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Edmonton Oilers: Looking at expiring contracts – UFA edition

By Phil Gretzky

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins #93, Edmonton Oilers (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins #93, Edmonton Oilers (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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Chicago Steel defenseman Owen Power kicks up ice behind Sioux Falls Stampede forward Andre Lee in game one of the Clark Cup finals on Friday, May 10, at the Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls.Stampede Game One 007
Chicago Steel defenseman Owen Power kicks up ice behind Sioux Falls Stampede forward Andre Lee in game one of the Clark Cup finals on Friday, May 10, at the Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls.Stampede Game One 007 /

Congratulations to the Buffalo Sabres, who just won the NHL draft lottery recently. Maybe that’ll soothe Jack Eichel’s jangled nerves.

I don’t think about who goes first overall in the draft anymore since the Oilers stopped being contenders for the draft lottery, but one of the guys could be Defenceman Owen Power, currently playing for Team Canada in the IIHF world hockey championships. The Sabres are a mess all over and they could certainly use the help. That’ll be an interesting draft because it’s being made on shorter sample sizes due to all the junior leagues shortening or forfeiting their seasons due to the pandemic.

Also, a genuine congratulations to the Oilers farm team, the Bakersfield Condors, who just won the Pacific Division title over the Henderson Silver Knights (Vegas’s farm team). The AHL playoff structure was incredibly bizarre this year. Only the Pacific division had playoffs, and the division series was as far as it went. Their league championship, the Calder Cup, will simply not be awarded this year.

Look for goalie Stuart Skinner, as well as wingers Tyler Benson and Cooper Marody – among the top scorers in the AHL last season – to be given serious consideration to be Oilers in training camp next season.

I also have to believe that the one and only callup from the season, Ryan Mcleod, has a spot on the roster that’s his to lose. He showed promise in the 10 regular-season games he played, and Dave Tippett made the gutsy move to play him in the playoffs against Winnipeg. He wouldn’t have done that for nothing.

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