In an Edmonton Oilers news and rumors update, there is one player who was with the team last season that still needs to sign, but there are at least four or five names of players who have been linked to the Oilers in some capacity. The player who is already in town will get signed. That said, of the other players who have been playing for other teams and are now being linked to Edmonton, only a handful of them feel like potentially viable options.
Let’s take a look at each.
Ryan McLeod’s Deal Will Get Done
If you’re asking why it’s taking so long to get a deal done for Ryan McLeod, the answer is likely because there’s no rush from either side knowing that his extension is a matter of when and not if. It’s not really a matter of how much either. This is not going to be a complicated negotiation. McLeod has very little leverage other than to argue he’s a legitimate NHL player now. Meanwhile, the Oilers don’t have cap space to sign him to a long-term deal and take unrestricted free agency years off the table.
Expect a one-year deal at around $1 million to get done before camp and there should be no hard feelings. This is one of those times where both sides know where they stand and McLeod’s resume in the NHL and the position he’s in largely dictates what he’ll get. The team does like him a lot, so there’ll be plenty of opportunities for him to have a great 2022-23 season and create more leverage for himself.
Sam Gagner on a PTO?
There is definitely fire following the smoke that the Oilers are in talks with Sam Gagner about coming back to the team. The question is, do the Oilers only offer him a PTO? Or, do they not take a chance he could sign elsewhere and ink him to a one-year deal? If he agrees to a two-way contract, it might not matter, but if the Oilers are wondering if another player out there makes as much or better sense for them as Gagner does, a PTO might be their best option.
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With Phil Kessel and Paul Stastny having both signed similar one-year deals at the price tag of $1.5 million, the Oilers know that they’ll be able to do better. Gagner should come in at league minimum and definitely no more than $1 million.
Oilers Looked at Klingberg?
Elliotte Friedman noted during his recent 32 Thoughts podcast that he believed the Oilers were one of the teams that had eyes on John Klingberg before Klingberg signed with Anaheim this summer. Friedman believes GM Ken Holland was working with the Montreal Canadiens to negotiate a sign and trade where the Canadiens would sign Klingberg and then trade him to Edmonton for a sweetener after retaining some of the salary.
If accurate, this is intriguing as the Oilers might need to improve their defense, but one could argue what they don’t need is a power play quarterback who is better offensively than defensively. They already have Evan Bouchard and Tyson Barrie on the right side and Klingberg would have been more of the same.
Latest Patrick Kane Buzz
There is still talk that the Oilers have inquired about Patrick Kane and Frank Seravalli is the latest to confirm as much when he discussed Kane’s frame of mind heading into this season. The NHL insider notes that Edmonton is one of a handful of teams that reached out to Chicago but Kane is not ready to waive his no-trade to go anywhere yet.
The Oilers will remain interested, especially if they get out to a strong start this season, but the deal will be complex as they’ll need a third team to help facilitate a move with double salary retention happening so Kane can fit under the cap. For the Oilers, it’s not about the real dollars owed Kane, it’s the cap hit that would be a hold-up.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers are the other two teams Seravalli mentioned had inquired about Kane’s availability as well.