The Oilers will make the playoffs this season, and they have more than enough of a core to make annual trips to the postseason should their top players stay healthy and refuse to regress. But with sustained success comes bigger contracts for players like Leon Draisaitl, who will be eligible for an extension next year.
Others looking for extensions when their eligibility kicks off shortly would be players like Evan Bouchard, while key assets like Evander Kane will be eligible following the 2024-25 season. General manager Ken Holland will be thinking ahead, and that includes pondering the futures of players like Kane, plus those whose contracts are expiring this year.
Edmonton would also be wise to keep tabs on pending unrestricted free agents, who have outplayed expectations like Warren Foegele and Calvin Pickard, even if both may test the market in July.
Not everyone will stick around for the Oilers upcoming annual playoff runs
The reality of the pro sports universe is that not every player will be around for what should be several playoff runs for the Oilers in upcoming seasons. Players like Adam Henrique, Sam Carrick, and Troy Stecher are likely rentals, so when concocting a list like this, they won’t be mentioned in the following slides because of their ‘rental status.’
But others who have been part of the organization for a while may find themselves playing for a division rival, in the Eastern Conference, or even in the Central Division next season. Not every player not slated to return will also be a pending unrestricted free agent, and to foreshadow, that accounts for two on this list.
So, which Oilers players won’t find themselves in Edmonton next season unless Holland decides not to move them or, in the case of one, to re-sign? Let’s start with someone who has been one of the driving forces of the organization’s latest playoff push.