Look ahead at Oilers free agency period and projected contracts

With the Oilers list of free agents for the upcoming season, it's obvious that Holland is going to have to make some big decisions. The Oilers have around 8M in cap space for next season, but have 12 free agents to divvy the money up between. Zach Laing of Oilersnation speculates about which free agents will remain with the Oilers and what their contracts could look like.

To start, the three restricted free agents in Holloway, Hamblin and Lavoie will be re-signed so they can try and improve the forward core on very cheap deals. Holloway will be expected to step up into the top 9 forwards group and could have the most impact out of all of them, most likely making just above a million a year.

For other forwards, Henrique and Foegele are likely projected to be lost to free agency over the summer. This is due to the fact that both are projected to make contracts upwards of 4M and more than 3 years. These contracts are not ones that Edmonton will be able to afford next year and will likely be ones that another team can sign much easier.


Then there's Perry, Carrick, Janmark and Brown. They're all projected to make anywhere from 1-1.4M, with 1 or 2 year deals. Zach assumes the Oilers will try to re-sign Perry and Brown, as they were both great depth pieces for the Oilers in different roles. He states that Carrick and Janmark may be re-signed depending on how much they feel like they need a defensive forward. Lastly Erne and Gagner most likely won't remain with the Oilers, either due to free agency or due to retirement.

For the defensemen the only unrestricted free agents are Desharnais, Stecher and Broberg. Desharnais is projected to make 1.4M, and will likely remain with the Oilers this year. He may demand more than 1.4M but probably not much more than that. Stecher is projected around 1M and may remain with the team, based on how much money Holland can move out and if they move Ceci or Kulak in the off-season. Broberg also looks for a contract around 1M for a year, which the Oilers will most likely look to increase the term of. Broberg will be a much cheaper option to either Ceci or Kulak, giving Holland money he will most likely need to use this free agency.