Yahoo Sports Oilers Set To Get Big Salary Cap Boost
The days of the flat cap are mercifully behind us.
View the original article to see embedded media.
That's one of the biggest takeaways from yesterday's NHL Board of Governors meetings, where it was decided that the preliminary salary cap figure for 2025-26 will be $92.5 million. With that extra bit of certainty, capped-out teams like the Oilers can plan more effectively for next season.
Biggest takeaways from the NHL Board of Governors meetings in NYC today:
- CBA talks w/ players start in early 2025
- Preliminary salary cap for 25-26: $92.5 million
- Shrinking preseason and expanding regular season is "on a list of things to think about" in next CBA.— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) October 1, 2024
Per PuckPedia, the Oilers' cap projection for 2025-26 sits at $77,387,500, giving them just over $15 million in cap room with 16 players signed. That figure includes a $5.5 million raise for Leon Draisaitl, leaving the Oilers plenty of room for new business.
That's great news, because the Oilers will have a fair bit of new business to attend to. The big one is extending Evan Bouchard, who becomes an RFA next summer. After a breakout season that vaulted him into the league's upper echelon of defencemen, Bouchard is all but guaranteed a $10 million AAV on his next contract, if not more. If Bouchard takes another step this season, he could command upwards of $11 million.
For now, let's say Bouchard holds serve and repeats last season's performance, earning an eight-year, $80 million contract extension. That leaves Edmonton $5.1 million in cap space to re-sign or replace Jeff Skinner, Corey Perry, Connor Brown, Derek Ryan, and Ty Emberson.
Emberson should stick around for cheap, at around $2 million. Perry and Ryan are likely to retire anyway, and Brown can either come back for around $1 million or be replaced for as much. The player they'll miss most is Jeff Skinner, who will likely be looking to cash in after a productive post-buyout season in Edmonton. Even if he is happy at $3 million -- which he may very well be considering he's still getting paid by Buffalo -- that prices him out of Edmonton next season.
With $2 million left over, the Oilers can add depth at either forward or defence, or go after someone in the Skinner mold -- a veteran scorer who doesn't care about the money and just wants to win and play on a line with McDavid or Draisaitl.
Matt Savoie and Raphael Lavoie will surely be counted on to fill those top and bottom six roles, and with a breakout season, we could even see top prospect Sam O'Reilly slide into the bottom six. For a team so close to the cap, those youngsters will be hugely important.
Of course, they can also create some more cap room by trading a troublesome contract like Evander Kane or Josh Brown, giving them room for an upgrade on defence or another top-six scorer.
At any rate, they'll need to leave plenty of room for 2026-27. Not only will Connor McDavid's presumptively massive extension kick in that year, they'll also be losing Kane, Viktor Arvidsson, Adam Henrique, Mattias Ekholm, Brett Kulak, and both goalies to unrestricted free agency.
Still, the Oilers can be happy they'll have room to extend Bouchard. Get the stars locked up, and everything else follows.
Bookmark The Hockey News Edmonton Oilers team site to never miss news, interviews, or any other updates on the Oilers.
Related: Insider Claims New Docu-Series Will Shatter Opinions Of McDavid
Related: Dylan Holloway Continues Dominant Pre-Season With New Team
Related: Oilers Unearth Hidden Gem in Podkolzin
Related: Oilers Cut Five More Players From Training Camp
