Next on our list are the Edmonton Oilers who were just recently knocked out of the Semi-Finals by the Colorado Avalanche 4-0. The Oilers ended up with 49 wins in 2021-22 and 104 points, which was their most points in the regular season since 1986-87 when they won the Stanley Cup.

GM and Coach

Ken Holland has been the GM in Edmonton since May of 2019 and will be entering his fourth season with the Oilers in 2022-23. The team has made the playoffs in each of his first three seasons, losing in the first round in the first two years, before making it to the Semi-Finals in 2021-22. He is a future Hall of Famer but he does make some puzzling roster decisions and has had a history of giving out horrible contracts.

Jay Woodcroft took over as Head Coach on February 10th, 2022 from Dave Tippett. In his rookie season as an NHL coach, his team went 26-9-3 in his 38 games in the regular season and they beat Dallas and Calgary before losing to Calgary in the playoffs. Woodcroft did everything he could this season and the big test will be how this team responds next year for him.

Salary Cap

Next season, Edmonton has just over $7.1 million in cap space. They still owe $1.917 million and $1.5 million for buying out James Neal and Andrej Sekera next season. They also owe one more year of retained salary for Milan Lucic at $750k. They should have $4.167 million in LTIR with Oscar Klefbom who hasn't suited up for two seasons.

The team will need to re-sign Ryan McLeod (22), Jesse Puljujarvi (24) and Kailer Yamamoto (23) who are now RFAs for about $5 to 7 million AAV. Becoming UFAs are Josh Archibald (29), Derrick Brassard (34), Evander Kane (30), Colton Sceviour (33), Kyle Turris (32), Brett Kulak (28), Kris Russell (35), Mikko Koskinen (33) and Brad Malone (33) for the balance of space they have remaining.

I saw this interesting tweet over the weekend, which addresses if Duncan Keith retires before next season. If that were to happen, the Oilers (or the team he is traded to) would get a salary cap credit for 2022-23 of $3.4 million. This would raise their salary cap space to $16 million and increase the odds to bring back Evander Kane.

If Keith were to retire after the 21-22 season:
–#BlackHawks would have a $5.5M cap hit in 22-23 & a $2M cap hit 23-24
–#LetsGoOilers would lose his $5.5M actual cap hit in 22-23 & instead have a $3.4M negative cap hit (cap savings), for a swing of $8.9Mhttps://t.co/4dY4GmOSmh https://t.co/jkrNOnTH5i

— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) July 12, 2021

Draft Picks

The Oilers kept their first-round pick (29th overall) for 2022 but traded away their 2nd, 3rd and 4th-round picks. They have their 5th, 6th and 7th rounds as well.

In 2023 and 2024, they have all of their original picks except for their 4th round pick in 2023 and their 7th round pick in 2024. Overall Edmonton has 16 of their original 21 picks over the next three drafts.

Free Agents

Unrestricted free agents are Josh Archibald (29), Derrick Brassard (34), Evander Kane (30), Colton Sceviour (33), Kyle Turris (32), Brett Kulak (28), Kris Russell (35), Mikko Koskinen (33) and Brad Malone (33).

It is safe to say that they will be moving on from Evander Kane as they can't afford his next contract unless they really make some changes with their roster moving forward (see above tweet). I can't see them retaining any of the UFAs except for Kulak at less than $2 million AAV for three years.

Restricted free agents are Ryan McLeod (22), Jesse Puljujarvi (24) and Kailer Yamamoto (23).

I'm going to guess that all three of these players come in between $1 and 1.8 million next season on one or two-year deals. Both Puljujarvi and Yamamoto are eligible for arbitration so a 20-goal year for Yamamoto might drive his salary north of $2 million if left for the arbitrator and Puljujarvi could use comparables like Andrew Mangiapane to argue he should get $2.3 to 2.5 million AAV.

The Oilers won't have much space to add anyone outside the organization in free agency if Keith or Mike Smith don't retire. $5.538 million in cap space and the $3.4 million cap credit for a 38-year-old Duncan Keith sure would come in handy now.

The Oilers will need to account for Evan Bouchard becoming a restricted free agent after next season and the $5 million AAV or more they will need to re-sign him.

Roster

Without Evander Kane in the lineup, it will be a less talented team that hits the ice for the 2022-23 season. Their player game rating as a team is 6.46, which should still be a playoff team.

McDavid (25) has four years remaining on his $12.5 million AAV contract and Draisaitl (26) has three years remaining at $8.5 million AAV. Three years is realistically this team’s window to get the Stanley Cup as they will need both McDavid and Draisaitl in their primes to do so.

Evander Kane (30) still had three years remaining on his contract with San Jose at $7 million AAV and the NHLPA and Kane have filed a grievance with the NHL. This might complicate negotiations between Kane and other teams concerning free agency. If it's not an issue I think the Oilers will need at least $6.5 million in cap space to even entertain getting Kane back. Kane had 22 goals in 43 games in the regular season and 13 goals in 15 games in the playoffs.

Zach Hyman (30) was well worth his $5.5 million AAV in year one of his seven-year contract where he had 27 goals and 27 assists in 76 games and 11 goals and five assists in 16 playoff games. Now he just has to do it for another three or four seasons in a row.

Puljujarvi (24) had a strong first half of 2021-22 with 10 goals and 15 assists in his first 36 games but slowed considerably in the second half with four goals and seven assists in 29 games. I thought his play in the playoffs was rather pedestrian where he had two goals and an assist in 16 games while averaging just over 10 minutes per game.

Not to date myself but he reminds me of Jim Sandlak who was Vancouver's fourth overall pick in 1985. He had flashes but never justified the fourth overall pick and that is my fear with Puljujarvi. I realize he has great possession numbers and bigger forwards take time, but the similarities on paper are striking. One difference is that Sandlak didn't have McDavid or Draisaitl to skate with.

Yamamoto (23) is the other option for the top-six as he progressed this season with 20 goals and 20 assists in 81 games after struggling in his sophomore year. I think the Oilers have little option but to make sure that he is re-signed.

The bottom six wingers are where the Oilers have struggled over the past two or three seasons. They seemed to improve things last year with Warren Foegele (26), and Derek Ryan (35) added. I thought Foegele might have some more offense to give after coming over from Carolina, but his ceiling is more than likely 15-20 goals and 30-35 points. Ryan won't provide much in the way of points, but he's a very good player away from the puck and did chip in 10 goals and 12 assists in 75 games.

Zack Kassian (31) has two years left at $3.2 million AAV and has only played 85 regular-season games over the past two years with eight goals and 16 assists. He amassed 227 hits, so can still play a physical game when healthy. I wouldn't be shocked if his salary was moved at some point before the start of the season.

The rest of the wingers are a mix of bubble NHL players that includes Devin Shore (27), Tyler Benson (24), Brendan Perlini (26) and prospects like Dylan Holloway (20), Raphael Lavoie (21) and Carter Savoie (20). Holloway saw one game in the playoffs and can play all three forward positions, so he might have the inside track, especially if he can slide up the lineup.

At center, there are McDavid and Draisaitl when they are split up, then Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (29) who had 11 goals and 39 assists in 63 games. Nugent-Hopkins will be entering the second of his eight-year deal at a bargain of $5.125 million AAV.

Ryan McLeod (22) is such a good skater that he should be able to progress offensively from his rookie year where he had nine goals and 12 assists in 71 games. His ice time did progress from about 10 minutes at the beginning of the year to 14:33 in the playoffs.

After McLeod, the position would need to be filled by Seth Griffith (29), Holloway, Lavoie or Xavier Bourgault (19).

The center position is fairly solid for the Oilers moving forward, barring injury of course. They will still need to add some depth.

Tyson Barrie (30) had seven goals and 34 assists in 73 games and has two years remaining at 4.5 million AAV. The rookie season that Evan Bouchard (22) with 12 goals and 31 assists in 81 games, has made Barrie a little obsolete in this lineup and perhaps he is a salary that might be moved sooner than later.

Darnell Nurse's (27) first year of his eight-year deal kicks in next season at $9.25 million AAV. He had a fine season with nine goals and 26 assists in 71 games, along with 196 hits and 132 blocked shots. He just needs eight more of those in a row.

Cody Ceci (28) and Duncan Keith (38) are the next two down the pecking order on defence. Ceci has three years remaining at $3.25 million AAV and had a decent regular season with five goals and 23 assists in 78 games, but was exposed in the playoffs a little, especially against Colorado. I thought he was having a good playoff until then. Keith has one more season (?) and has a no-movement clause. He is still an average defender, but unfortunately, he is making $5.5 million, so his value needs to be better than average.

Battling for the 6th and 7th spots will be Philip Broberg (20), Markus Niemalainen (24), Dimitri Samorukov (22) and Slater Koekkoek (28). The inside track might go to Samorukov as he will need to clear waivers whereas Broberg and Niemalainen won't need to.

Incumbent 40-year-old Mike Smith is not sure he will return next season even though he still has one year remaining under contract for $2.2 million. To be fair, Smith has played well when he has been healthy over the past two seasons, for the most part. It's not surprising that a goalie at his age has only managed 32 games then 28 games over that span and that has forced the Oiler's backup goalie to play more games than they otherwise would have. In other words, Edmonton isn't searching for a backup to Mike Smith, they are searching for a starter in front of him.

I'm not sure that Stuart Skinner (23) is ready to be that guy but he did look decent in his 13 games last season. But, can he play 50-55 games at that level for this team? I wouldn't be willing to wager on that happening.

Rather than sign Kane, perhaps they go after Jack Campbell (30) or even John Gibson (28)?

As I mentioned earlier, the Oilers should be in the eye of the storm for at least the next three seasons for significant runs at the Stanley Cup. They just need to shore up their goaltending, the bottom six and perhaps another defender or two. Easy.

Thanks for reading, and let me know if you want me to focus on any players or topics by messaging me below or following me on Twitter @gampbler15.