Navigating the Cap Crisis: What’s Next for the Oilers as 2024-25 Approaches?

While the start of the 2024-25 season is still quite a ways away, the Edmonton Oilers still have one major bit of housecleaning before the drop of the puck for the regular season. At the same time, the Oilers' Jeff Jackson has already had a busy off-season signing top free agents and making trades this team still needs to clear up some much-needed cap space.

As it stands right now the Edmonton Oilers are $354,167 over the salary cap, on top of being over the cap already they still need to sign contracts for a couple of RFA's in Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. While those contracts won't be huge they are going to be big enough to cause the Oilers some difficulties in the cap.

It is most likely the Oilers will need to make a trade to free up the space required the sooner the Oilers make the move the better off they will be this season. The longer they wait the more the rest of the NHL will know that they will need this move and the more the Oilers will need to pay in a trade. NHL teams are not out to be nice to each other so the Oilers are likely going to overpay as it is, but if a time crunch is also included the pinch a team could put on the Oilers wouldn't bode well for the Oilers.

The reason a move has not happened yet could be that Jackson is getting a new GM first and wants the GM to make that trade. The announcement of a new GM should be coming any day now as well. There are a couple of options for the new GM, but I am good with Jackson taking his time if it means he picks the perfect person for the job, in the past this organization has picked the big-name guy, hopefully, this time they look deeper than that.

While it may seem early in the NHL offseason, the Edmonton Oilers are running out of time to resolve their cap issues. The projected $354,167 over the cap, combined with the need to sign Broberg and Holloway, means a decisive move must be made shortly. Jeff Jackson’s potential wait for a new GM might be a well-considered strategy, but it carries risks. The approaching season and the potential for other teams to exploit the Oilers' cap situation make it a necessity for action sooner rather than later. The Oilers need to navigate this challenge with both urgency and precision to set themselves up for a successful 2024-25 NHL season.