Team: 2021-22 Edmonton Oilers

Initial Creation Date: Jun. 17, 2021

Published: Jun. 17, 2021

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Not a whole lot of picks to work with this season, most of this involves me just throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks.

If the AAV values seem high its because I'm going on the assumption that no one's gonna be taking a discount to come play for us, and adding a bit of a "Canadian Market" premium.

UFAs:
- Saad likely doesn't get 6M from a COL that needs to extend a UFA Grubauer and Landeskog + RFA Makar (among others), that have 18M space total at the beginning of the season. Guy knows how to find the back of the net, and could slot in either 1st or 2nd LW.

- Janmark can pop off when he needs to, solid 3C, not a reclamation project unlike Turris who crased and burned. A solid pay bump could be enough to draw him our way.

- Oleksiak fills a hole in the LD that's sorely needed filling. Laggy's done fine paired with Larsson, but that's a very shallow left side in the event of injury. Honestly the bottom 2 pairings would likely be a bit of a blender, Oleksiak, Laggy, and KRussel can slot in 2nd or 3rd pairing if needed, and if Broberg cracks the lineup then we're aces all around. Bouchard has shown time and again he's worth having in the lineup, and I may die inside if we bench him for most of next season again. Being able to throw a vet on his line in Oleksiak/KRussel also helps him be able to focus on his game and development.

- Chris Dreidger. Goalies are witchcraft, but Dreidger looks like he's responsible enough to maintain that starter position. Salaries for them are such a crapshoot I figured I'd shoot for a half-decent number that's high enough that other teams might not be able to afford it (especially given the number of cap-strapped contenders that already have good goalies that they need to pay, and rebuilders might not be willing to commit to a UFA goalie over developing their own).

TRADES:
Boston Bruins:
Bruins are in a bit of a weird situation. They have plenty of cap to throw around next year, though we're yet to see if Hall stays there. Assuming Hall is really intending on staying with the team like it seems, he likely pushes DeBrusk down a line. Bruins are deep on the Left side if they sign Hall, and fairly shallow on the right. I think Kassian as a middle 6er on their team very much works with their playstyle (assuming his injury stops nagging him next season), and throwing in Jones (who can be flipped if needed, or kept as a solid LD prospect) and an extra pick could be enough to assuage any worries about value on Kassian's contract. The value's not great if Kass isn't playing his best, but it's not so bad that it's unmoveable, especially to a team that has that high energy culture that the Kassquatch thrives in.

Minnesota Wild:
Neal's contract is famously terrible, but I think something like this can work. I'd much rather we manage to move Neal retained than have to buy him out, so that contract doesn't drag on for 4 years. Neal is still a serviceable bottom 6-er, his biggest problem has always been his contract. Theoretically, this trade could work with plenty of teams with cap space, but Minnesota's in a decent cap position to absorb a +2.3m trade for their bottom 6, especially since their playstyle tends to match Neal's much better. Neal has trouble keeping up on the rush, but Minnesota doesn't tend to rely on that regardless. I'd also remind everyone that last season Neal still potted 19 goals in 55 games, and 5 in 29 this season. He can clearly still find the back of the net, it's just a matter of matching playstyles. Stalock is there just to offload the contract and send the guy home. I don't expect him to add any actual value as a 3rd G, I'd prefer Edmonton not get a reputation as hostage takers so maybe another trade of Stalock for Future Considerations would be more appropriate. Hartman seems like a solid upgrade on any of our current 3RW roster options, and the most likely one that Minnesota would be willing to trade.

RE-SIGNINGS:
- Yamamoto hopefully gets over his snakebitten phase. His style of play as a puck hound means he's still valuable regardless. I'm 100% on board with keeping this guy on long term.

- Kahun & Ennis I think both more or less serve the same role. This season seemed like they were put into positions that expected more than they could deliver. Both of these guys are decent-quality bottom 6-ers, and I'd have no problem with either of them on the 4th line. Tradeoffs are that Ennis seems to play smarter all along the ice, but also seems to be made of glass. Kahun is still young and has room for growth, so I have no problem with keeping him on smaller deals to show us what he's made of. Ennis in the playoffs also seemed to flip a switch to just become an absolute machine out there. He clearly wants to play for Edmonton, and I'm all about it.

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