Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Oilers Rumors

Markus Niemeläinen Signs In Germany

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Ex-Oilers defenseman Markus Niemeläinen is headed back to Europe, signing a one-year deal today with Germany’s Eisbären Berlin.

The 26-year-old was a Group VI unrestricted free agent this summer after the two-year, $1.53MM deal he inked with Edmonton in 2022 expired. The Oilers buried Niemeläinen, a 2016 third-round pick, with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors for all of last season despite his deal carrying a one-way structure.

A stay-at-home defender, the 6’6″, 190-lb Niemeläinen struggled to make much of an impact after arriving in North America in 2021. He did get an extended look in the NHL, making 43 appearances for the Oilers across the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns, but he recorded just one assist with a -2 rating, 28 shots on goal, and 143 hits while averaging 11:30 per game.

While he was involved physically, it didn’t translate into a positive defensive impact. The Oilers controlled 48.1% of shot attempts and 47.7% of expected goals with Niemeläinen on the ice at even strength in his NHL minutes, subpar numbers given his average-difficulty usage on an otherwise strong possession team.

Niemeläinen also made 120 appearances for Bakersfield in parts of four seasons stateside in the Edmonton organization, where he had seven goals and 16 assists for 19 points in 26 games with a +10 rating. The Finnish defender now lands in Germany for the first time. He does have somewhat of a résumé in the European pros, winning a Liiga championship with HPK in 2019.

Oilers Notes: McDavid, Draisaitl, Kane, Nurse

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Oilers star Leon Draisaitl doesn’t think he quite maxed out his value when signing his recent eight-year, $114MM mega-extension with the Oilers, he told Michael Russo of The Athletic.

Draisaitl and teammate Connor McDavid spoke about their recent and pending record-breaking contract extensions at this week’s NHL Player Media Tour in Las Vegas. “I don’t think I necessarily pushed my contract all the way to the limit,” Draisaitl said. “I’d like to state that. But I am very happy with it. I’m content with it. I think, compared to other sports, we probably don’t get paid what we deserve or don’t get paid what they get paid, right? But that’s the sport we’re in.”

McDavid was far more coy in his responses to questions about his next contract – he’s eligible to sign an extension starting July 1, 2025 – stating he’ll do what he feels is best for his family and his chances of winning a Stanley Cup.

But Draisaitl hopes his league-record $14MM AAV is a significant step in the right direction for high-end NHL talent. “I think each one of us, if we can bump it up and get more money into hockey and get the players some higher salaries, I think every player would probably say the same and they’d all be for it,” he told Russo.

There’s more from the Oilers:

  • Evander Kane is projected to be unavailable at the beginning of training camp, according to Tom Gazzola of Edmonton Sports Talk. It’s not a surprise – the team’s Bob Stauffer said last month that Kane was likely to have an undisclosed surgery and start the season on long-term injured reserve, likely related to the sports hernia he played through for a good chunk of last year. But nothing indicates he’s undergone the procedure yet, and Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said on a radio spot last week that they were hoping to have clarity on his return timeline by the end of next weekend.
  • Defenseman Darnell Nurse is also likely out for the beginning of camp, per Gazzola. Gazzola says that the 29-year-old is still nursing a lingering injury he sustained during last season’s playoffs but isn’t likely to miss any regular season action. He’s been on the ice this month for informal skates but doesn’t appear ready for full contact. The Oilers will be looking for a big rebound campaign from the 2013 seventh overall pick, entering the third season of an eight-year, $74MM deal.

Could Travis Dermott Be An Option For Oilers?

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

While there has been plenty of speculation surrounding the Oilers when it comes to adding a right-shot defenseman (either via PTO or a one-year deal) heading into training camp, Postmedia’s Kurt Leavins wonders if they might go a different direction.  He suggests that it might be more likely that veteran blueliner Travis Dermott could wind up in Edmonton for training camp.  While the 27-year-old is a left-shot player, he can play on the right side and he played for head coach Kris Knoblauch in his junior days with OHL Erie while Jeff Jackson, Edmonton’s CEO of Hockey Operations, used to be his agent.  Dermott played on a two-way deal last season with Arizona, picking up seven points in 50 games while logging over 17 minutes a night.

Notes On Connor McDavid’s Next Contract

at CDT | by 5 Comments

The Edmonton Oilers got a major piece of work done earlier this week by signing forward Leon Draisaitl to an eight-year, $112MM contract to keep him in Alberta through his age-37 season. They will have to visit a similar situation in a year with captain Connor McDavid as he will be eligible to sign an extension with the Oilers on July 1, 2025.

McDavid may very well break Alex Ovechkin’s record of $124MM total salary on his next deal as the expectation is that he will become the highest-paid player in the league at the very least. The salary cap for the 2025-26 NHL season is expected to land around $92MM which would theoretically allow Edmonton to pay McDavid a maximum of $18.4MM a season. McDavid would only have to receive $15.5MM a year over an eight-year term to match Ovechkin’s record.

It doesn’t sound like McDavid is interested in receiving the maximum 20% of the total cap as he avoided that salary during his last negotiations with the Oilers. On his most recent episode of the ’32 Thoughts’ podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said, “The story I always heard about Connor McDavid’s last negotiation, Jeff Jackson is now the President of the Oilers, he was the agent at the time, and, you know, one of the things they said was, the maximum any player can be paid at the cap is 20% and at the time, they said, we’re not going to ask for 20% and the Oilers are like, ‘Oh, Thank God.’ And because if he would have asked for 20% they would have paid it. But McDavid wasn’t interested in that“.

McDavid’s desire to win likely plays a part in his avoiding a record-setting salary up to this point. If the former sought the max salary, the Oilers would only have around 65% of their cap space left to put together a competitive team around McDavid and Draisaitl.

As much fun as it would be to see McDavid become an unrestricted free agent in two years, there is no reason to doubt his commitment to Edmonton. All signs are pointing to the Oilers extending McDavid as quickly as they can, especially after making such a strong commitment to Draisaitl. He won’t come cheap though as McDavid will likely become the highest-paid player of all time on his next contract.

DeAngelo Wanted To Attend Oilers Camp On PTO

at CDT | by 5 Comments

  • Unrestricted free agent Tony DeAngelo expressed an interest in attending Oilers camp on a PTO deal but it appears the team has said no, suggests Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. The 28-year-old is a right-shot defender, the side the team appears to be prioritizing but while he has a track record of some offensive success (with two 50-plus-point seasons), last season was a struggle for DeAngelo who managed just 11 points in 31 games while being a frequent healthy scratch.  That certainly hasn’t helped his market so far in free agency.

Four Teams Have Interest In Mark Giordano

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Score’s Kyle Cushman wrote that the Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Toronto Maple Leafs have maintained interest in veteran defenseman Mark Giordano. The oldest player in the NHL last year has spurned any interest in retirement and is again looking for an NHL opportunity next year.

He is destined for bottom-pairing responsibilities next year after averaging his lowest average time-on-ice since the 2008-09 season. He’s spent the last two-and-a-half years with the Maple Leafs organization where he’s recorded nine goals and 45 points in 144 games while averaging 18:14 a game.

Calgary represents more of a ’feel good’ landing spot as the other three interested parties have internal expectations of contentions next season. He’s spent 15 years of his career in southern Alberta where he recorded 143 goals and 509 points in 949 games including a Norris Trophy in the 2018-19 season.

He’s seen his possession quality dip in the last several years after finishing the 2023-24 season with a 48.4 CorsiFor% compared to a 53.0% career average. He’s still a formidable bottom-pairing veteran presence and could provide a bonus to any team.

At the end of his career, the expectation is that Giordano will look to maximize his opportunity to win the Stanley Cup which would trim his potential teams down to Edmonton and Toronto. Without needing to shoulder top-level responsibility anymore at this stage in his career; he should have a ready opportunity in both organizations.

Bowman: Update On Kane Should Come Within Next Seven To Ten Days

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

For the past several months, there has been plenty of speculation about the availability of Oilers winger Evander Kane (or lack thereof).  Even following a report last month that he would be undergoing surgery, there is still some uncertainty about how long he might be out for.  It appears that we should soon have some clarity on that front as GM Stan Bowman indicated on a recent Oilers Now segment (audio link) that they’re hoping to have an update on Kane in the next seven to ten days.  Kane played through a sports hernia injury for much of last season and the playoffs but still managed to put up 24 goals and 20 assists in 77 regular season appearances.  Edmonton’s roster movement this summer has positioned themselves to operate without necessarily needing LTIR so even if Kane will be out long-term, they may not choose to put him there when the season starts.

Evan Bouchard's Next Contract Could Average $10MM Per Season

at CDT | by 10 Comments

Max Bultman of The Athletic believes that the length of the Detroit Red Wings contract negotiations with Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider may have cost the Red Wings some money in the long run. Raymond and Seider remain unsigned as training camps are quickly approaching and Bultman believes that comparable contract extensions signed this summer may have only increased the asking price for both unsigned Red Wings.

Bultman cites Brock Faber’s eight-year, $8.5 million AAV contract as a potential floor for Seider’s new deal and adds that he believes both players will sign new deals before training camp and that should ease any tensions that might exist. However, Bultman does note that having two young core pieces unsigned this late in the summer might not be great for team morale.

In other evening notes:

  • Jim Matheson of The Edmonton Journal tweeted that he believes Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard could get a $10MM AAV on his next deal with the Oilers. The 24-year-old is set to count just $3.9MM against the cap next season in the second year of a two-year deal and is coming off a year in which he registered 18 goals and 64 assists in 81 games. The 10th overall pick in 2018 has matured into one of the most prolific puck-movers in the NHL in just five seasons and has not only produced in the regular season but has been elite in the playoffs as well with 13 goals and 45 assists in 53 career playoff games. If Bouchard does indeed get an AAV at that rate, it will make for a tight salary cap for the Oilers who will also have to consider a Connor McDavid extension.
  • Steven Ellis of Leafs Nation wonders if the Toronto Maple Leafs might have drafted a hidden gem in goaltender Timofei Obvintsev. The Maple Leafs selected the 6’4” Russian 157th overall in this year’s NHL entry draft and it may have been a shrewd move given that NHL teams hold Russian players’ rights indefinitely and goaltenders tend to develop slower. The 19-year-old hasn’t seen a ton of action the last two seasons, dressing in just 28 games, but scouts are raving about his quick hands and ability to direct pucks with his blocker out of harm’s way. As Ellis points out, Obvintsev is likely years away from being NHL-ready, but the team can be patient with him and give him time to develop his game.

Leon Draisaitl Signs Eight-Year Extension With Oilers

at CDT | by 32 Comments

1:09 p.m.: A whopping $104MM of Draisaitl’s $112MM total compensation will be paid via signing bonuses, PuckPedia reports. His base salary will be $1MM per season. He’ll earn $15.5MM in signing bonuses annually from 2025-26 through 2027-28. That figure drops to $13MM in 2028-29, then $11.5MM in 2029-30, then $11MM annually for the final three years of the deal.

9:16 a.m.: Superstar Oilers center Leon Draisaitl has signed an eight-year, $112MM extension to keep him in Edmonton through the 2032-33 season, the team announced. He’s now the NHL’s highest-paid player with an average annual value of $14MM, as initially reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Draisaitl has a full no-movement clause for the life of the contract, per Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. He adds the deal carries a front-loaded structure, although the specific salary breakdown has yet to be reported.

The 28-year-old Draisaitl also lands the second-largest contract by total value in NHL history, trailing only Alex Ovechkin’s 13-year, $124MM deal with the Capitals signed under the previous Collective Bargaining Agreement in 2008.

“This is a historic day for the Edmonton Oilers,” general manager Stan Bowman said in a team press release. “Leon’s commitment to our team, our city and Oilers fans everywhere cannot be overstated. His desire to help bring a Stanley Cup title home to Edmonton is central to everything he does both on and off the ice.”

While it was widely expected Draisaitl would sign a max-term extension to stay in Edmonton, few thought he’d be the first player to land a $14MM AAV. There was no guarantee he’d eclipse Auston Matthews’ $13.25MM AAV to become the new highest-paid player in the league, let alone shatter it. However, since Bowman took the GM’s office in July, extension discussions have been reportedly smooth, which, in hindsight, should have been a strong indication that the Oilers were willing to shell out record-breaking cash to keep the German star in Edmonton.

Unlike his other generational teammate, Connor McDavid, Draisaitl wasn’t an impact piece immediately upon arriving in the NHL. The 2014 third-overall pick had just two goals and nine points in 37 games during his post-draft year. He developed into a high-end top-six piece over the coming years, routinely hitting over 20 goals and 70 points, but hadn’t quite captured the aura of a superstar.

That all changed in 2018-19. While the Oilers missed the playoffs for the 12th time in 13 years, it was a proper breakout campaign for Draisaitl, who led the team in goals (50) and finished second behind McDavid in points with 105. Since that season, Edmonton has made the playoffs every year, and Draisaitl has recorded or been on pace for over 100 points in an 82-game year. A two-time year-end All-Star, Draisaitl also took home the Art Ross, Hart, and Pearson awards/trophies during the 2019-20 season after leading the league with 67 assists and 110 points in 71 games.

The Cologne-born pivot is also one of the most prolific playoff performers in league history. His 108 points in 74 postseason games work out to 1.46 P/GP, which is fourth all-time among players with at least 50 games of playoff experience. Only Wayne Gretzky (1.84), Mario Lemieux (1.61), and McDavid (1.58) have produced more on a nightly basis when the games matter most. It’s especially impressive when considering Draisaitl has played through injuries for a good chunk of the past three postseasons.

For the rest of the league, they now have certainty that the best available potential 2025 unrestricted free agent won’t hit the open market. There’s a chance he could have landed even more money per season with the salary cap expected to rise to at least $92MM for 2025-26, but the total value likely would have been smaller with a seven-year maximum.

Even after declining to match the rich offer sheets levied by the Blues for Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway last month, Bowman and the Oilers now find themselves in a seriously precarious salary cap situation for 2025-26. They already have a projected cap hit of $77.4MM, per PuckPedia, leaving them $14.6MM to re-sign pending RFA defenseman Evan Bouchard and fill at least three other roster spots (assuming a $92MM upper limit). 38.9% of next season’s spending is already dedicated solely to Draisaitl, McDavid, and Darnell Nurse.

As such, the Oilers’ directive to win a championship in the Draisaitl/McDavid era is clearer than it’s ever been in 2024-25. After falling one game short of their first Stanley Cup in over 30 years a few months ago, they’ll need to retrace their steps and find their way back to the Cup Final.

They’ll be able to score their way there after reloading offensively by adding names like Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner in free agency. However, question marks will remain on defense outside of their star pairing of Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm. There isn’t a ton of stability behind them, and while trade acquisition Ty Emberson should be a cost-effective replacement for Cody Ceci, declining play from Nurse is a significant concern.

Draisaitl will play out 2023-24 under his previous contract, earning $8MM in actual salary in the final season of the eight-year, $68MM deal he signed coming off his entry-level contract in 2017.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Former Oilers Goaltender Mikko Koskinen Officially Retires

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Former Edmonton Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen officially retired from his playing career last week (as per Finnish media outlet Ilta-Sanomat). There were whispers earlier in the year that he would hang up his skates, but it has been made official. The 36-year-old began his career as a second-round pick of the New York Islanders in 2009 and played just four NHL games with the organization, playing mostly overseas before eventually signing as a free agent with the Oilers in May of 2018.

He was okay in his first full NHL season, dressing in 55 games and posting a 25-21-6 record with a .906 save percentage. This prompted then Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli to sign the Finnish netminder to a three-year $13.5MM contract extension.

The first year of the deal went well for both sides as Koskinen posted a .917 save percentage in 38 games and looked like a legitimate NHL netminder. However, after the success of the 2019-20 season, the wheels came off of Koskinen’s game and he became a lightning rod for criticism over the following two seasons.

In his final months in the NHL, Koskinen didn’t see much action with Edmonton as Mike Smith took over the net, largely out of necessity as Koskinen couldn’t find his game. Koskinen saw three games of playoff action in 2022, going 0-2 with a .897 save percentage and a 4.02 goals-against average. This was the last NHL action he would see.

In June 2022, Koskinen signed in Switzerland with HC Lugano where he would finish out the final two years of his professional playing career before deciding to begin a new career as a player agent. He officially registered as a player agent in Finland in July and will be reportedly based in Helsinki.

All things considered, Koskinen had a very successful playing career. His NHL numbers were certainly average, however, he posted elite numbers internationally, representing his native Finland on multiple occasions and his KHL numbers were terrific during his five professional seasons in Russia.

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