The Edmonton Oilers are on the verge of a highly complex salary cap situation. In a recent ranking by The Athletic, the Oilers were ranked as the team with the 12th-best salary cap situation in the NHL. That’s not bad on the surface, but when digging under the hood, the numbers get a little dicey.
First, the Edmonton Oilers project a $76 million roster for next season. Then, $11 million should go toward re-signing key RFAs (more on that in a second). On the bright side, the Oilers don’t have much dead cap space on the books beyond Jack Campbell’s $2.3 million buyout.
Also, there are three notable UFAs to consider: Jeff Skinner, Corey Perry, and Connor Brown. While Perry and Brown have played key depth roles, and Skinner has been a massive flop this season, the Oilers could move on from all three without missing a beat.
All told, that leaves the Oilers with about $7 million in available cap space to round out the roster. That cap space should go toward depth blue liners and the filling out the bottom six. The Oilers could look at a couple of bargain bin forwards and internal options to plug holes.
However, the biggest issue is the looming cap hit from Leon Draisaitl’s contract extension, which kicks in next season. That cap hit alone will chew up about $14 million. There’s the last year of Connor McDavid’s current deal, and Darnell Nurse’s current $9.25 million cap hit.
Massive contract extensions approaching for Edmonton Oilers
So, Draisaitl’s extension is a done deal, but the Edmonton Oilers are far from done. This summer, Evan Bouchard needs a new deal. After the debacle with Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, the Oilers should lock up Bouchard as soon as possible. The big question will be for how long and how much.?
Then, there’s the big one. McDavid will be a free agent after next season, meaning the Oilers will need to figure out just how much McDavid is worth. Draisaitl has already eclipsed Auston Matthews’ mega deal. So, it’s safe to assume that McDavid’s new deal could break the $15 million mark.
If that’s the case, the Oilers could have about $40 million locked up in three players (Draisaitl, Bouchard, and McDavid). Toss in Nurse, and the Oilers could have as much as $50 million committed to just three players.
Evander Kane is still on the books till 2026. So is Viktor Arvidsson. Beyond that, the Oilers don’t really have any bad-looking deals on the books.
Now, here’s a concerning situation: The Oilers only have one defenceman (Nurse) signed beyond next season. That situation means that the Oilers could have an overhauled blue line for the 2026-27 season. Presumably, only Nurse and Bouchard could be penciled in.
The good news is that the salary cap is expected to go up next season. It has been rumoured that the cap will jump to about $92 million, representing a $4 million increase over this season. According to some speculation, the salary cap could jump to $100 million within the next three to four seasons.
As such, the Oilers could be in a much better cap situation by 2027, making the potential cap crunch at this point less impactful than initially anticipated. It remains to be seen if the cap goes up and by how much. Time will tell if the Oilers’ crystal ball has worked.