Edmonton Oilers send Cody Ceci to rebuilding team in complex trade

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Ryan Hall
August 18, 2024 (9:22 PM)

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Just moments ago, the Edmonton Oilers completed a trade with the San Jose Sharks sending Cody Ceci and a third-round pick in 2025 in exchange for Ty Emberson.

Much speculation has been rampant as the Oilers are trying to free up extra cap space to keep one of their offer sheeted players. The Edmonton Oilers have two days left to match contracts for Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway signed with the St. Louis Blues. Prior to this trade, the Oilers were $8.225M over the salary cap, and now they'll be only $5M over.

Sending Ceci to San Jose will free up $3.2 million dollars in cap space which will help the team retain either Dylan Holloway or Philip Broberg. Evander Kane is also potentially going on the LTIR, giving the Oilers an additional $5M in cap space. It then seems possible that the Oilers would be able to match the contracts for both RFA players.

However, the trade earlier today for Vasily Podkolzin from the Vancouver Canucks complicates things. Many see Podkolzin, a relatively recent top ten draft pick, as a replacement candidate for Dylan Holloway, and cheaper against the cap too.

With so much salary cap workings in play and trying to retain two players that could have a future with the Oilers, this deal to send Ceci to the Sharks is a complex one for the amount of possibilities it gives the Oilers. Just the little bit of cap space freed up by this trade, and the Oilers are much better equipped to deal with the offer sheet scenario.

Source for all Salary information: PuckPedia - Oilers