August 1, 2023 by Kirk Morris

The Edmonton Oilers re-signed RFA Ryan McLeod to a two-year contract worth $4.2 million on Monday. McLeod, who filed for arbitration last month, was able to come to terms with the Oilers before the hearing date scheduled for August 4.

The 23-year-old missed the start of training camp last season, before signing a one-year deal worth $798,000 on September 22. Despite arriving late to camp, McLeod started the season as the third line centre and was counted on to be one of the team’s regular penalty killers.

The Mississauga, Ontario native suffered a lower-body injury on November 26 against the New York Rangers (he also recorded his first three-point game in the NHL that afternoon) that kept him out of the lineup for a month. He still finished the season with career-highs in goals (11) and points (23) and matched his career-high in assists (12) in just 57 games.

Per Jack Frasier from JFreshHockey on Twitter, McLeod is trending in an upward trajectory in all facets of the game analytically. With just 138 games of NHL experience, it’s reasonable to say that McLeod hasn’t even scratched the surface on his potential and ceiling of performance.

I think this signing will be the first domino to fall for the Oilers, with another RFA and 2018 draftee in Evan Bouchard needing a new contract, as well. After signing McLeod, the Oilers have just over $4 million in available cap space, if they run a 21-man roster again to start the 2023-24 season.