THN.com/podcast. From THN On The 'O': Crazy Trades, OHL Power Rankings and World Juniors Ryan McLeod [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk5Nzg0NTgzNTgxOTM0Njk1/usatsi_20232035.jpg] Ryan McLeod The Edmonton Oilers announced Tuesday night they re-signed RFA forward Ryan McLeod to a two-year contract worth $2.1 million per season. McLeod and the Oilers were scheduled to have an arbitration hearing on Aug. 4, but they decided to settle beforehand and get the 23-year-old under contract through the 2024-25 season. The Mississauga, Ont., native is coming off a one-year, $798,000 contract. McLeod recorded a career-high 11 goals and 23 points in 57 games for the Oilers this past season, averaging 14:11 of ice time per contest. About 1:30 of that average ice time came on the penalty kill. McLeod also appeared in all 12 playoff contests for the Oilers in 2022-23, putting up five assists as Edmonton defeated the Los Angeles Kings in six games before losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in six. Since the Oilers drafted McLeod 40th overall in 2018, the 6-foot-2 center has 20 goals and 25 assists for 45 points in 138 career regular-season NHL games. He also has three goals and nine points in 32 career playoff matchups. Overall, McLeod can slot in on the third or fourth line and put up respectable results. He will look to prove his worth through this deal and try to convince the Oilers for a larger cap hit in the summer of 2025. One way to do that is by taking a step forward in the faceoff circle, improving on his 48.2 win percentage on his 598 draws taken in 2022-23. Regardless, he can grow into an important bottom-six player and continue giving the Oilers some depth scoring as they look to secure their first Stanley Cup championship since 1990. With that signing out of the way, the Oilers have just less than $4.3 million in cap space with RFA defenseman Evan Bouchard still to sign, according to PuckPedia [https://puckpedia.com/team/edmonton-oilers]. Bouchard does not have arbitration rights, so he and the team will have to agree on a new contract without any independent arbitrator.
