The Edmonton Oilers are looking at a very different team this season after a major roster shakeup that’s left many fans scratching their heads.
Fresh off two straight Stanley Cup Finals appearances, you’d think the team would focus on fixing their goaltending issues. Instead, they’ve completely reshuffled their forward lines, letting several key veterans walk and making some surprising trades.
The first domino to fall was Evander Kane, who got shipped to Vancouver for just a fourth-round pick. It wasn’t a move the Oilers wanted to make, but with salary cap pressure mounting, they had to clear his $5.125 million hit before free agency kicked off on July 1.
Kane might not be the superstar he once was, but he could still make things happen on the ice. He was especially good in the first three rounds of last year’s playoffs.
Then came the Viktor Arvidsson trade to Boston, netting only a 2027 fifth-round pick in return. The move freed up $4 million in cap space, which helped them lock up star defenseman Evan Bouchard.
Arvidsson’s time in Edmonton was pretty forgettable – just 15 goals and 12 assists in 67 games. But it wasn’t that long ago he put up 26 goals with the LA Kings.
The exodus didn’t stop there.
Connor Brown headed to New Jersey on a four-year, $12 million deal. Corey Perry landed in Los Angeles, and John Klingberg packed his bags for San Jose.
The Oilers tried to patch the holes, but their solutions raise some eyebrows. They gave Trent Frederic an eight-year deal worth $3.85 million per season – pretty generous for someone who only managed eight goals and seven assists last year.
They also brought back Kasperi Kapanen for one year at $1.3 million. He’s a decent player, but his hot-and-cold scoring makes him tough to rely on. He’s not really built for bottom-six duties, but that’s probably where he’ll end up.
The big question now: Is this new-look forward group really better than the one that just took them to the Cup Finals?
