhaps draw some interest from around the league. The undrafted former WHL forward recorded 18 points in 15 games for the Providence Bruins, but could only contribute five during his stint in the NHL. Still, relatively young centers that can avoid getting filled in at even strength in the NHL aren’t all that easy to come by, meaning someone could take a chance on Cave tomorrow.

For Di Giuseppe, this is nothing new. The 25-year old forward had already been placed on and cleared waivers twice this season before the Predators claimed him on his third trip, meaning he very well could slip through this time around. Obviously the Hurricanes could choose to bring him back, but either way it doesn’t look like he’ll be getting regular minutes in the NHL anytime soon.

It’s not the first time this season that the Oilers have taken a stab at a young forward on waivers, given their dramatic need for help in the bottom half of their lineup. Cave played 20 games with the Bruins this season and actually impressed many with his unending work ethic and two-way ability. The 24-year old recorded five points in those games but has also dominated the AHL level this year with 18 points in 15 contests for the Providence Bruins. There’s little reason to believe he can become a top-six forward for Edmonton, but they’ve struggled so much to create any offense outside of their top few players that even a professional fourth-liner may be an upgrade.

The Oilers have just four forwards with at least five goals this season—not counting Drake Caggiula who recorded seven before being traded away—and amazingly fewer with even 25 points. Jujhar Kaira’s 13 points puts him fifth among all forwards, a production level that is not possible for a team expecting to challenge for the Stanley Cup. Cave should immediately challenge for a full-time role in Edmonton, and could even push out some of the more veteran options.