Report: Edmonton Oilers, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins re-entering contract negotiations

The Edmonton Oilers and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will be re-entering contract negotiations this week, TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reported Monday.

Contract talks had broken off in recent months and when they did, Rishaug reports, previous negotiations were in the $6-6.5-million range on a long-term deal.

News of contract talks is great news for the Oilers as Nugent-Hopkins is a key piece of this team, and should be for a long time. The best part, however, may be the range the contract talks have been in.

Nugent-Hopkins could easily command much more money than the $6-6.5-million range that’s been discussed. For the Oilers, re-signing him at a deal in that range could greatly help the team in trying to fill out the rest of the roster this offseason.

Beyond Nugent-Hopkins, the Oilers also have to ink Kailer Yamamoto to a contract extension, make decisions on Adam Larsson and Tyson Barrie, find a goaltender, as well as fill out the bottom of the forward group with many there in need of new deals.

In January, it was reported that the Oilers had “no plans” to offer Nugent-Hopkins a deal over $7-million on a new contract, and Rishaug’s report shows that to be the case.