Salary Cap Deep Dive: Edmonton Oilers
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. 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 see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2023-24 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 CapFriendly.
Edmonton Oilers
Current Cap Hit: $83,117,240 (under the $83.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Philip Broberg (one year, $863K)
F Dylan Holloway (one year, $925K)
Potential Bonuses
Broberg: $850K
Holloway: $650K
Holloway was certainly eased into NHL action last season as he averaged less than ten minutes a game, not necessarily ideal for an offensive-minded player. This year, the early usage is similar but they’re hoping he’ll work his way into a bigger role eventually. As things stand, he’ll be hard-pressed to reach his bonuses and is almost certainly heading for a short-term bridge deal next year that will get him a small raise but not much more.
Broberg is following a similar path as Holloway. He saw semi-regular action with the Oilers last year but in a very limited role with this season following the same trajectory to start. Again, that makes his bonuses unlikely to be reached (which is notable given how tight to the cap they are now) and puts him in line for a low-cost bridge deal as Edmonton has done with several others coming off their entry-level deals recently.
Signed Through 2023-24, Non-Entry-Level
F Connor Brown ($775K, UFA)
D Vincent Desharnais ($762.5K, RFA)
F Adam Erne ($775K, UFA)
F Warren Foegele ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Mattias Janmark ($1MM, UFA)
Potential Bonuses
Brown: $3.225MM
Brown’s contract is the cheapest on paper but will cost them the most as that bonus payout is payable once he gets to ten games played. Barring injury, he’ll get there less than two weeks from now. The pickup was a bit of a gamble since he was coming off ACL surgery but there was definitely an upside play to it. He’ll need to show that he’s healthy and productive to have a shot at commanding that much guaranteed money on a multi-year deal next summer.
Foegele has been a subject of trade speculation for a while thanks to his contract. For a third-liner, it’s not an overpayment but with their cap situation, it has been wondered if it’s a premium they can afford. With the crunch on contracts for depth players in recent years, it’s unlikely there’s a big raise coming his way but a similar-sized multi-year deal should be doable. Janmark cleared waivers last season but wound up playing a regular role most nights but is in that replacement-level range which makes it difficult for him to command much more than this bearing a breakout year. Erne just signed earlier this week on a two-way deal, a sign that his market wasn’t the strongest either.
Desharnais is a late-bloomer but is basically a sixth or seventh defender at this point of his career. His value to Edmonton is the below-minimum contract. As things stand, he might garner enough interest to get close to the $1MM mark next summer but will need to be in the lineup more often than not to have a shot at that.
Signed Through 2024-25
D Evan Bouchard ($3.9MM, RFA)
D Cody Ceci ($3.25MM, UFA)
F Leon Draisaitl ($8.5MM, UFA)
F Ryan McLeod ($2.1MM, RFA)
F Derek Ryan ($900K, UFA)
Technically, Draisaitl is the second-best threat on the Oilers but that certainly doesn’t mean that he’d be a second option elsewhere. On most teams, he’d be their top-line center and their go-to scorer. Edmonton has benefitted significantly with his contract, one that is significantly below market. He has been one of the top scorers in the league in the past decade (second only to his teammate) and between that and the fact he plays a premium position, Draisaitl is in a position to command a record-setting contract on the open market, ahead of the $13.25MM that Auston Matthews received earlier this year from Toronto. However, if he wants to stay in Edmonton, it seems like he might have to settle for a bit less than that.
McLeod is one of the players who had to take the cheap one-year deal coming off his entry-level pact although that swung the leverage hammer to him as he had arbitration rights this summer. He improved on his numbers from 2021-22 despite playing in 14 fewer games which helped him jump past the $2MM mark. If he continues to improve, his value could be closer to $3.5MM next time around. Ryan receiving a two-year deal was a surprise considering he turns 37 in December. If he gets another contract, it’ll be around this price tag while Edmonton will be looking to keep this roster spot as close to the minimum as possible.
Draisaitl shouldn’t be the only big-ticket deal Edmonton will have to contend with in 2025. Bouchard had a breakout second half and a strong playoff performance, making his bridge deal more expensive than the Oilers likely expected. If he continues on that trajectory, he could more than double his current price tag on his next deal. Ceci’s second season with Edmonton wasn’t as good as his first but he still held down a top-four role. As long as that’s the case, they’ll get decent value but history has shown he’s typically better off in the fifth spot on the depth chart which doesn’t help his open-market value which, at this point, is probably close to what he’s making now.
Signed Through 2025-26
D Mattias Ekholm ($6MM, UFA)*
F Evander Kane ($5.125MM, UFA)
D Brett Kulak ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Connor McDavid ($12.5MM, UFA)
G Stuart Skinner ($2.6MM, UFA)
*-Nashville is retaining an additional $250K per season on Ekholm’s contract.
McDavid had held the record for the highest AAV in NHL history until Nathan MacKinnon passed that this year. It certainly feels like it’s only a matter of time before he reclaims that title, potentially passing Draisaitl to re-take the crown. A three-time Hart Trophy winner as NHL MVP, McDavid has led the league in scoring in three straight years and five out of the last seven. He plays a premium position and he’ll only be 29 when his next contract begins. That means a max-term deal (eight years if he re-signs, seven if he was to go elsewhere) is basically a lock. As is the case with Draisaitl, if the two want to stay together in Edmonton, McDavid will also need to leave money on the table to do so given their cap situation.
Kane impressed after joining Edmonton midway through the 2021-22 campaign and was off to a good start last year before being slowed by a lacerated wrist. If he can get back to that level of performance, they’ll do well with this deal but it’s fair to say that he has struggled out of the gate. He’ll be 35 when this deal is up so he might be hard-pressed to beat this contract at that time.
Ekholm has been a steady 30-point defender who logs heavy minutes for basically the better part of the last eight years. He’s not a number one option but a capable number two or a high-end number three. This contract falls in line nicely with either of those two roles, for now at least. He’ll be 36 in the final season so that could be a small concern given his heavy workload. Again, with his age, it’s difficult to see him beating this price on his next contract. Kulak does well in a limited role but while he can handle top-four minutes, he often struggles with the extra workload. That makes this contract a bit on the expensive side and if they need to try to trim more from their payroll, Kulak could be a strong candidate to be the cap casualty.
Most of Skinner’s first full NHL season went quite well. He was an All-Star and it looked like they had an in-house solution to their long-term goalie struggles. The playoffs were another story as he struggled mightily and his first few outings this year haven’t been the greatest. With the current backup market, as long as he’s a league-average option, they’ll get a reasonable return so this contract should hold up relatively well over time.
Atlantic Notes: Johnson, Guhle, Van Pottelberghe
Sabres defenseman Erik Johnson told Peter Baugh of The Athletic (subscription link) that there were three or four other teams that had “intense talks” about a contract for him this summer with his former team in Colorado not being among those once the bidding started to go up. The 35-year-old inked a one-year, $3.25MM deal of the opening day of free agency, a surprising price tag for someone who had just eight assists in 63 games last season. Johnson already has a goal with his new team but is logging a career-low 15:13 per night this season.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle will return to the lineup tonight after missing the past four games with an upper-body injury, the team announced (Twitter link). The 21-year-old is in his second NHL season and logged more than 20 minutes a night in his rookie campaign. With David Savard out of the lineup for at least the next six weeks, Guhle is likely to play a big role once again for a while. Gustav Lindstrom will be a healthy scratch to make room for Guhle’s return.
- Red Wings prospect Joren van Pottelberghe is expected to sign a three-year deal beginning next season with HC Lugano in the Swiss League, reports Watson’s Klaus Zaugg. The 26-year-old was a fourth-round pick back in 2015 (110th overall) but has yet to sign with Detroit. As the NHL doesn’t have a direct player transfer agreement with Switzerland, the Red Wings will continue to hold his rights indefinitely. He has a 2.49 GAA and a .914 SV% over parts of eight seasons in Switzerland’s top division so it’s possible Detroit will want to bring him over one day but that might be a little further down the road now.
Connor Clifton Receives Two-Game Suspension
12:30 PM: The verdict is in for Clifton and the Department of Player Safety announced (video link) that Clifton has received a two-game suspension. He’ll be eligible to return on Friday in the back half of a home-and-home set against Philadelphia. From the video:
Clifton finishes a high, hard check that cuts in front of Hischier’s core making his head the main point of contact on a hit when head contact was avoidable… If Clifton wants to deliver this hit, Clifton must stay low and choose an angle that hits through Hischier’s shoulder and core, rather than one that makes the head the main point of contact.
9:20 AM: Following a hit that saw him ejected from last night’s game in New Jersey, the league announced that defenseman Connor Clifton will have a disciplinary hearing today.
With just over four minutes remaining in the first period, Clifton hit Devils center Nico Hischier up high near the boards and, after video review, was assessed a match penalty for an illegal check to the head. That carries an automatic league review and upon that review, they’ve determined to proceed with a hearing.
Hischier missed the rest of the period, came back for the second, but did not return. Following the game, head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters including Ryan Novozinsky of the Newark Star-Ledger that they decided to hold out the captain for precautionary reasons and will re-evaluate him today.
The Sabres are back in action on Sunday against Colorado so any suspension, if one is coming, will need to be announced by then. Clifton has not been suspended previously in his NHL career.
Sabres Recall Devin Cooley; Eric Comrie Out Week-To-Week
The Sabres have been carrying three goalies on their roster all season long but injuries have struck, resulting in them needing to bring up another one as the team announced that they’ve recalled Devin Cooley from AHL Rochester.
The recall was needed with Eric Comrie exiting yesterday’s game against New Jersey in the second period with a lower-body injury. GM Kevyn Adams told reporters including Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News (Twitter link) that Comrie will be out on a week-to-week basis.
Meanwhile, opening night starter Devon Levi has only skated once in the last nine days as he’s dealing with a lower-body issue of his own; Adams indicated that they’re hopeful that he can return to practice on Tuesday. Buffalo also has veteran third-stringer Dustin Tokarski under contract but he suffered an upper-body injury during training camp that he hasn’t recovered from so Cooley is the next player up.
The 26-year-old is in his first season with the Sabres organization after spending the last three seasons in Nashville’s system. He has played in four games with the Americans this year, posting a 3.46 GAA with a .903 SV%. Cooley is set to serve as the backup to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for Buffalo’s next game on Sunday against Colorado.
Hurricanes Assign Dylan Coghlan To The AHL
The Hurricanes have made a roster move, announcing that they’ve assigned defenseman Dylan Coghlan to Springfield of the AHL. As Carolina doesn’t have its own affiliate, they’ve loaned him back to St. Louis’.
The 25-year-old showed some upside a couple of years ago with Vegas, eventually making him the incentive that Carolina received for taking on the final year of Max Pacioretty‘s contract back in July 2022. However, Coghlan didn’t play much last season, suiting up just 17 times while being a healthy scratch the rest of the way. That likely played a role in him clearing waivers earlier this month.
Coghlan had been recalled earlier in the week when Brett Pesce went down but he still didn’t see any action with the Hurricanes. He has suited up five times for the Thunderbirds so far, picking up a goal and an assist, and will now have a chance to add to those numbers.
For the time being, Carolina has just six healthy defensemen on the roster which is unlikely to be the case for too long. However, they’re now off until Monday night so they can wait until then to announce a recall whether it’s Coghlan or someone else. In the meantime, clearing Coghlan’s $850K off the books – even if it’s just for a couple of days – will give Carolina a little bit of extra cap flexibility to work with.
Bruins Place Milan Lucic On LTIR, Recall Oskar Steen
The purpose for Boston’s paper transactions that were made last night (the recalls of Jakub Zboril and Mason Lohrei) has now been revealed. The Bruins announced that winger Milan Lucic was placed on LTIR, meaning he’ll miss at least 10 games and 24 days. Taking his place on the roster is center Oskar Steen.
Yesterday’s recalls (which have since been reversed) got the Bruins within roughly $82K of the cap ceiling; the gap between that and Lucic’s $1MM cap hit is how much LTIR room they created. That wasn’t enough space for them to bring up two players but it gave them more flexibility in who they could afford to recall.
Lucic is dealing with a lower-body injury that was originally expected to keep him out for a couple of weeks. This timeline is a bit further out but is arguably more beneficial for Boston as it allows them to get Steen onto the roster as a replacement player. The 35-year-old is in his first season back with the Bruins after signing with them in the summer and he was off to a decent start with two assists and eight hits in his first four games before the injury. He’ll be eligible to return on November 18th against Montreal, relays Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic (Twitter link).
As for Steen, the 25-year-old has made 26 appearances at the top level over the past three seasons, notching three goals and four assists along the way. He cleared waivers earlier this month and has averaged a point per game in his first five appearances with AHL Providence this season.
Alexander Barabanov Placed On Injured Reserve, San Jose Sharks Recall Ryan Carpenter
10/26/23: The Sharks have announced that Barabanov has been placed on injured reserve. In a corresponding move, the team has recalled veteran forward Ryan Carpenter to fill Barabanov’s spot on their roster.
Carpenter, 32, is a versatile and experienced depth forward who brings over 300 games of regular-season NHL experience and some playoff experience to boot.
10/25/23: It has been a rough start to the season for the Sharks as they are winless through the first six games. They’ve also had a rough start on the injury front with Mikael Granlund injured in the season opener and Logan Couture yet to suit up. Now, they’re down another key forward as head coach David Quinn told San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng that Alexander Barabanov will be out for a while; Peng reports that the winger sustained a broken finger.
The injury occurred near the end of Tuesday’s loss to Florida after a sequence that saw him block a high shot before taking two hits in quick succession.
Barabanov is off to a tough start himself as he has been held off the scoresheet for the first six games of the season, an unexpected outcome considering that he was coming off a career year that saw him record 47 points in 68 games. The timing of the slow start plus the injury is hardly ideal as the 29-year-old is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
San Jose was carrying 13 forwards on their active roster prior to this news so they don’t necessarily have to make a move; Quinn noted to Peng that they won’t make a recall right away. For now, Givani Smith figures to slot into the lineup or they could go with seven defenders. But with Granlund recently suffering a setback in his recovery according to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News, it stands to reason that the Sharks may want to bring up another forward at some point in the coming days.
Bruins Recall Patrick Brown
Oct. 26: Per the AHL transactions log, Brown is right back up on Boston’s NHL roster. It’s unclear why Brown’s stint in the minors was so short-lived.
Oct. 25: It hasn’t been the best of starts to Patrick Brown’s tenure with Boston. He passed through waivers unclaimed at the end of training camp but managed to stay on the roster to start the season. Now, per the AHL’s transactions log, he has been assigned to AHL Providence.
The 31-year-old split last season between Philadelphia and Ottawa, notching a dozen points in 61 games between the two teams. A physical fourth liner, he earned himself a two-year, one-way deal this summer as the Bruins rebuilt their forward depth with the hope he’d be a regular on their fourth line. But he has been scratched three times already and logged just 9:30 per game.
It’s worth noting that Danton Heinen remains on a PTO with the Bruins; freeing up Brown’s $800K cap charge by assigning him to the minors would open up the cap room for them to convert that tryout into a full contract as soon as Thursday once the 1 PM CT waiver period passes. The assignment would also get him playing a bit more regularly so that he’ll be better suited to contribute if and when injuries arise. If he suits up in Providence, it will be Brown’s first AHL action since the 2020-21 campaign.
Flyers Assign Emil Andrae To Minors; Recall Louie Belpedio, Victor Mete
Oct. 26: The Flyers have confirmed the move this morning, also announcing they’ve recalled defensemen Louis Belpedio and Victor Mete from Lehigh Valley. Recalling the two veterans will give them an extra defenseman on the active roster.
Oct. 25: Earlier this week, Flyers head coach John Tortorella told Jeff Neiburg of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he wasn’t sure if their current approach with defenseman Emil Andrae was the best for his development. It appears a decision has been made on that front as CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that Philadelphia has assigned the young rearguard to AHL Lehigh Valley.
The 21-year-old originally started the year rotating games with Yegor Zamula but with Marc Staal now set to miss the next six weeks or so with an upper-body injury and Rasmus Ristolainen having a setback in his recovery from an undisclosed injury, both youngsters have been in the lineup for the last couple of games. Rather than continue using Andrae in limited action – he’s logging just 13 minutes per game – the decision has been made to get him more playing time with the Phantoms. He only played in ten games there late last season after spending most of the year in the SHL.
At the moment, Philadelphia has just five defensemen on its active roster but, with an extra forward, they’re still compliant with the minimum roster requirements. The Flyers are back in action on Thursday, however, so someone will need to be recalled. Ronnie Attard, Adam Ginning, and Victor Mete were among their final cuts earlier this month which could have one of them poised to get the promotion.
Five Key Stories: 10/16/23 – 10/22/23
The beginning of the NHL season was full of big signings. This past week didn’t have any of that as instead, it was headlined by plenty of injuries.
Out For The Year: After having a breakout season that was still limited by injuries, hopes were high for Canadiens center Kirby Dach this year. However, his campaign came to an early end as he suffered a season-ending torn ACL and MCL last weekend against Chicago. He will undergo surgery once the swelling subsides. The 22-year-old had a career-best 38 points last season despite only playing in 58 games, a decent first impression after being acquired from the Blackhawks at the draft. He’ll have to wait a while to make his second impression now.
Extension Progress: Noah Hanifin’s willingness to sign an extension in Calgary (or perceived lack thereof) has been a key discussion point for several months now. At one point, it looked like he wasn’t interested, then he was, then he wasn’t again. Now, a report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggests that Hanifin is indeed willing to work on a new deal and that some progress has been made on that front. The 26-year-old has been a reliable part of the back end for the Flames for the past five seasons (plus the first couple of weeks of this year) and is set to earn a considerable raise on his current $4.95MM AAV.
Four For Andersson: Still with Calgary, the first notable suspension of the 2023-24 campaign is in the books as Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson received a four-game ban for his elbow on Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine. The hit occurred in the dying seconds of Friday’s game while Laine is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Andersson and the NHLPA have decided to appeal the ruling. Unlike in some other leagues, players can’t play while they’re appealing so Andersson sat out the first game on Sunday against Detroit. The appeal will be heard by Commissioner Gary Bettman and given how long it typically takes for a hearing with him, it’s possible the appeal might wind up primarily being to try to mitigate some of the forfeited salary of nearly $95K. If the suspension stands, the last game he’ll have to sit out is the Heritage Classic (an outdoor game against Edmonton) next weekend.
More Injuries: Another player who will likely miss the Heritage Classic is Oilers center Connor McDavid. He left Saturday’s game against Winnipeg late in the third period with an upper-body injury. The good news for Edmonton is that he won’t be out for long (just one to two weeks) but with the Oilers struggling out of the gate this season with just a single win in their first five games, McDavid’s absence won’t help matters. Meanwhile, Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi will miss the next four to six weeks with a sprained MCL. The 24-year-old was a key part of the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade this summer but was injured in just his third game of the season.
Seattle Injuries: It has been a tough start to the season for the Kraken as they have just one win in their first six games. Things are going to get harder for them with a pair of longer-term injuries on the wings. First, Brandon Tanev will miss four to six weeks with a lower-body injury. The 31-year-old was coming off a career year with 35 points while chipping in with 190 hits and will be missed on their third line. Meanwhile, Andre Burakovsky will miss six to eight weeks with an upper-body injury. The 28-year-old was productive in limited action last season with 39 points in 49 games and was being counted on to be a big part of Seattle’s attack this year. Those plans will be on hold for now. Tanev has been placed on IR while Burakovsky will be heading there soon enough as well.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.