Will the Oilers keep or let go of a depth forward next year?

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Ryan Hall
June 12, 2023 (11:33 PM)

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General manager Ken Holland has quite the summer ahead of him. He has several decisions he will need to make as the team currently only has $5.9 million in cap space.

He must address seven restricted and unrestricted free agents at the moment. After a stellar year and playoff run, some players, including Evan Bouchard, are seeking a significant pay raise.

One particular player that's of interest is Oilers forward Mattias Janmark. Janmark is a depth forward for the team that helps round out the bottom 6. The 30-year-old centre had a decent season with the Oilers. He played 66 games, scored ten goals with 15 assists for 25 points and was a + 9 along with 30 penalty minutes.

Standing at 6 foot one and 205 pounds, Janmark still has plenty to offer the Oilers in terms of depth forward. His penalty-killing abilities alone are worth the money they were paying him. He also kept his consistency the same as the year prior. There hasn't been any dip in his durability and capabilities.

Having a one-year $1.25 million contract and seeking to stay it's highly likely that Holland will look at him again and bring him back the same money.

It doesn't mean that he will sign him mind you as there are other players, especially in the AHL that may do the same kind of numbers at a much lower cost, especially the league minimum.