Ceci trade gives Oilers much more possibilities with offer sheet situation

After last night's trades from new GM Stan Bowman, the Oilers are now in the position where they can choose which offer sheets to match. There is growing sentiment that the Oilers may choose to not match either, as they're not in the position to overpay just to retain rights to prospects.

After the Ceci cap dump, the Oilers currently sit at ~$1M under the cap. To sign either player would still put them over the cap limit, which is not as bad as it sounds. Any team is allowed to exceed the cap limit by 10% (or 8.8M) over the cap limit until the start of the preseason.

This is generally frowned upon, as teams would still have to move all that money out before the preseason starts, which gets harder and harder the longer the summer goes on. The Oilers could theoretically match both offers and not have to move any money as of now, but that would still put them $5.9M over the cap.

This is why it's assumed both offers won't be met, because it takes away the Oilers' ability to have any cap flexibility. They would be $100k under the salary cap, making it almost impossible for them to make any meaningful moves. Add this to the fact that Broberg and Holloway were originally asking much less than their offer sheet totals, and you may have a case to let one or both walk.

It'll be interesting to see what the Oilers decide, but these moves have allowed them to make whichever decision they choose. The deadline for their offer sheet decisions is Wednesday morning, so it'll be a decision that comes out very soon.