Evander Kane would like to play in the regular season.

When that happens is unknown, but if he does, then the Oilers lose all his LTIR cap space. It will make Stan Bowman’s job more difficult, but that shouldn’t stop the Oilers’ general manager from making some deals. No cap space, or limited cap space, hasn’t stopped other teams from making deals.

The Oilers have been in LTIR before the trade deadline, but that didn’t stop them from making moves — some substantial moves. I reached out to Hart at PuckPedia to get the actual cap space, or lack thereof, at the three previous trade deadlines…

In 2022 the Oilers were in LTIR, but Ken Holland still managed to acquire Brett Kulak and Derick Brassard. Montreal retained 50% of Kulak’s salary, they took William Lagesson to make the deal work, and they got a 2022 2nd pick and a 2024 seventh rounder. Edmonton actually gained cap space in that deal as Kulak’s half salary was $200k lower than Lagesson’s. That allowed them to add Brassard. Brassard wasn’t that impactful, but Kulak has been one of the Oilers’ best post-season players for the past three years. And they re-signed him to a four-year extension at $2.75m AAV.

In 2023, the Oilers had no cap space again. Holland managed to trade Jesse Puljujarvi ($3m) to Carolina for Patrik Puistola. Essentially a $3m salary dump for a player on the Canes 50-man roster who was never going to play.

That trade opened up cap space to allow Holland to acquire Mattias Ekholm from Nashville for Tyson Barrie, Reid Schaefer and a first-round pick. Nashville retained $250K (4%) of Ekholm’s salary to make the trade work financially for the Oilers. And that extra space allowed Holland to acquire Nick Bjugstad and Cam Dineen from Arizona for Michael Kesselring. Ekholm has been a tower on the blue line for Edmonton. Bjugstad had a good playoff but opted to re-sign in Arizona.

Both years, Holland was creative and added some key pieces to the Oilers roster, despite having no cap space. It was difficult, but not impossible, and with Kane hoping to play before the end of the season, Bowman will need to get creative and add some players.

— He can trade Kane ($5.125m for this year and next season), which would free up some cap space. Kane hasn’t played since Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final (June 10th, 2024). He had surgery to repair both abductors, two hernias and two abdominal tears in September. He had an additional knee surgery in January to “clean up some stuff,” but it wasn’t structural. He has been skating for the past few weeks and is hoping to play some games before the end of the regular season.

Trading Kane won’t be easy. He has a 16-team trade list, and it sounds like it is mainly full of playoff-contending teams. Trading Kane could open up cap space, but the Oilers could benefit from his on-ice style. Kane is a rugged, physical forward who can score. He scored 24 goals last season, despite dealing with nagging injuries. He also led the Oilers with 250 hits. He can be self-centred off-the-ice and walks to the beat to his own drum, but you can’t deny his impact on the ice. Edmonton would benefit greatly from his physical style. They are the least physical team in the NHL, by a large margin. If they trade him, then they need to get an impact player in return or use his cap space to acquire one in another deal.

— Long time player agent Ritch Winter said last week on my show: “If a team really wants to trade you, then you will get traded, even if you have a no-move clause.” He added that a player doesn’t want to stay where they aren’t wanted. The clause can help them pick some destinations, but ultimately, if a team wants you out, it happens. Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson have NMCs. Both have struggled in Edmonton. Moving them won’t be easy, but it doesn’t mean Bowman can’t make it happen. He needs to look at all options.

— The Oilers are a good team. They had a rough start and a recent tough stretch, but overall, I still view them as a legit playoff contender. They could use some more speed, a top-six winger who can finish and some physicality. A second pair RD could also help. I know many want a goalie, but I don’t see any available who are a clear upgrade both short and long term. They could trade for one, but they wouldn’t be getting an elite goalie, who is always consistent. That list of goalies is very short.

Holland proved you can make deals even when you have limited cap to not cap space. I don’t buy the argument the Oilers can only make one move if they keep Kane. They could make more, those deals will just be a bit more challenging, but not impossible.

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