With the NHL season now just a week away, we continue our look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come. Today, we focus on the Edmonton Oilers.
Last Season: 47-26-9 record (103 points), second in Pacific Division (lost to Anaheim in second round)
Remaining Cap Space: $8.33MM per CapFriendly
Key Additions: F Ryan Strome (trade, New York), F Jussi Jokinen (free agency, Florida),
Key Departures: F Jordan Eberle (trade, New York), F Benoit Pouliot (buyout), F Matt Hendricks (free agency, Winnipeg), F Tyler Pitlick (free agency, Dallas), F David Desharnais (free agency, New York), D Griffin Reinhart (expansion, Vegas)
[Related: Edmonton Depth Chart From Roster Resource]
Player To Watch: F Jesse Puljujarvi – While most of the eyes will still be focused on Connor McDavid no matter where the Oilers are playing, Puljujarvi should command some attention as well. The fourth-overall pick from 2016 won’t turn 20 until next May, and seems to be in a dogfight to even make the roster out of camp. Kailer Yamamoto, the team’s top pick from the most recent draft is giving Puljujarvi all he can handle as he tries to prove that he’s ready to take the next step in the NHL.
That next step is an important one, as Puljujarvi had an up-and-down season a year ago. Starting the year with the Oilers, he rarely saw enough minutes to really make an impact and was eventually sent down to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL. Once there, he slowly found his game before going on a tear to prove that he could dominate in the minor leagues. The 18-year old scored 28 points for the Condors, which actually ranked fifth among forwards despite playing in only 39 games.
The training wheels are off now though, and if Puljujarvi is to make this team he’ll have to perform. While there is no chance of him being labelled a bust this early in his career, a breakout would go a long way to helping the Stanley Cup contending Oilers reach that next level.
Key Storyline: When the Oilers committed $168MM to two players this offseason, they locked themselves into the same yearly salary cap struggles the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks have endured. While obviously both franchises have experienced immense success, they each took home their first Stanley Cup while at least one of their “Big Two” was still on a more reasonable contract. That’s this year and this year only for the Oilers, as McDavid’s record-setting $12.5MM cap hit kicks in next summer.
It’s not to say that the team won’t be able to compete once it does—Pittsburgh and Chicago have both won subsequent Cups while paying big prices—it’s that this theoretically should be one of the best chances they’ll ever have. While McDavid is sure to be among the handful of top players for the next decade, he’s already there and earning only $925K (plus bonuses) in salary. The question will be have the Oilers done enough to build a team around him for this season in order to take advantage of that.
The Oilers have $66.7MM committed to this season, and just over $60.7MM on the books for next. The difference is that this year that’s projected out from 24 roster players, while next there are only 13 under contract. The $8.33MM in cap space this year is one of their greatest assets, and no one should be shocked if they’re aggressive in-season going after rentals. While they can’t take on money for the future, they should be as close to the cap as their budget allows this year when it’s all said and done.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
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