The Morning After Round One For The Edmonton Oilers

Last night was the first day of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft for the Edmonton Oilers.

The first day was just the first round, today has the remainder of the draft. The NHL draft is not only a place where teams select their futures. With that many General Managers in a room trades happen at an accelerated pace and the Edmonton Oilers were involved in both aspects.

The Edmonton Oilers were original scheduled to draft 29th overall last night, but when it was their turn to be on the clock Gary Bettman announced that the Edmonton Oilers have made a trade involving their pick.

This move was a clear salary dump and a necessary one in my opinion. Getting rid of Zack Kassian’s $3.2 million cap hit opens up lots of cap room for the Edmonton Oilers. According to PuckPedia after this trade and with Klfebom and Smith’s LTIR the Edmonton Oilers have $15.0 million in cap space.

With that much cap space the Edmonton Oilers are in the position where they can hopefully improve their team in the next couple weeks. Ken Holland has to once again improve this roster as the Edmonton Oilers are in win now mode.

They need to add a starting goalie as well as re-sign some pending RFA’s and UFA’s. The $15 million is a good start on getting that done. If Duncan Keith does decide to retire this would add even more cap space, pushing the available cap space up to $20 million.

With The 32nd Pick In The 2022 NHL Entry Draft The Edmonton Oilers Select Reid Schaefer

After making the trade the Edmonton Oilers ended up with the last pick in the first round and with that pick the Edmonton Oilers selected Reid Schaefer from the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds.

"He receives pucks directly into his shooting pocket, using the weight of the puck to transfer his weight and load his stick. When acting as the stationary net-front presence, he shows quick hands in-tight and pulls off the odd high-skill shot. If he’s providing support, he’s getting open just outside the slot for catch-and-release wristers and one-timers-EliteProspects 2022 NHL Draft Guide on Reid Schaefer"

Last season in the WHL Schaefer had 32G-26A-58P in 66 games during the regular season. In the playoffs he played 25 games and went 6G-15A-21P on the Thunderbirds WHL final run where they eventually lost the Edmonton Oil Kings.

The Spruce Grove native was ranked to land in the area the Edmonton Oilers drafted him at. In a couple of years he will hopefully be pushing for a spot on the NHL roster. Watch the video below and you will see the type of player he is.

The draft continues today, so we will have to see in the Edmonton Oilers will be making trades to either dump cap or bring in a skilled player. The Oilers don’t currently have a pick till the 5th round so it will be a while before we are looking at who the next Oiler will be.