According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, the NHL and NHLPA are getting ready to vote on a plethora of topics regarding to Phase three and four in the league’s return to play as well as a collective bargaining agreement extension.
One of the details at the forefront is the salary cap going forward and apparently this is going to remain “flat” for each of the next two seasons (20/21 and 21/22) and then there’s the possibility of incremental increases over the following three to four seasons depending on how much revenue the league can obtain. At the moment, the salary cap sits at $81.5M.
So how will that impact the Edmonton Oilers? Who might the Oilers have to let walk?
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At the conclusion of the 2019/20 NHL season, the Oilers will have up to TEN free agents (not including AHL contracts) if you throw in holdout Jesse Puljujarvi. Here is a list of the players who’ll be out of contract.
- A. Athanasiou, LW (RFA)
- J. Puljujarvi, RW (RFA)
- E. Bear, RD (RFA)
- M. Benning, RD (RFA)
- W. Lagesson, LD (RFA)
- M. Green, RD (UFA)
- M. Smith, G (UFA)
- P. Russell, RW (UFA)
- T. Ennis, LW (UFA)
- R. Sheahan, C (UFA)
General Manager Ken Holland already has approximately $71M tied up to start the 2020/21 campaign. Meaning, he has around $10M to round out his team.
Here is a representation of the Oilers’ roster sans any impending UFAs and a few of the prospects courtesy of Lowetide’s blog.
*Indicates RFA
I would say that qualifying Athanasiou, Bear, Benning, and Lagesson is priority no.1 and that is going to tie up a really solid portion of that ten million dollars… Athanasiou is at least $3.1M, Bear should come in around $2M if Holland is feeling generous (or half that if he isn’t) and Benning as well, and Wild Bill Lagesson most likely will cost the Oilers close to 800k. In total, that’s near $8M.
So you’ve got $2M left over, what does Holland do with that given he needs a backup goalie, a 3rd line centre, and at least TWO bottom-six wingers.
I’ve heard that Dave Tippett is a big fan of Ennis and The Great Dane, Patrick Russell too… Then you really can’t forget about the amazing job that Sheahan did on the Oilers’ PK.
He’s got to find a way to move some salary out, that’s what! So could he move out?
I reckon Kris Russell ($4M), Matt Benning (RFA), James Neal ($5.25M), Zack Kassian ($3.2M), Alex Chiasson ($2.1M, and possibly Mikko Koskinen ($4.5M) are candidates to be traded.
I wonder if Pittsburgh would entertain a deal built around Matt Murray and Mikko Koskinen? Word out on the street is that the Pens are leaning towards Tristan Jarry as their goalie of the future and could have trouble re-signing Murray. Recently re-signed Casey DeSmith is poised to step up to the big leagues as well giving the Penguins some real leverage.
If the Oilers were to trade Kris Russell, I don’t believe it would be far from Alberta if not in the province. He’s got a little bit of flexibility with that 15-team trade list. One team that really comes to mind is the Ottawa Senators when I think of trade destinations though. They’ve got a really cheap owner and a very young team that will need the experience and leadership that Russell provides. Plus they’ve got the cap room.
Would they take Matthew Benning and Kris Russell in exchange for Connor Brown (RFA)?
My feeling is that the Oilers would like to bring back Mike Green if possible as well as graduate Evan Bouchard at some point next season, and Benning is basically blocking the road. Mark Borowiecki isn’t going to be around forever and I think Benning would be a good replacement. The fans would love him in Ottawa.
Look, the proposals are fun and all, but we’re not even a whole season into the Holland-era, so I can’t begin to really tell what he may or may not do. It’s my belief that he’s more prone to acquiring veteran players and keeping them rather than experimenting with younger ones. Plus we’ve yet to even start getting into the expansion draft preparation. He’s said on more than one occasion since he’s been hired that he really believes in the AHL and that process. Therefore, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if Tyler Benson and Cooper Marody were back in the minors for another year if the Oilers can find a way to sign their vets.
The Black Aces
Speaking of AHL players, this whole flat cap fiasco could force Holland’s hand a bit. If he can’t sign those vets and has to watch some valued players walk this summer because he can’t afford to bring them back in, we might see players like Benson, Marody (more on him in a second), and Ryan McLeod up with the big club before they’re ready. This would be very interesting… Things are have the potential to be very fluid.
Marody. He’s in Edmonton right now quarantining according to his Instagram and that leads me to believe that he’ll be one of the Oilers’ black aces when training camp time comes. Which also means somebody that we thought was an obvious choice to be in that group, isn’t going to be. My guess is that person is Markus Granlund.
I am not 100% sure on this but I think he’s still in Finland. Again. Not 100% sure. But he did sign a two-year deal to play in the KHL with Ufa Salavat. So, obviously his heart isn’t in Edmonton and to be honest, he didn’t have a good year at all and as a result, was sent down to the AHL.
Back to Marody (again), Ken Holland is really throwing this guy a bone. Cooper wasn’t having a great year on all accounts (performance, health, etc) and even I was told by more than one source that Marody was on thin ice with the organization… I hope this young man makes the most of this opportunity, because it could be his last in Edmonton.
Edmonton as a Hub City (Hooray!?…)
Well, the NHL finally put safety ahead of money. Things are changing weekly on this topic but it sure looks like Edmonton and Toronto are set to be the hub cities if the NHL returns to play. So good on those involved.
I do think that the real power brokers amongst the NHL’s agents started to put their support behind Edmonton’s bid when things in the USA started to take a real bad turn COVID-wise and Vancouver wouldn’t fall for the NHL’s shenanigans.
This is all fine and dandy, but there’s still massive risk involved. The COVID cases in Edmonton have been growing slowly over the past month and now Alberta Health is going to bring in 600 people (minimum) from all over the world (That means players who’ve been spending the break in the most infected parts of the USA. Where is it that the Coyotes and Stars play again?) to Edmonton in an attempt to finish the year.
Just to compare with Ontario,
6/6/2020 7-day avg: 362.4
Today: 150.3Still quite a bit more but the numbers are coming down very quickly. https://t.co/1HrfR2RDwc
— B.L.H. (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast) (@BeerLeagueHeroe) July 2, 2020
Don’t think for one second that there aren’t going to be hockey fans desperately seeking a glimpse of their favourite hockey players. I don’t care how large of a wall you build around downtown Edmonton, life finds a way. Besides, the players will be out and about where ever the league has mandated it a “safe zone” for them and they’ll be required to deal with the public…
I trust the players to be diligent about their well-being but the public I do not.
What I’m curious about is the number of infected hockey personnel it’s going to take to get a team forced into quarantine because whatever that number was, it was too big for BC health… It took only a handful to shut down an entire practice facility in Tampa and Arizona… I’m just saying. All for an asterisked Stanley Cup… You have to wonder if it’s worth it.
Puck Racism
The sales are starting to trickle in with this design and I’m going to spam the hell out of it on my website and the BLH Hockey Instagram because I feel passionate about it and I feel like Hockey is Diversity deserves the proceeds that I’ll be donating to them.
So, please. If you’ve got an extra $20 lying around and you want to do a good thing for good people, click the pic down below and grab a t-shirt, a mask, a onesie, a tank top, or some stickers.
Hockey is Diversity is a German group whose aim is to draw attention to the ethnic diversity in society, which goes beyond the sporting borders in order to sensitize people interculturally. The diversity that has long been regarded as an enrichment in sport as a melting pot of people of different ethnicities, cultures, and religions should also be transferred to society.
