Where the Oilers' Sunday Swaps Leave Their Cap Situation With Offer Sheet Decisions Looming
The Edmonton Oilers' two trades freed up cap space, creating a scenario where they can match the St. Louis Blues' offer sheets to Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway. Here's how.
The Edmonton Oilers changed their salary situation on Sunday in preparation for their response to two offer sheets from the St. Louis Blues.
They made two trades ahead of their Tuesday deadline to decide whether or not to match the Blues' offers tendered to RFAs Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway. If two other moves happen by the beginning of the season, Edmonton has the cap space to match both deals.
Edmonton first traded a 2025 fourth-round pick originally belonging to the Ottawa Senators to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Vasily Podkolzin.
The 23-year-old winger, who went 10th overall in the 2019 NHL draft, split last season between Vancouver and the AHL's Abbotsford Canucks. He had two assists in 19 NHL games and 15 goals, 13 assists and 28 points in 44 games for Abbotsford. He is entering the first season of a two-year deal worth $1 million annually.
The Oilers then traded defenseman Cody Ceci and the $3.25-million cap hit on the final year of his contract to the San Jose Sharks, along with a 2025 third-round pick. Edmonton received defenseman Ty Emberson in return, who has a one-year deal worth $950,000.
Emberson, 24, recorded a goal and 10 points in 30 games for the Sharks in his rookie NHL campaign, while 30-year-old Ceci had 20 assists and 25 points in 79 games during his 11th season.
With both trades, the Oilers freed $1.3 million in cap space. That leaves them at a projected $5,925,541 over the salary cap if they match Broberg's two-year deal worth $4,580,917 annually and Holloway's two-year pact worth $2,290,457 per campaign, per PuckPedia.
Then there's Evander Kane. The winger is expected to undergo surgery and miss the beginning of the 2024-25 NHL season, potentially at least a couple of months afterward as well, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman and Oilers color commentator Bob Stauffer.
That would allow the Oilers to place Kane on long-term injured reserve. Edmonton could then exceed the salary cap by up to all $5.125 million of Kane's cap hit until he gets healthy and returns.
If Edmonton matches Broberg and Holloway's deals while placing Kane on LTIR, the team will only be over the cap by $800,541.
After that, the Oilers can assign someone else to the minors whose cap hit is at least that amount, according to PuckPedia. They would then be cap-compliant with Holloway and Broberg under contract until Kane returns. But if they match just one of the contracts, they're expected to be cap-compliant even when Kane returns, per PuckPedia.
If the Oilers decide to match both contracts, they have a few options for who they could send to the AHL's Bakersfield Condors.
Newly acquired Podkolzin and Emberson are options, having played in the AHL at some point in the last two seasons. And unless the Oilers run with seven defensemen on the NHL roster, Josh Brown could be the odd one out with his $1-million cap hit. He hasn't played in the AHL since 2018-19, however. And while Troy Stecher could potentially get assigned to the Condors, his cap hit is only $787,500.
As another result of the two trades, the Oilers now have three picks in the 2025 NHL draft: one in the fourth round, another in the sixth and one in the seventh.
If Edmonton does not match either or both offer sheets, they'll receive compensation from the Blues. Broberg's contract would require a 2025 second-round pick, while Holloway's deal would require a 2025 third-rounder.
For information on the Edmonton Oilers and St. Louis Blues' depth charts, visit The Hockey News' lineups site.
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