The Edmonton Oilers' limited cap space this summer means they'll have to free up some cap room, especially if they want to re-sign Evan Bouchard.
Despite their second-round elimination, the Edmonton Oilers aren't expected to make any significant changes to their roster. However, salary-cap constraints could force GM Ken Holland to make a couple of cost-cutting deals.
As per CapFriendly, the Oilers have a projected $5.9 million in cap space for 2023-24 with 17 active roster players under contract. Defenseman Evan Bouchard and depth forwards Klim Kostin and Ryan McLeod are RFAs this summer, with the latter two possessing arbitration rights.
Bouchard's performance considerably improved after being paired with trade-deadline acquisition Mattias Ekholm. ESPN.com's Ryan S. Clark pointed out that the 23-year-old blueliner quarterbacked the power play. He also collected 36 points in 33 combined regular season and playoff games with Ekholm on the team.
The Edmonton Journal's Jim Matheson pondered what Bouchard's new contract will look like. He wondered if they'll go with the affordable bridge contract at $4 million per season, given their cap limitations, or opt for a long-term deal worth $6 million annually.
Whatever they end up paying Bouchard, the Oilers must also free up cap space for Kostin and McLead and fill out the remainder of their 23-man active roster. Matheson speculated that winger Kailer Yamamoto or a defenseman like Cody Ceci or Brett Kulak could become cost-cutting candidates.
Yamamato, 24, is signed through 2023-24 with an average annual value of $3.1 million. The 29-year-old Ceci has two seasons left on his contract with an AAV of $3.25 million. Kulak, also 29, has three seasons left at $2.75 million annually. All of them lack no-trade protection.