June 13, 2023 by Ryan Lotsberg

“Devastated” was the word of the day during Ken Holland’s season ending press conference. That word explains how the entire Oilers organization felt about the team’s second round exit. Expectations were high after a Conference Finals berth in 2022 and career years from many of the team’s top players; but they fell short of their ultimate goal.

The Oilers are a fantastic team that has earned contender status in the NHL. However, they still have some work to do before they can reach the peak of the league. That work begins now. 

Holland has already traded a 2023 fifth round pick for prospect Jayden Grubbe, a 20-year old right shot centre. Today, the Oilers signed Derek Ryan to a two-year, $1.8 million deal. The 36-year old scored 13 goals and played a meaningful role on the penalty kill last season. These moves are just the beginning though.

Related: Edmonton Oilers acquire forward prospect Jayden Grubbe

The good news for the Oilers is that they won’t be forced into LTIR this summer. The contracts of Oscar Klefbom and Mike Smith expire on July 1. The Andrej Sekera buyout and the retained salary from Milan Lucic both come off the books as well. All of that adds up to $8,617,000 in dead cap space that won’t hamper the Oilers in 2023-24. Some of that has already been given to Stuart Skinner, who signed a three-year contract with an AAV of $2.6 million during this past season. 

Gary Bettman announced that the salary cap will increase by $1 million for next season, bringing it to $83.5 million. After factoring that, the newly freed up cap space, the current player contracts, the James Neal buyout, and the $850,000 overage hit from last season in, the Oilers have $5,832,500 in cap space with 17 players accounted for on the active roster entering this summer.

After the Ryan signing, there are now three unrestricted free agents that all merit consideration for the coming season, but the Oilers won’t likely be able to sign all of them. Nick Bjugstad contributed in a positive way at both ends of the ice after the trade deadline. His expected price point will be tough for the Oilers to fit under the cap. Mattias Janmark proved to be an important piece for the Oilers. His 25 points in 66 games isn’t jaw dropping production, but his contributions on the forecheck and the penalty kill were exceptional. He rarely made a poor decision with the puck, and he rarely got caught out of position. Devin Shore gave the Oilers quality minutes in a limited role, especially after a stint in Bakersfield.

Evan Bouchard leads a group of three restricted free agents that were on the playoff roster this spring. Bouchard easily led all NHL defencemen in playoff scoring with 17 points in 12 games. Bouchard’s underlying numbers were great all season long, but his goal share and point totals flourished after being paired with trade deadline acquisition Mattias Ekholm. He’s not arbitration eligible, and the Oilers don’t have a lot of cap space. It would be amazing to get him signed to a long-term deal, but the circumstances make a bridge deal more likely.

Ryan McLeod is an RFA for the second summer in a row. His contract got signed on the first day of camp last year. However, he’s arbitration eligible this year. Arbitration hearings happen in late July or early August. The contract will be signed either before an arbitration hearing or shortly after it, so McLeod won’t have to wait until training camp to have a contract in place again. The 23-year old had 23 points in 57 games last season. Injuries held him back this year, but he was inconsistent when healthy. He’ll certainly get a raise after taking a team-friendly deal last year, but it likely won’t be a substantial one.

Related: Steve Staios could become the Oilers’ next General Manager

Klim Kostin turned out to be a fantastic addition! He earned his way into the lineup and into Oilers fans’ hearts with his physicality and his shot. Kostin got 21 points in 57 games this season, and he added 5 more in 12 playoff games. He consistently hit at a high rate, he fought when needed, and he scored eleven goals. The former first rounder gave us a glimpse of why he was such a highly touted prospect. He’s also arbitration eligible.

Raphael Lavoie is also a RFA this summer. The 22-year old broke out for the Bakersfield Condors in the second half of the season. He finished with 45 points in 61 games. The 2019 second round pick isn’t waivers exempt anymore, so he either makes the team or the Oilers risk losing him on the waiver wire. He will certainly push for a job at camp.

To recap, the Oilers have $5,832,500 to sign a combination of Bouchard, McLeod, Kostin, Lavoie, Bjugstad, Janmark, and Shore. The Oilers will still be looking to improve the team in other areas beyond those names, which would involve some tinkering. I’ll dive deeper into problems and potential solutions for the Oilers in future pieces, so stay tuned to Heavy Hockey for more in the coming weeks.

*All cap figures in this piece were calculated using contract information from CapFriendly.