Edmonton Oilers May Sign Another Defenceman Before Regular Season
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The Edmonton Oilers still have defenceman Travis Dermott on the roster, and although they're right against the salary cap, they can still sign him.
Travis Dermott has played well enough in training camp to earn a contract as a depth defenceman this year. One Oilers fan has done the math, and determined that the team can sign Dermott for exactly $838,719.
The Oilers will also want to accrue as much salary cap space throughout the season to use for a trade deadline. They can do so by not placing Evander Kane on LTIR, and even with Kane's salary counting against the cap, the Oilers can sign Dermott. From that point on, they could demote a player like Derek Ryan, Josh Brown, Vasily Podkolzin, or Noah Philp to the AHL, and the Oilers would accrue significant cap space throughout the year. Prospect Roby Jarventie will have to begin the year on the Oilers roster due to injury, and will cost a little over $100K.
If the Oilers sent one of those players down and ran a roster with $800K cap space through the season, they'd be able to accrue nearly $2M in space to use in a trade at the deadline. With salary cap retention, the Oilers could add up to $8M in salary via trade. Edmonton needs to acquire an impact defenceman at the deadline, and they could certainly do so with a budget of $8M.
For now though, it makes total sense for the Oilers to sign Travis Dermott. The 27 year old defenceman has 329 career games played with quality teams, and even has some experience in the playoffs. Keeping him for insurance for injuries is a smart move considering how little his salary will cost.
The Oilers have just 7 days to decide their move with the regular season opening on October 9th against the Winnipeg Jets. Dermott likely won't be in the lineup, but in a year where the Oilers could win the Stanley Cup, every single player spot will have a role.
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