Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Oilers Rumors

Edmonton Oilers Agree To Terms With Matt Benning

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Edmonton Oilers have agreed to re-sign defenseman Matt Benning to a two-year contract, avoiding restricted free agency with the 24-year old. Ryan Rishaug of TSN gives us the financial details, reporting that the deal will carry a $1.9MM average annual value with Benning earning $1.8MM in the first season, and $2.0MM in the second.

Benning was one of the only Oilers defensemen to take a step forward this season, and finished tied with both Oscar Klefbom and Kris Russell with 21 points despite only playing in 73 games. The former Northeastern University standout has now been a solid depth defenseman for two years, logging positive possession results and respectable point totals in just 16-17 minutes a night. While several other defenders took substantial steps backwards resulting in real struggles for the Oilers, not a lot of that can be laid at the feet of Benning who could likely have argued for an even bigger raise had given up more years. He’ll still finish this contract as a restricted free agent, giving the Oilers at least one more year of control.

It’s contracts like these that will allow the Oilers to compete in the face of huge cap hits for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Benning is a quality player that could likely take on a bit more responsibility, but is still earning a relatively low amount. The team needs to find more players like this through the college ranks or entry draft, and fill out the fringes of the roster with more talent. McDavid proved that he can’t carry the team on his back, as even with an 108-point season the team missed the playoffs badly.

For Benning, this gives him a chance to remain with his hometown team for at least another two years and compete for a bigger role going forward. While the team has been rumored to be targeting a right-handed defenseman in free agency or trade, if they can’t find it Benning might be asked to do more. The team also has Darnell Nurse still to negotiate with, which could really complicate things for the team’s defensive group. With close to $20MM now sunk into five defenders, Nurse’s deal could make the blue line for the Oilers a bit too expensive, given how they performed last season. It could also stop them from acquiring any help, unless they decide to move out one of the bigger contracts like Klefbom or Andrej Sekera. Either way, things aren’t finished developing for the Oilers and where Benning fits in is still very unclear.

Snapshots: Buffalo’s Other Picks, Faulk, Draisaitl, Honka

at CDT | by 1 Comment

While their first-round pick in next week’s NHL Entry Draft is a no-brainer, there is still a lot of decision-making in Buffalo. One key change that Buffalo Sabres general manager Jason Botterill has said he needs to make is the improvement of their drafting, most particularly, the drafting of players later in the draft, especially from the third-round and on, according to the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington.

The main reason for that is the team’s inability to get players drafted in the third round or later to contribute to the Sabres’ team. Since 2010, the Sabres have had seven goals from any player drafted in the third round or later — all from 2013 third-round pick Nicholas Baptiste.

“Those later picks show the importance of having a strong organization across the board,” Botterill said. “When you’re dealing with mid-round picks and later-round picks, it’s making sure your amateur staff brings in the right people and then having a strong developmental model.”

The team has already seen some success in Botterill’s first draft last season when he selected Casey Mittlestadt in the first round, which looks to be a solid pick. However, it’s some of their other picks that already seem to be working out as second-rounder Marcus Davidsson and third-round pick Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen are getting solid reviews after their first season since being drafted.

  • While Carolina Hurricanes’ defenseman Justin Faulk has been linked to the Edmonton Oilers many times since the NHL season ended, the Edmonton Journal’s David Staples writes that his value shouldn’t be as high as many project Faulk to hold.  The scribe writes that while the Oilers would be interested in acquiring the 26-year-old blueliner, his minus-26 rating and 12 even-strength points don’t suggest that the Oilers should be giving up a top talent or a high draft pick for him.
  • Sticking with the Oilers, rumors suggesting that the Oilers are considering trading center Leon Draisaitl are erroneous, according to Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson. The scribe writes there is no way Edmonton would trade Draisaitl, who the team signed to an eight-year, $68MM contract a year ago, not even for Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson. The 21-year-old has scored 54 goals and 147 points in the past two seasons.
  • In a separate tweet, Matheson writes that the Oilers could be interested in acquiring Dallas Stars defenseman Julius Honka, who could find himself without a spot in Dallas’ crowded defense. However, the scribe writes that Honka isn’t worth the No. 10 pick in next week’s draft. He suggests the team offer their second-round pick in hopes of acquiring the 22-year-old right-shot defenseman. Despite looking early in training camp last season as a key youngster to make the team, Honka found himself on the outside looking in as he had trouble breaking in to the team’s lineup. In 42 games last season with the Stars, the 2014 first-rounder played 13:01 of ATOI and posted just four points in limited action.

Snapshots: Islanders, Gudlevskis, Lucic, Canadiens

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The New York Islanders have made a coaching move, but not the anticipated one. Still lacking a head coach for his team, Lou Lamoriello has nevertheless made another change to the coaching staff, firing assistant Greg Cronin. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple confirmed the move, but added that no other coaching decisions have been made yet at the NHL or AHL level. Staple also had nothing to say about any of the motivations behind Cronin’s departure. Ironically, if Lamoriello was to tab Boston Bruins’ assistant Jay Pandolfo as his head coach, the Boston native Cronin would be an easy fix to replace him.

  • The Islanders have struggled in net for too long and need to make a change at goalie. That all but rules out recycling any of their unrestricted free agent goaltenders. Jaroslav Halak, Christopher Gibson, and Kristers Gudlevskis are all set to hit the open market and of the three, Gudlevskis faces the lowest chances of finding employment again in the NHL. Once a highly-regarded prospect for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Gudlevskis play in the AHL simply never reached an elite level that would have warranted an extended look at the highest level. This past season, he performed poorly and was handily outplayed by Gibson. As such, he may not have many opportunities in North America next season. It is no surprise then that Latvian news outlet OlyBet reports that Gudlevksis has had preliminary talks with Dinamo Riga, the KHL team in his native country. Gudlevskis was brought up in the Riga junior ranks and even appeared in two games with the big league team before coming overseas. Gudlevskis has never returned to Europe since and his preference would likely be to stay in the NHL, but it would be a natural fit with Dinamo if the offers don’t come from NHL teams this summer.
  • In today’s edition of TSN’s “Insider Trading”, Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger have set the record straight about the trade market for Edmonton Oilers forward Milan Lucic. It was previously believed that the Oilers were shopping Lucic in hopes of ridding themselves of his contract, but in speaking with several team executives, LeBrun and Dreger feel that is not the case. Instead, they have heard that Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli is seeking hockey trades rather than cap dump trades for Lucic. This would indicate that it is Lucic who has requested the trade and Edmonton is simply trying to oblige him.
  • One team rumored to be in on Lucic is actually out, according to LeBrun. The Montreal Canadiens, who pursued the power forward and former Bruins enforcer vigorously when he initially hit free agency, were speculated to again be interested in acquiring Lucic. The Habs could use some size up front and Lucic shared a strong rapport with coach Claude Julien when the pair were in Boston. However, LeBrun states that they are definitively “out” on Lucic.

Edmonton Oilers Re-Sign Drake Caggiula

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Edmonton Oilers have locked up one of their young forwards, signing Drake Caggiula to a two-year contract. Caggiula was scheduled to become a restricted free agent for the first time, coming off his two-year entry-level contract. Instead, he has signed on early for two years and $3MM, reports TSN’s Ryan Rishaug.

Signed out of the University of North Dakota after an excellent 51-point senior season, Caggiula shocked many by making the Oilers out of camp at the beginning of the 2016-17 season. Unfortunately a hip injury kept him out of the lineup until mid-November, when he made his presence felt with two points in his first two games. The rest of the season didn’t come as easily though, and Caggiula would end up with just 18 points as a rookie. This past season was much of the same, battling injury and inconsistency to finish with just 20 points, though his 13 goals actually tied him for fifth on the team.

Caggiula will turn 24 in just a few days and is likely close to the ceiling of what he can become as an NHL player. While he may not possess high-end offensive ability, he does have an incredible work ethic and can be a reliable player to support the more skilled Oilers forwards. Capable of playing both the wing and center, and contributing on the powerplay and penalty kill, his versatility will come in handy as the team tries to get back to a Stanley Cup contender.

Could There Be A Taker For Milan Lucic?

at CDT | by 3 Comments

  • Following a report from Thursday that suggested that the Oilers were looking to move on from winger Milan Lucic, David Staples of the Edmonton Journal believes that there may be a taker for him around the league, even if it does require some sort of inducement to get someone to take the 30-year-old. He points out that there are always teams who value size and grit and the success of Washington’s Tom Wilson in the postseason certainly shows that there is still a place for those types of players in the league.  If a trade involving Lucic was to happen, it seems reasonable to think that it would occur after July 1st as he is due a $3.5MM signing bonus on that date.

Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Nolan Vesey To Edmonton Oilers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Toronto Maple Leafs have decided that Nolan Vesey is no longer in their plans. The team has traded the rights to Vesey to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a conditional 2020 seventh-round drat pick. Vesey recently finished his fourth year at the University of Maine, and would have become an unrestricted free agent if he’d not signed by August 15th. Luckily the Oilers took care of that, immediately agreeing to terms with the forward to a two-year entry-level contract.

Vesey, 23, was selected in the sixth round in 2014 but was mainly seen as a way to influence his brother Jimmy Vesey’s decision after leaving school. The older Vesey, who now plays for the New York Rangers, was already rumored to be waiting out his entire college career to reach free agency instead of signing with the Nashville Predators. The Maple Leafs also hired Jim Vesey, father of the two forwards, who still works for the team as an amateur scout. While we’ll likely never know if that was their sole intention when drafting the younger Nolan, it never seemed likely that they would sign him after his brother chose the Rangers in the summer of 2016.

Now Vesey will start his professional career with the Oilers organization, after another solid-if-unspectacular season at Maine. With 25 points in 37 games Vesey actually set a career-high in scoring, but those numbers apparently still weren’t impressive enough to intrigue the Maple Leafs. More likely to spend his career in the minor leagues, he still brings size and a bit of goal scoring ability to the Edmonton system. He’ll suit up for Bakersfield next season and try to prove that he can produce at the next level.

For Toronto, if the conditions are met—which seems likely now that Vesey has agreed to terms—they can recoup some of their losses from the sixth-round selection. Though a seventh-round selection isn’t much, they would have received nothing had they let Vesey walk in free agency this summer. Now they can at least take another swing at the draft in a round that has actually provided a bit of talent for the club in recent years. Garret Sparks, Viktor Loov, Andreas Johnsson were all selected in the seventh, not to mention Carl Gunnarsson who has played 556 NHL games after being picked 194th in 2007.

Edmonton Oilers Sign Patrick Russell To One-Year Contract

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Edmonton Oilers have inked one of their pending restricted free agents, signing Patrick Russell to a one-year deal. The 25-year old Russell played for the Bakersfield Condors this season, scoring 27 points in 68 games. Though not specified, one can assume that Russell is signing a two-way contract, since he has still yet to make his NHL debut, and as such will be eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency next summer should he fail to play in 80 games with the Oilers in 2018-19.

Russell was born and played in Denmark for much of his junior career, before heading to Sweden and eventually making his way over to the USHL and NCAA. After playing two years for St. Cloud State the winger decided to sign his first professional contract, joining the Oilers system in spring of 2016. In two years with the Condors, Russell hasn’t been able to find the same offensive success he had in college but has still done enough to earn a new deal.

The Oilers now have nine restricted free agents left to sign this summer, two of which we looked at in closer detail here. Ryan Strome and Darnell Nurse represent some big decisions for Edmonton, but even players like Russell require quite a bit of work to get under contract.

Edmonton Oilers Trying To Rid Themselves Of Milan Lucic

at CDT | by 28 Comments

When the Edmonton Oilers signed Milan Lucic to a seven-year, $42MM contract in the summer of 2016, he was expected to bring a big, tough presence to a team that had lacked it in the past. The power forward had been a 30-goal scorer in the past, and was still in his late-twenties and expected to be effective for several years. Today, as Lucic celebrates his 30th birthday, speculation has risen about his future in Edmonton.

On Edmonton radio today, Frank Seravalli of TSN reported that the Oilers are talking to other teams to try and trade Lucic and get rid of his contract:

My understanding, and the reason that Milan Lucic is on our [TSN Trade Bait] list, is from my understanding they’re trying and talking to teams about potentially taking another contract back—even if that means sweetening the pot with a pick or some other roster player in order to make it happen—they’re pushing, or at least doing their due diligence and working to move on from Milan Lucic if they can. I just don’t know if it’s going to happen with that much term left, it’s going to be a really tough one to do.

Lucic is coming off the worst full season of his career, with just 10 goals and 34 points in 82 games. Though still able to protect the puck and help his team out through the neutral zone, Lucic looked a step behind the play at times and unable to really assert himself in the offensive zone. His minutes were reduced in the latter part of the season, averaging just 13:41 in his final 15 games.

The Oilers could perhaps have an ace up their sleeve if they are truly trying to trade the big winger. On July 1st, Lucic is owed a $3.5MM signing bonus on what was a front-loaded contract, meaning any acquiring team will only need to pay him $22.5MM over the last five years of the contract. Though his cap hit of $6MM is still troublesome for several clubs in the league, a team with ample space might be more amenable to a player earning an average of just $4.5MM over the next several years. If the Oilers were to retain salary in the transaction, they could reduce that number even more.

There is of course the chance that Lucic bounces back from his terrible season. He hadn’t posted a full season without at least 42 points since his rookie year in 2007-08, and had scored 23 goals as recently as 2016-17. Though he may not be the high-end scoring player he once was, an effective third-line player for less than $4.5MM doesn’t seem so bad. If Edmonton can find a team that is willing to take on the money in exchange for that “sweetened pot,” perhaps there is a deal to be made. Otherwise, they’ll have to hope for that bounce back season on their own, and try to fit Lucic into a roster that desperately needs to get back to the playoffs in 2018-19.

Oilers RFA Braden Christoffer Signs AHL Deal With Bakersfield

at CDT | by 5 Comments

  • Oilers pending RFA winger Braden Christoffer has signed a one-year contract with their minor league affiliate in Bakersfield, the AHL team announced. Christoffer was signed as an undrafted free agent by Edmonton back in 2015 but has yet to make it past the AHL.  This past season, he had 15 points along with 96 penalty minutes in 63 games with the Condors.  This makes it likely that he will not be qualified by the team in advance of the June 25th deadline.

Free Agent Focus: Edmonton Oilers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Free agency is now a little less than a month away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  Here is a breakdown of Edmonton’s free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agents: F Ryan Strome – When GM Peter Chiarelli and the Oilers decided last summer that Jordan Eberle had to be moved out because of his high-priced contract, the eventual return was the underperforming but talented Strome. The team enjoyed a $3.5MM cap cut, while hoping that the 24-year old forward could find his footing in Edmonton. After all, Strome was a fifth-overall pick who had scored 17 goals and 50 points in 2014-15, and could perhaps be relied upon as a long-term option down the middle.

Now, after another disappointing season where Strome’s below average skating was exposed on a team that lacked speed, and he struggled to maintain any kind of offensive consistency at center or the wing, there’s some uncertainty about where his future lies. As a restricted free agent, he doesn’t have a great case for a substantial raise over the $2.5MM cap hit he carried each of the last two seasons. After scoring just 34 points in 82 games—an even worse pace than his final year in New York—it’s not clear if he’s part of the problem or can still be part of the solution in Edmonton. He certainly won’t cost as much as Eberle’s $6MM cap hit in 2018-19, but neither side may look for a contract that stretches far beyond next season.

D Darnell Nurse – Perhaps the biggest problem in Edmonton this year was that several of their defensemen took substantial steps backwards, but one can’t really say that about Nurse. The 23-year old set career highs in games played, minutes played, goals, assists, points, +/-, penalty minutes, shots, hits and blocks, essentially leading the entire Oilers defense corps in nearly every category. He followed that with a big role on Canada’s IIHF World Championship team, and looks ready to blossom into the player Edmonton was hoping for when they selected him seventh-overall in 2013.

Still, it’s not clear exactly how long a contract the Oilers can afford to give their young defenseman. With so much money tied up in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the team has to be careful how they spend the rest of their cap. Nearly $20MM of the remaining funds are already committed to Andrej Sekera, Oscar Klefbom, Kris Russell and Adam Larsson for the next three seasons, meaning any deal buying out unrestricted free agent years for Nurse is likely too expensive to take on right now. That still leaves plenty of room for a short-term deal, but he’s the one heading into negotiations in a position of leverage after a career year.

Other RFAs: F Anton Slepyshev, F Iiro Pakarinen, F Drake Caggiula, D Matt Benning, F Braden Christoffer, D Ben Betker, F Patrick Russell, F Kyle Platzer

Key Unrestricted Free Agent: F Mike Cammalleri – A few seasons ago, the idea of Cammalleri walking in free agency might be a big story. Now, the veteran forward is just hoping for another contract. Cammalleri came to the Oilers in a midseason swap with the Los Angeles Kings, and found some of his old offensive juice for the team. With 22 points in 51 games he was relatively effective, and cost them very little in terms of salary. That could be a reason to bring him back on another incentive-laden contract, but there are likely bigger fish to fry in the coming weeks, as the team prepares for the draft and negotiates with the above listed RFAs.

Cammalleri will turn 36 in just a few days, and isn’t by any means a necessary piece for the Oilers to bring back. After agreeing to a $1MM contract with $200K in performance bonuses last season, he may be even less expensive if they decide his experience is worth the money and roster spot in 2018-19.

Other UFAs: D Yohann Auvitu, G Laurent Brossoit, F Brian Ferlin, D Mark Fayne, D Dillon Simpson, D Joey LaLeggia, F Grayson Downing

Projected Cap Space: It’s never a good thing when a team that missed the playoffs doesn’t have a lot of cap space, but that’s the situation the Oilers find themselves in. With just around $15MM in projected cap space for next season depending on where the upper limit lands, they won’t have a ton of space to find upgrades after re-signing their restricted free agents. That, and the lack of success despite another fantastic season from McDavid, is a reason why Edmonton is linked to nearly every rumored player on the market at one point or another.

There have been rumors in the past about Ryan Nugent-Hopkins potentially being available as the team looks to clear money, but after finding a home alongside McDavid on the top line he likely is now off limits. If the team could find a taker for Milan Lucic or one of their aging defensemen they likely would jump on the opportunity, but it won’t be easy. Chiarelli and his staff also need to prepare for their upcoming goaltending conundrum, as Cam Talbot and the newly signed Mikko Koskinen are unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2019.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top