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Buyout Window Opens and Closes |
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It appears as though the Oilers opened a second buyout window just for funsies. The Schultz settlement afforded the Oilers the chance to buyout Nikita Nikitin. This would have given them 3 million more in Cap space this coming year. That would have potentially lead into them adding another Defenseman from the UFA market (Franson) that could have actually helped the Oilers, but they didn’t do that.
The Oilers let the buyout window open and close, gone now until next year when we will surely be reading/writing numerous articles about what the team should do with aging Captain Andrew Ference.
The move doesn’t necessarily mean the roster is set in stone, but it is almost certainly close. Peter Chiarelli has been at times aggressive and in many others very measured in how he has approached the roster.
Chiarelli did not come in and trade away big assets like a Jordan Eberle, Oscar Klefbom, or even a Nail Yakupov. He also didn’t come in and clear away the rot at the bottom of the roster. The Oilers still have all the core young players they came into this offseason with. They also still have the trio of Scrivens, Nikitin, and Ference.
What Chiarelli did do was add a lot of competition for jobs in Edmonton’s most troubled positions. Even without adding an established starting NHL goaltender or a stud right handed defender, he improved those positions. Importantly, there’s depth in place to find replacements for those who can’t/won’t pull their own weight.
That depth is good to have, but the reality is that the Oilers do have some fat to cut on their roster. They have too many defensemen that should be in 5-6 roles, for example. There really doesn’t seem to be enough people who can impact the game (yet) from the blueline. Worse, there’s a lot of money tied up in the most egregious offenders among the group.
The Oilers are paying a combined 7.75M to Nikitin and Ference so they can occupy spots on their roster that could otherwise be filled by players on their ELCs or very inexpensive veterans. There’s almost no way to look at the Oilers’ Cap situation and come to any other conclusion than these two contracts are preventing the team from acquiring a quality player.
With the team as it is, the club has just shy of 2.89M in Cap space. They have nobody else to sign and indeed should be able to shave some money off by sending a couple bodies to Bakersfield, but adding anything new without taking something else away seems impossible.
As we know, teams don’t have to be Cap compliant until just before the regular season begins and there are still a few UFAs out there as well. Bodies are going to be moved, contracts are going to be signed. If the Oilers want to get in on that then they will have to find a taker for someone like Nikitin at half-price.
With the buyout window passed and unused we can start to look at Edmonton’s roster as practically complete. They have no means of adding anyone else until a body is moved out and that probably wont occur until teams get closer to the deadline to act. As Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now keeps pointing out on his show, the Leddy and Boychuk deals came on the eve of regular season. Moves like that might have been relatively rare in the past, but clubs are bunched up against the Cap and need wiggle room. We could see more deals of necessity in the coming years.
I’m not sure how much hope we should try to hold out for that last minute trade that lands the Oilers the RHD they’ve been dreaming of, but there’s still a chance. As of now, I see the Oilers as an improved club, certainly in net and also a little bit on the blue. Chiarelli addressed a fair number of key items but not all of them. This team will still depend greatly on the development of players who were here long before Chiarelli arrived.
I have my concerns but I doubt the team’s new management and coaching staff will suffer long before pushing for change if things are not working out early.
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