3 Things The Edmonton Oilers Still Need To Do This Offseason
While the offseason may have just started for the Edmonton Oilers they have accomplished a lot of things, but there are still things for them to do.
The Edmonton Oilers may have accomplished a large amount of things so far this offseason, but there are still things that need to be completed. The list of free agent signings and moves Jeff Jackson has done so far this offseason have been among some of the best moves the Oilers have made in any offseason as of late.
With that being said the work is still not done. As development camp is taking place Jackson still has a few important things that he needs to complete by the time the season starts, but most of these things will want to be taken care of well before that. There are more than three things that he needs to get done, but I have compiled a list of the 3 that I think are the most important.
Appoint A General Manager
The main word in the statement above is appoint, not hire. It is no secret that Jeff Jackson has done a fine job running this team since the departure of Ken Holland, marking this as one of the most successful offseasons in Oilers history. That said, I don't know why they wouldn't just add General Manager to the job title of Jackson.
While Jackson has done a good job, he does have other things around the organization to do and may not want the extra stress and work that comes with bringing a GM. If that is the case the Oilers need to start looking at getting a new GM sooner rather than later. As I said before in this article, several things still need to be done and most of the remaining things need to be handled by a GM.
While I am sure Jackson is good with handling things in the interim, he would rather have a full-time person appointed to that role moving forward. With this team having one of their best seasons in recent memory they will need to continue to get better if they hope to lift the cup this upcoming season.
Get A Leon Draisaitl Extension Done
When it comes to the face of the Edmonton Oilers there are two main players, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. McDavid still has two full years on his contract and can't extend till next offseason, Draisaitl is in the final year of his deal and can be extended at any time till it expires next year.
Leon Draisaitl is a three time 50 goal scorer and when it comes to the NHL the only player who has been a more constant goal scorer in the past couple of years has been Austin Matthews. Matthews though produces a majority of his points with his goals, only getting more assists than goals once in his career. Draisaitl on the other hand scores lots of goals and adds assists, never getting less assists than goals. This makes him a better overall player than Matthews, which should earn Draisaitl more money than Matthews.
For the Edmonton Oilers I understand that they do not want to spend too much money on Draisaitl, but they also need to realize that Draisatilis one of the best players in the world and if they can not re-sign him then this team would be taking a big step backwards.
If the Oilers let this drag on too long then doubt will creep in that the Oilers will not be able to re-sign him. Then the big question will come up if they can't sign him do they have to trade him in order to not lose him for nothing? That would be a trade the Oilers would certainly lose.
While I am sure he will re-sign with the Oilers I would much rather see this deal get done before the start of the season. The Oilers fans do not need another area of anxiety when it comes to this team, so locking in Leon Draisaitl would be greatly appreciated by fans like myself.
Become Salary Cap Compliant
While I am a huge fan of all the signings the Oilers made this free agency it has caused one issue that needs to be resolved before the start of the 2024-25 season and that is to clear some cap space and become salary cap compliant. As it sits right now the Oilers are $354,167 over the cap, per CapFriendly, and still need to re-sign Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg.
The Oilers have already made a big move in freeing up cap space when they traded away Ryan McLeod earlier this week which got the Oilers closer to the cap ceiling, but they are still over it. The big question now is how are the Oilers going to get down to that ceiling. There will obviously need to be some roster moves, but what type is still to be seen.
There are lots of rumours about what the Oilers can do. Most of them revolve around two players, Evander Kane and Cody Ceci. For the Oilers moving either of these two players would open up the amount of space that would be needed to bring back Holloway and Broberg.
For Ceci I think the main issue is finding a team that would take him and his while cap hit, while he is a solid player his cap hit of $3.25 million is more than a player in his spot in the lineup should be making. If he was to go to a weaker team perhaps he would play higher in the lineup, making his cap hit more manageable, but where he is on the Oilers he is overpaid for where he plays.
With Evander Kane, there is a completely different issue. Kane has a no-move clause in his contract, so the Edmonton Oilers can not trade him without his consent. From what I have seen it doesn't look like Kane is going to be willing to wave his no-move and honestly I don't blame him. He has set up his life here and the Oilers are a cup contender, there is no reason for him to want to leave this city.
With Jeff Jackson behind the helm, there is no way of predicting what moves will be done. So far it seems Jackson has the ability to be creative in the moves he makes, while it is a very short sample size I think if there is anyone in the organization to get the Oilers within the cap it is Jackson.
dark. Next. Sam O'Reilly and other draft picks share thoughts on Oilers development camp. Sam O'Reilly and other draft picks share thoughts on Oilers development camp
There is still a long time till the Edmonton Oilers hit the ice to start the road to the 2024-25 season, but the management will be busy till then. Hopefully they get most of their moves done here in the next couple of weeks. I do not want to have this team having to make last minute moves prior to the start of the season. That being said it is going to be a long couple of months with out Oiler hockey and I can't wait to see this new roster hit the ice.
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