The Edmonton Oilers have traded forwards Kailer Yamamoto and Klim Kostin to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for future considerations.
The salary cap truly pulls no punches.
The Edmonton Oilers were the latest team to be forced into a move to shed salary on Thursday, sending forwards Kailer Yamamoto and Klim Kostin to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for future considerations.
It's a stunning move that represents just how valuable cap space has become across the league, as the Oilers ship two useful players under the age of 25 to the Red Wings in exchange for what is ultimately no return.
With no salary retained in the deal, this does give the Oilers some extra breathing room. Yamamoto is under contract through the 2023-24 season at a cap hit of $3.1 million while Kostin is a pending restricted free agent in need of a new contract.
To be fair, Yamamoto didn't exactly do himself any favors last season. The former first-rounder is coming off a disappointing campaign in 2022-23, finishing with just 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points in 58 games for the Oilers while logging just under 17 minutes in average nightly ice time and beginning the bulk of his shifts in the offensive zone.
Those numbers are a far cry from the 20-goal, 41-point breakout Yamamoto had in 2021-22 that earned him his increased salary. And with the Oilers in a particularly tight cap crunch, they simply could not afford the risk of waiting for Yamamoto to rebound.
Kostin, a fellow 2017 first-rounder, put up similar numbers to Yamamoto last season with 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points in 57 games. The hulking forward became something of a fan favorite in Edmonton thanks to his physical play and endearing personality. But, with restricted free agency on the horizon and a new contract needed for next season, the Oilers clearly felt Kostin had priced himself out of their plans.
Still, to surrender two young and useful assets for free is quite a surprise. Needless to say, Oilers GM Ken Holland's work is far from finished.