Edmonton Oilers working to sign two new players

The Edmonton Oilers were heavily restricted by the salary cap for what they could do at the trade deadline. After being connected to big names like Jake Guentzel and Pavel Buchnevich, the Oilers settled on a trade with the Ducks to acquire veteran forwards Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick. Both players are pending free agents, and now according to Elliotte Friedman, the Oilers have already begun work on attempting to re-sign the two newest players.

The Oilers were believed to be interested in players with term at the deadline, so it makes sense that they'd want to retain these players and get the most value they can out of the first round pick they traded.

Adam Henrique is currently signed to a contract that pays him $5.875M annually. Now 34 years old, Henrique is probably going to take a significant salary cut on his next contract - but he's still been a quality player with 18 goals and 42 points in 60 games this year. The Oilers would likely be interested in being back Henrique at a lower price to serve as the third line centre, but won't look to pay him much.


On the other hand, Carrick would be very easy for the Oilers to keep if they wish to. Carrick's 32 years old with only 227 NHL games played and making league minimum salary, and won't command much of a raise.

Bringing back both of these players next year may force a re-configuration of the bottom six, and may be tough to find ice time for players like Derek Ryan, Mattias Janmark, and Sam Gagner. If the Oilers are willing to pay the price, they could improve their bottom six for all of next season.