Oilers may not have to make another trade after one salary dump

The most likely candidate for the Oilers to trade will be Cody Ceci, an underperforming defenceman in the final year of his contract for $3.25M. That will give the Oilers enough salary cap space to sign their last free agents, Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway. What makes Ceci the most likely candidate to be traded is the fact that the Oilers can already replace him.

Ceci has been playing in the top four, but realistically, he's a 6th defenceman on a Cup-contending team. The Oilers could easily replace him on the right side with two depth options they signed for value contracts - Troy Stecher and Connor Carrick.

Stecher played just 7 games with the Oilers last season before leaving for the year with an ankle injury that required surgery. However, Stecher has played 494 career NHL games in his career with 6 different teams, always proving himself to be a competent defenceman. The Oilers could trade Ceci, and simply replace him internally with Stecher. Given the fact that they gave both Stecher and Brown term on their contracts, the Oilers clearly believe they're NHL caliber players.

Still, the Oilers may want to look at making a move to upgrade their defence at next year's trade deadline. More quality players will become available and for reduced salary cap hits with retention, making any acquisition easier for the Oilers. Surely they'll need it as well, after seeing Darnell Nurse and Cody Ceci seriously struggle in the playoffs last year.