Ken Holland's Cap Catastrophe Continues to Ruin The Oilers Chances of Acquiring a Superstar

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Ryan Hall
February 15, 2023 (7:30)

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With March 3rd less than a month away, all hockey fans and pundits are waiting to see what NHL teams will do to bolster their lineup for the final playoff push. The Oilers are one such team that many have a focus on as the team needs changes in numerous areas.

However, recent reports suggest that the Oilers continue to have cap problems and flexibility issues to make moves. Numerous trade rumours suggest that multiple teams would need to take money on to make any deals possible with the Oilers due to their cap problems. Pierre Lebrun of The Athletic reports on the Oilers' troubles.

The Oilers have $1.125 million in cap space and 22 players available on their roster, according to CapFriendly. The Oilers will have to do some juggling to activate Kailer Yamamoto, who holds a cap hit of $3.1 million. It has been difficult to find a new home for Jesse Pujujarvi at $3 million.

17 teams out of 32 hold more than one player on LTIR and are well over the cap hit projection. Couple in a much deeper draft next year and many teams are reluctant to give up on their draft picks as this upcoming draft will be one of the best in a generation.

Safe to say, General manager Ken Holland has his work cut out for him to improve his club which is looking much more difficult to do in the coming weeks. Prices remain quite high for rentals and the Oilers do have some capital in terms of draft picks in which they have six out of their seven rounds this season.