The Oilers create some cap room while adding a defenceman.

Okay, now the opening night roster is set.

The Oilers announced on Tuesday that they've signed Travis Dermott to a two-way contract worth $775,000, as well as placed Evander Kane on Long Term Injured Reserve. These moves, along with loaning Matt Savoie and Cam Wright back to Bakersfield, bring the team's roster into focus and set their salary cap figure to start the season.

The Oilers had a scant 53 dollars of cap space after recalling Savoie and signing Wright yesterday, maximizing their LTIR cap recapture total. That means, with Kane on LTIR, the team will be able to exceed the salary cap by $5,124,947, or Kane's cap hit minus those 53 dollars. 

That all but guarantees that Kane will be out for the entire regular season, with the hope that he'll be ready to go for the playoffs, à la Nikita Kucherov. In the meantime, the Oilers will have the cap space to acquire more help for the team's playoff run, be that in the form of another scorer or a top-four defenceman.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGaf7Wi-8F8[/embed]

For now, the role of extra defenceman will be filled by the newly-signed Dermott. Invited to training camp on a PTO, Dermott outplayed Josh Brown to win a spot with the Oilers out of camp. The left-handed Dermott is capable of playing on both sides of the ice and can provide an offensive spark on the bottom pair. He's played in a rotation with Brett Kulak and Troy Stecher at Oilers practices this week.

Signing Dermott to a two-way contract helps the Oilers maintain flexibility. Dermott can always be sent down to Bakersfield, either to make room for an extra forward like Noah Philp or in exchange for Josh Brown.

The Oilers' season starts at home on Wednesday, against the Winnipeg Jets.

​​Bookmark The Hockey News Edmonton Oilers team site to never miss news, interviews, or any other updates on the Oilers.

Related: Beloved Former Oiler Released By New Team

Related: More To Oilers Recall Than Meets The Eye

Related: NHL 25 Game Sim Predicts Oilers' Fate

Related: Oilers Must Avoid Past Mistakes With Travis Dermott