October 9, 2024 by Ryan Lotsberg

The Edmonton Oilers faced significant challenges with their salary cap situation this summer. The Oilers came within one win of a Stanley Cup last season, and “Cup or bust” expectations remain in Edmonton. Oilers management have been able to assemble what appears to be a contending roster thanks to plenty of discount shopping this summer.

The team was unable to retain unrestricted free agents Vincent Desharnais and Warren Foegele. The Oilers traded Ryan McLeod and Cody Ceci away, and they were not able to match offer sheets signed by Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. The Oilers were comfortable moving on from these players for various reasons, but most of their shopping had been done by the time those moves were made.

The biggest free agency splashes for the Oilers were Viktor Arvidsson ($4 million) and Jeff Skinner ($3 million), who were both signed on the first day of the free agency period. Both were great pickups by the Oilers, and both figure to be impact players for the team; but they were available for a reason.

Related: 2024 Oilers Free Agency Wrap

Arvidsson only played in 18 games for the Los Angeles Kings last season due to a back injury. He was effective for the Kings in those 18 games, but they apparently didn’t want to re-sign a 31-year old player coming off of a significant back issue. The Oilers took the risk because it was a value buy.

The Buffalo Sabres bought out the final three years of Skinner’s eight-year, $72 million contract because they weren’t getting $9 million in value out of him and they have younger players that will need contracts soon. Skinner may have been expensive at $9 million per season, but he’s a pretty good deal at $3 million for one season.

Adam Henrique turned down more money from the Winnipeg Jets to sign a two-year, $6 million contract. He certainly counts as a discount. The 34-year old is still playing at a high level, but teams are usually wary about players of Henrique’s advanced age.

Once it became clear that the Oilers were going to lose Holloway and Broberg, they started working the phones in search of cheaper options. The first one that they found was Vasily Podkolzin. They snagged the 2019 tenth overall pick from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 2025 fourth round pick. Podkolzin had a promising rookie year with 26 points in 79 games, but he’s only played in 58 NHL games in the two seasons that have passed since then. The Canucks likely didn’t think that he would make their roster out of training camp and that they would lose him for nothing on waivers at some point, so they opted to get what they could for him.

Ceci was traded to the San Jose Sharks along with a 2025 third round pick for 24-year old defenceman Ty Emberson. Emberson was claimed by the Sharks on waivers prior to last season, and he played 30 games for them. The Sharks were able to gain a veteran top four defenceman to help their cause now while adding a third round pick to help them in the future, and all they had to do was sacrifice a 24-year old defence prospect. They could afford to do that because they have several younger defence prospects in their system. The Oilers needed to find a cheaper option on the right side of their defence, and they’ve chosen to gamble on Emberson, who will start the season on the second pairing alongside Darnell Nurse.

Related: The Ceci trade was more about Emberson than we realize

Travis Dermott was invited to Oilers camp on a PTO, and he earned himself a contract by outplaying Josh Brown, who was the only free agent addition of the summer that I would classify as the opposite of a discount. The bar wasn’t set all that high by Brown, but Dermott’s versatility makes him useful. His mobility and his ability to move the puck quickly make him a decent fit with the Oilers. Dermott will make his Oilers debut on the third pairing with Brett Kulak tonight.

The discount shopping hasn’t just been limited to the team’s NHL roster. The McLeod trade brought 2022 ninth overall pick Matthew Savoie to the Oilers. It seems silly on the surface for a team to trade a player picked in the top ten just two years ago for a third line centre, but Savoie was also available for a reason. His stock has fallen since his draft year. Savoie dealt with an injury in his draft year, and then he missed training camp last season due to shoulder and elbow injuries. The Sabres have a pile of prospects, and they were looking to move one for a player that could contribute right away. Savoie was the odd man out. His declining stock landed him in the discount bin, and the Oilers pounced on that deal.

The Oilers also traded 2021 first rounder Xavier Bourgault and 2021 fourth rounder Jake Chiasson to the Ottawa Senators for 2020 second rounder Roby Jarventie and the 2025 fourth round pick that was used to acquire Podkolzin.

Related: Oilers acquire Jarventie from the Senators for Bourgault & Chiasson

Jarventie had surgery last season to address a knee injury that had nagged him for a couple of years. He only played in 40 AHL games in 2022-23 after playing in 70 AHL games in 2021-22. Jarventie only played 22 AHL games and seven NHL games last season. However, he got 20 points in those 22 AHL games. Jarventie was in the midst of a breakout season. The Oilers used their struggling 2021 first round pick to buy low on Jarventie. Unfortunately, Jarventie was not healthy enough to participate in training camp, and he is starting the season on the season opening injury reserve (SOIR).

You could even argue that Oilers GM Stan Bowman was something of a discount buy given his history and the reason that he was available. Oilers CEO Jeff Jackson felt comfortable enough with Bowman as a person and with his efforts to learn from mistake to give Bowman an opportunity to lead the Oilers to a Stanley Cup.

All of these discount buys for the Oilers could end up paying big dividends this season and beyond, but they all carry varying degrees of risk. Discount shopping for a season where the team will be out to take care of unfinished business isn’t exactly sexy, but that’s what was needed given the Oilers’ top-heavy roster construction.

The end result of all of that discount shopping is the NHL’s oldest roster. The forward group got a little bit slower, but I would argue that the forward group also got deeper and more prolific, which makes the group better than last year’s forward group. The defence was the team’s biggest positional weakness last season, and it appears to be even weaker this season. There are some bets down on some defencemen that will be asked to carry bigger loads than they have in the past.

Overall, I think the group is better than the one that fell just a goal short of winning the holy grail of hockey last season; but the discount bin doesn’t always offer quality products. I have a hard time envisioning a start that comes anywhere close to being as bad as last year’s 2-9-1 start was; but a slow start is definitely in the cards for this group. They need to be careful to not replicate last year’s woeful start.

The Oilers’ quest for glory begins tonight when they host the Winnipeg Jets at Rogers Place.