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Oilers GM updates team's contract talks with 9 pending free agents
Photo credit: Jim Rassol - Imagn Images
Edmonton Oilers training camp officially opened today, and GM Stan Bowman updated the team's position on 9 pending free agents.
The biggest priority for the Oilers will be re-signing captain Connor McDavid, but that contract may not be done anytime soon. In the meantime, other contracts could get done.
Oilers GM updated contract talks with 9 pending free agents
Other than McDavid, Adam Henrique, Kapseri Kapanen, Jake Walman, Mattias Ekholm, Brett Kulak, Troy Stecher, Stuart Skinner, and Calvin Pickard will become UFAs at the end of the year. Vasily Podkolzin is the team's only RFA.
Speaking to the media today, Bowman stated the team has no timeline on other contract extensions, and some may not be done until next summer.
No, I think we have had preliminary discussions with a bunch of people who are going into their last year of the deal, not just the two you name, but there's other players as well,» said Bowman when asked specifically about Ekholm and Walman. «I don't know if we're going to wrap all those up in the next little bit, or if it'll bleed into the season, or if we'll wait until next year.
- Stan Bowman
- Stan Bowman
Of the list, the 2 most likely players to be re-signed before the upcoming regular season should be Jake Walman and Vasily Podkolzin.
Both players are primed for a breakout year, and the Oilers may be wise to sign them now before their dollar value rises. Insider Bob Stauffer has hinted the team is pursuing those extensions, along with Mattias Ekholm.
The Oilers don't have much cap space now, but according to PuckPedia, they'll have just over $44M to spend next summer with current contracts off the books. That should be enough to sign McDavid and surround him with high end talent - starting with retaining their current players.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 17 | 436 ANSWERS Oilers GM updates team's contract talks with 9 pending free agents Do you think the Oilers will sign Walman and Podkolzin before the season begins? | ||
| Yes | 305 | 70 % |
| No | 131 | 30 % |
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