The Edmonton Oilers are heading into camp with a roster gap, and the summer moves that brought in Matt Savoie and Ike Howard don’t really hide what’s underneath. The franchise is staring at a rebuild, even if a Stanley Cup or two would soften the blow. The concern is that a down stretch looks hard to avoid during the 2030s.
The roster itself points to the issue. Only 30 percent of the team is under 27, and that leaves the organization looking like it is nearing the falls with help not on the way.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are not the worry. The bigger problem is what happens as Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Mattias Ekholm get older.
Those three are central to the Oilers’ current identity, and the source here makes the point plainly: Hyman is a unique player, and Edmonton does not have someone lined up to replace him. The same goes for Nugent-Hopkins and Ekholm. That kind of talent doesn’t just reappear on command.
Behind Howard, the top forward prospect is Josh Samanski, a checking center whose value is obvious, even if the expectation is that he is unlikely to become a major piece over the next five seasons. On the blue line, Damien Carfagna is the top defender prospect, though there is uncertainty about how much the organization values him. The top goalie prospect is Samuel Jonsson, and he is viewed as having a real chance to develop into an NHL starter.
There isn’t a clean fix here. The source says the alarm has been sounded for two years already, and the one possible answer that comes to mind is an offer sheet.
That avenue may have already been undercut by how active the summer has been. The warning is blunt: any general manager who still doesn’t understand the need to protect himself from offer sheets is going to be out of a job soon.
If that option disappears, Edmonton is in trouble. You don’t luck into replacing Hyman, Nugent-Hopkins and Ekholm with depth picks and smart trades, and you can’t move quickly enough to get ahead of the problem.
In Other News...
Evan Bouchards Bet Could Leave The Oilers With A Brutal Bill
Evan Bouchards next contract conversation is already lurking in the background, even with his latest deal still fresh on the books. Last summer, he chose a shorter four-year, $42 million extension with Edmonton instead of locking in a longer commitment, a move that gave him more flexibility and kept him positioned to cash in again while the NHL salary market keeps climbing.
For the Oilers, it is the familiar tradeoff of paying for certainty now or risking a much steeper bill later. Bouchard will be back on the market at age 29, and the recent wave of high-end contracts around the league only adds to the sense that Edmonton may have bought time, not cost control, when it settled on the shorter term. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Fans May Be Facing A New Weeknight Puck Drop Problem
With Alberta set to make daylight saving time permanent, Oilers fans may need to get used to a small but meaningful shift in the rhythm of weeknight hockey. The change will alter how game times are listed and how they feel on the ground in Edmonton, where a puck drop that looks familiar on the schedule could land an hour later locally once the province stops changing the clocks.
League officials and team brass are already acknowledging the ripple effect, with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman saying the league will deal with it and noting the issue could touch Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. For the Oilers, the concern is less about the calendar than the crowd, since later starts can make life harder for families, younger fans and anyone trying to follow along live, and the full scheduling impact is still coming into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Ducks Get Pulled Back Into Another Morgan Rielly Rumor
Morgan Rielly is back in the rumor mill after Chris Johnston reported that, even with public comments pointing toward the defenseman staying put in Toronto, general manager John Chayka is still looking at trade possibilities. For a player with a $7.5 million contract over the next four seasons, any serious discussion has to clear plenty of hurdles, and this one already has the feel of a deal that would take patience rather than urgency.
Anaheim and San Jose have been mentioned among the Western Conference possibilities, but both clubs are dealing with cap pressure and roster changes that make a move harder to line up. So while the idea has resurfaced, this is not shaping up as something that happens right away, which is exactly why the speculation around Rielly keeps lingering instead of going away. [Read more 🡒]