Edmonton Oilers Players Who Won't Be Returning Next Season
The Edmonton Oilers will be right up near the salary cap limit with about $6 million to spend. They currently have seven unrestricted free agents, and three restricted free agents to consider.
We will concentrate on three players they may need to consider trading to allow enough cap space room to sign other players.
Campbell would save the Edmonton club $5 million through 2027/28 when his contract expires. Needless to say, he may be gone since the arrival of Stuart Skinner in the net has worked out well.
Campbell had an impressive 21-9-4 record with a less impressive .888 save percentage and a dismal 3.41 GAA.
Being able to use his cap hit for other players to remain seems to be the plan. If the team goes with Skinner, they will need a backup goalie. Someone like Antti Raanta could be had for half of Campbell's cap hit.
The suitors for Campbell's services could come from the Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins and Los Angeles Kings.
Devin Shore was a depth forward for the Oilers in 2022-23 and will be a free agent this July. He appeared in 47 regular season games, scoring nine points. He didn't appear in one Stanley Cup Playoff game and will be replaced next season.
Time to trade him.
The Oilers acquired Nick Bjugstad down the stretch this season from the Arizona Coyotes. He wasn't a perfect match in Edmonton. The team was hopeful he could play a checking role on the team's third line, but his play was too inconsistent and the results weren't sustainable. Bjugstad finished the regular season with six points in 19 games and another three goals in 12 playoff games. Bjugstad hits the open market in July and don't expect to see the towering 6'-6" forward re-sign with the Oilers.
His salary was only $900,000, with the Coyotes retaining half of it. Now, he may just re-sign with Arizona, but his days in Edmonton seem to be over.
Obviously, trading Campbell would be the priority to give Holland more cap space to work his roster for next season.
| POLL | ||
MAI 19 | 860 ANSWERS Edmonton Oilers Players Who Won't Be Returning Next Season It is important that the Oilers trade Jack Campbell? | ||
| Yes, they need his cap dollars | 401 | 46.6 % |
| No, they should keep him | 288 | 33.5 % |
| He was not on a good defensive team, that hurt him | 171 | 19.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
