One of the most active teams in terms of personnel changes this offseason has been the Edmonton Oilers, who have made meaningful shifts in leadership behind their bench following their elimination in the Western Conference Quarterfinal at the hands of the divisional rival Anaheim Ducks earlier this spring.
Oilers GM Stan Bowman decided a change behind the bench was necessary, and dismissed head coach Kris Knoblauch and assistant Mark Stuart; in their stead arrived Mike Babcock and D.J. Smith, a gamble that many in NHL circles are watching closely to see how it turns out.
Additionally, the Oilers made a handful of chances on the ice, bringing aboard Stanley Cup winning goaltender Frederik Andersen while trading defenseman Darnell Nurse to the San Jose Sharks.
Have they done enough? Right now, it appears as though there won’t be any additional moves, according to Bowman.
Edmonton Oilers Are Likely Finished Making Moves, According To GM Stan Bowman
Speaking with Oilers Insider Bob Stauffer on the Oilers Now podcast, Bowman implied that his club was finished making moves this offseason while also saying that the trade of Nurse did help create a bit of flexibility under the salary cap.
“This is sort of the ideal situation,” he said. “You can’t always put yourself in this position because things change, or you have players that are going to get raises that you definitely need, and sometimes your team is in a spot where you don’t have much room. That’s how we’ve been operating the first two years that I was here. We had no space at all.
“We were not in a position to if a player comes available in November that makes $2.5 million that you like, but they don’t want, they’re just trying to shed salary, we were never even in the market for that. It was impossible. But now we want to leave some money available.
Right now, the Oilers have just under $5 million worth of salary cap space.
“That’s probably in that neighbourhood ($4 to $4.5 million),” said Bowman on his cap space. “That’s more than enough. You don’t even need that much to start the year. It’s just hard when you start the year with like $800,000. Then you get one injury, and you’re already worried about LTI. We’re not in that position. I think we’re going to be able to pivot if there are opportunities that come up.”
He concluded:
“We’re not trying to just accrue cap space ad nauseam; you can never spend it all. But I think that you have to have some flexibility. We’ve put ourselves in a good spot. I like where we’re at. The team that we have to start the season is not going to be the exact same team in the playoffs. We’re going to have some new players, whether they come through trade or free agent acquisition or like trade deadline acquisitions. We’ll have to see how that shakes out.”
The Oilers Made Multiple Moves During The Offseason
Among the moves the Oilers made in addition to the trade of Nurse to the Sharks was the acquisition of prospect goaltender Devon Levi from the Buffalo Sabres, along with the signings of Colton Dach, Mathieu Joseph, and Ryan Shea.
Stan Bowman Confirms Oilers Plans For Remainder Of Offseason