Edmonton Oilers Free Agency Outlook, Potential Fits

Edmonton Oilers Free Agency Preview/Outlook, Salary Cap Situation, Restricted Free Agents, Team Needs, and Potential Fits

Rumors continue to swirl around the Edmonton Oilers heading into Friday’s draft and free agency on July 1st.

GM Peter Chiarelli is on the market for an upgrade on the blue line, and with expansion officially announced, the timing is perfect to pry away a quality a player from a team rich in defensemen.

More from Puck Prose

• Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
• This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
• 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
• 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
• This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings

Edmonton has several trade assets to work with. They still have the 4th overall until Friday night, and numerous roster players, including: Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov, and Jordan Eberle. RNH is the most likely of the bunch to be traded with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl locked in as the top two at center.

After landing Connor McDavid at last year’s draft, it was expected that Edmonton would begin to turn a corner in 2015-16 and show improvement after years of disappointment selecting at the top of the draft.

Unfortunately, following an injury ravaged season the Oilers found themselves at the bottom of the Western Conference once again. They went 31-43-8 with 70 points.

A few positive story lines did emerge however. First, it seems that Cam Talbot may in fact be the goaltender of the future for Edmonton. Second, Leon Draisaitl settled in nicely filling in for an injured Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Lastly, Darnell Nurse finally emerged on the back end for Edmonton and looks primed to be a quality top four defender.

Related Story: Oilers Must Select A Defenseman Early in the Draft

Edmonton Oilers Free Agency Outlook/Preview

Salary Cap Committed in 2016-17: $60,819,499
Number of Players Signed: 40

Notable Unrestricted Free Agents: Adam Cracknell, Nikita Nikitin, Eric Gryba, Adam Pardy, Andrew Miller, Ryan Hamilton, Brad Hunt

Notable Restricted Free Agents: Iiro Pakarinen, Luke Gazdic, Adam Clendening, David Musil, Niklas Lundstrom,

With a projected $73 million dollar salary cap for 2016-17, Peter Chiarelli will have money to spend in free agency and on the trade market.

Shedding RNH’s $6 million dollar cap hit further opens up options.

Related Story: Aly's 1st Round Mock Draft

Edmonton Oilers Free Agency Team Needs

Top-Six LW Upgrade, RH Defense, Depth Defense

More from Edmonton Oilers

• Can Connor McDavid reach 200 points in a single-season?
• The winners and losers from day one of the 2023 NHL Draft
• 2023 NHL Draft Live Updates: News, Draft Selections, Trades and More
• 2023 NHL Awards: Connor McDavid Wins Hart Trophy
• 2023 NHL Awards: Matty Beniers Wins Calder Memorial Trophy

Edmonton doesn’t necessarily need an upgrade with Benoit Pouliot in the mix, but if they could find another quality LW in free agency that pushes Pouliot down the depth chart, that only helps the Oilers spread the scoring around.

One of the many teams in need of that elusive right-handed shot on the point, expect Edmonton to weigh their options in free agency (although limited selection could force Peter Chiarelli to use RNH to acquire that 20-plus minute RH defender).

The hope will be that a prospect such as Jordan Oesterle or Griffin Reinhart will be able to step up as depth defenders next year. It still wouldn’t hurt to sign a depth player or two (regardless of shot-handedness) who would be in the AHL on the short-list for call-ups in case of injuries or under-performing players.

Next: NHL Mock Draft 7.0: Final Rankings

Potential Edmonton Oilers Free Agency Targets

Top-Six LW: Milan Lucic, Andrew Ladd, Mikkel Boedker

RH Defense: Jason Demers, Roman Polak, Yannick Weber, Ben Lovejoy

Depth Defense: Matt Donovan, Jakub Nakladal, Matt Irwin, Zach Redmond, Victor Bartley, Zach Trotman, Matt Tennyson, David Warsofsky, Justin Falk, Matt Taormina, Luke Witkowski

*Salary/Free Agent information was obtained through www.generalfanager.com