With the offseason underway for the Edmonton Oilers, it’s back to the drawing board for general manager Peter Chiarelli. It’s going to be a busy summer for Chiarelli as the Oilers have 24 free agents (10 unrestricted, 14 restricted) to make decisions on.
Chiarelli has already indicated that he intends to open talks with Kris Russell, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. McDavid will enter the final year of his entry-level contract (ELC) for 2017-18 and will need an extension before next summer. The priority will be on getting him and Draisaitl signed as soon as possible so Chiarelli can figure out how much cap space he has to work with long-term in Edmonton.
Edmonton’s AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, were one of the lowest-scoring teams in the minors. If that’s any indication of what’s coming down the pipe, the Oilers will be in a tough spot to follow those contending models set by the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins. Both teams were able to continue their success by signing college free agents, drafting well in later rounds and eventually having those players provide cheap scoring depth around their stars.
Regardless, here’s the Oilers full UFA and RFA list for this summer broken down by position.
List of Oilers UFA/RFA Goaltenders
There’s a possibility neither of these goaltenders is back with the organization next season. Gustavsson, 32, was brought in to provide cheap backup depth behind Cam Talbot but faltered early in the season before being demoted to the AHL Condors. Before his demotion, he started just five games for the Oilers and held a 1-3-1 record with a 3.10 goals-against average (GAA) and a .878 save percentage (SV%).
Gustavsson allowed four or more goals in three of those five starts. After eight seasons in North America, he signed with Linkoping HC (SHL) for 2017-18 and will likely split starting duties with Jacob Johansson next season.
| OILERS UFA/RFA GOALIES | |||||||||
| POS | NAME | FA | AGE | CAP HIT | LEAGUE | GP | W | GAA | SV% |
| G | E. Laurikainen | RFA | 25 | $640 | ECHL | 11 | 1-7 | 3.77 | 0.881 |
A free agent signing in May 2015, Laurikainen, 24, has struggled through two seasons in North America and fizzled out in the ECHL this season with a 3.77 GAA and a 0.881 SV% through 11 games. With Nick Ellis leapfrogging him on the depth chart and the addition of Shane Starrett, Laurikainen’s future in Edmonton looks murky at best.
He was loaned to HPK (Liiga) in his native Finland during 2015-16 and didn’t play a single game in the AHL in 2016-17.
List of Oilers UFA/RFA Defensemen
There’s arguably no other UFA on the Oilers list more controversial than Russell. He’s earned a split audience over his season in Edmonton, and he does some defensive things well for some fans, he does them horribly for those of the analytics community.
Chiarelli has already expressed an interest in bringing Russell back, and the preference should be for a short-term deal, with a cap hit between $3.5-4 million. There’s also some interest to bring back Gryba as a serviceable seventh-defenseman next season, on a one-year deal.
| OILERS UFA/RFA DEFENSEMEN | |||||||||
| POS | NAME | FA | AGE | CAP HIT | LEAGUE | GP | G | A | PTS |
| RD | K. Russell | UFA | 30 | $3.10M | NHL | 68 | 1 | 12 | 13 |
| RD | E. Gryba | UFA | 29 | $950K | NHL | 40 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| LD | J. Oesterle | UFA | 24 | $585K | AHL | 44 | 7 | 25 | 32 |
| LD | M. Fraser | UFA | 30 | $575K | AHL | 65 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| LD | G. Reinhart | RFA | 23 | $863K | AHL | 54 | 7 | 14 | 21 |
| LD | D. Musil | RFA | 24 | $600K | AHL | 60 | 4 | 14 | 18 |
| LD | D. Simpson | RFA | 24 | $836K | AHL | 53 | 3 | 8 | 11 |
Fraser is likely headed for free agency, and Oesterle may be as well depending on where he sees his best opportunity to make the NHL next season. The 24-year-old has 157 AHL games under his belt but has played just 25 games with the Oilers over the last three seasons.
If Reinhart is unclaimed in the expansion draft, it’s likely the Oilers tender qualifying offers to all three RFA defensemen.
List of Oilers UFA/RFA Forwards
Draisaitl is the biggest name for the Oilers that’s up for a new contract this summer. He could cost as much as $7 million, and if Connor McDavid gets a $9 million plus contract, things are going to be tight in Edmonton.The Oilers will have to be creative with their financial structure from here on out.
The Oilers will get $5.35 million off the cap when David Desharnais and Matt Hendricks hit the market. Regardless of being a heart-and-soul teammate, several players have passed Hendricks, 35, on the depth chart, and he’s likely played his last game as an Oiler.
Desharnais was virtually a fourth-line player after being acquired at the trade deadline, and his offensive game peaked five years ago. He’s been on a steady decline since and may be facing the reality of a professional tryout being his best bet at sticking around the NHL next season.
Justin Fontaine, 29, provided plenty of scoring for the Condors, but the UFA will likely want his best chance at NHL minutes next year, something that isn’t available due to the depth in Edmonton. Zack Kassian had a great year in Edmonton and seemingly has his career back on track and could be heading towards a raise approaching $2 million.
| OILERS UFA/RFA FORWARDS | |||||||||
| POS | NAME | FA | AGE | CAP HIT | LEAGUE | GP | G | A | PTS |
| C | David Desharnais | UFA | 30 | $3.50M | NHL | 49 | 6 | 8 | 14 |
| LW | Matt Hendricks | UFA | 35 | $1.85M | NHL | 42 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| RW | Tyler Pitlick | UFA | 25 | $725K | NHL | 31 | 8 | 3 | 11 |
| RW | Justin Fontaine | UFA | 29 | $600K | AHL | 65 | 11 | 30 | 41 |
| C | Leon Draisaitl | RFA | 21 | $925K | NHL | 82 | 29 | 48 | 77 |
| RW | Zack Kassian | RFA | 26 | $1.50M | NHL | 79 | 7 | 17 | 24 |
| RW | Iiro Pakarinen | RFA | 25 | $725K | NHL | 14 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| LW | Joey LaLeggia | RFA | 24 | $883K | AHL | 67 | 20 | 18 | 38 |
| LW | Jujhar Khaira | RFA | 22 | $875K | AHL | 27 | 8 | 12 | 20 |
| RW | Henrik Samuelsson | RFA | 23 | $894K | AHL | 25 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| LW | Zach Pochiro | RFA | 23 | $663K | ECHL | 42 | 3 | 24 | 27 |
Iiro Pakarinen recently signed a one-year $725,000 deal with Edmonton after an injury-plagued year that limited him to just 14 games. Todd McLellan’s been a fan of Pakarinen’s two-way abilities and with good health will battle for a fourth-line job next season. Anton Lander and Jere Sallinen are headed to Europe next season. Lander signed a deal with AK Bars (KHL), and after one season in North America, Sallinen signed with Orebro HK (Liiga).
Henrik Samuelsson was acquired midway through the 2016-17 season from the Arizona Coyotes, and the former 27th overall pick in 2012 has seen his stock fall drastically. The Oilers acquired him for the maligned Mitch Moroz, and after posting 40 points in 68 AHL games in 2014-15, Samuelsson posted just three points in 25 games in 2016-17. Originally projected to be a top-six power forward, Samuelsson may not project to being an NHL forward at all. Time is of the essence.
Zach Pochiro was acquired at the beginning of the year in the deal that sent Nail Yakupov to the St. Louis Blues, and after a slow start to the season, Pochiro finished with 27 points in 42 games. He did play four games with the Condors scoring two points, and the lanky project forward could be an AHL regular in 2017-18.