It’s been a busy week for Stan Bowman and the Oilers front office, picking up Trent Frederic and Max Jones on Tuesday, and adding Jake Walman as the clock struck midnight.
And while the team has found themselves tight to the cap now, that doesn’t mean they’re not going to try and swing another deal, TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reported Friday.
Rishaug posted on social media he’d “expect the Oilers to be hunting around for some top 6 forward help.”
I’d expect Oilers to be hunting around for some top 6 forward help, but given the cap scenario will be tricky. Need to move some players out to make it happen and that’s tough with all the NMC’s. Don’t believe we’ll see anything on the goaltending front and D is likely set.
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) March 7, 2025
The Oilers do have some options to try and clear space, but it would involve some players waiving no movement clauses.
Things haven’t worked well for Viktor Arvidsson (one-year left, $4-million cap-hit), Jeff Skinner (pending UFA, $3-million), and John Klingberg (pending UFA, $1.7-million) since they’ve arrived in Edmonton this year, while Kasperi Kapanen (pending UFA, $1-million) could be another option to move.
When it comes to Arvidsson and Skinner, however, both players have full no-movement clauses, so they would have to be willing to play ball in terms of finding a trade partner.
There’s still a plethora of players available in the trade market at the time of writing that could be options. The Pittsburgh Penguins’ Rickard Rakell, the Chicago Blackhawks’ Ryan Donato, the Buffalo Sabres’ JJ Peterka and Alex Tuch, and the Boston Bruins’ Brad Marchand have had their names all floating in the rumour mill in recent days.
Donato might be the easiest of the bunch to acquire salary wise with a $2-million cap hit, but it goes without saying the likes of Peterka, Tuch, and Rakell would likely all have more significant impacts for the Oilers. If the team could find a way to get Arvidsson or Skinner to waive their no-movement clauses, that could open many other doors for the team in the trade market.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.
