:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46487638/GettyImages-170350316.0.jpg)
In my last post I covered off what the Oilers should do with their RFAs. Part of the reason I did this was so I could establish a baseline for the ongoing Armchair GM series. Today I’m going to talk about the salary cap and the Oilers situation.
Recognition Due
Before I get into this any further I will be using the following websites as sources for cap and salary information:
The Oilers and the Cap (2015/16)
As of June 6, 2015 the Oilers salary situation looks like this:
Forwards
| Player | Position | Age | UFA | Cap Hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Eberle | RW | 25 | 2019 | 6,000,000 |
| Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | C | 22 | 2021 | 6,000,000 |
| Taylor Hall | LW | 23 | 2020 | 6,000,000 |
| Teddy Purcell | RW | 29 | 2016 | 4,500,000 |
| Benoit Pouliot | LW | 28 | 2019 | 4,000,000 |
| Boyd Gordon | C | 31 | 2016 | 3,000,000 |
| Nail Yakupov | RW | 21 | N/A | 2,500,000 |
| Matt Hendricks | LW | 33 | 2017 | 1,850,000 |
| Anton Lander | C | 24 | N/A | 987,500 |
| Rob Klinkhammer | LW | 28 | 2016 | 725,000 |
| Total | 10 | 35,562,500 |
Defense
| Player | Position | Age | UFA | Cap Hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nikita Nikitin | D | 28 | 2016 | 4,500,000 |
| Justin Schultz ** | D | 24 | N/A | 3,675,000 |
| Mark Fayne | D | 28 | 2018 | 3,625,000 |
| Andrew Ference | D | 36 | 2017 | 3,250,000 |
| Oscar Klefbom | D | 21 | N/A | 894,167 |
| Martin Marincin ** | D | 23 | N/A | 850,500 |
| Total | 6 | 16,794,667 |
Goaltending
| Player | Position | Age | UFA | Cap Hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Scrivens | G | 28 | 2016 | 2,300,000 |
| Total | 1 | 2,300,000 |
The Oilers’ total cap hit is $54,657,167 and they have a total of 17 players signed or RFA. The maximum number of players that a team can have is 22 23 and is usually broken down with 13 14 forwards, 7 defensemen and 2 goalies.
The salary cap ceiling for 2014/15 was $69M. If nothing was to change next season the Oilers would have $14,342,833 to spend on 3 4 forwards, 1 defenseman and 1 goalie. That gives them $2,868,566/player $2,390,472/player which isn’t bad considering that two three of those players will hopefully be sub $1M players. Of course if the salary cap increases for next season it just helps the team even more so.
Non-Cap Players
This is a list of players that don’t count towards the cap but could if the Oilers decide to call them up from the AHL or keep them straight out of training camp.
| Player | Position | Age | Base | Perf Bonus | Signing Bonus | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leon Draisaitl | C | 19 | 925,000 | 2,475,000 | 92,500 | 3,492,500 |
| David Musil | D | 22 | 894,167 | 0 | 92,500 | 986,667 |
| Jujhar Khaira | LW | 20 | 875,000 | 0 | 92,500 | 967,500 |
| Darnell Nurse | D | 20 | 863,333 | 850,000 | 92,500 | 1,805,833 |
| Laurent Brossoit | G | 22 | 659,167 | 232,500 | 92,500 | 984,167 |
| Iiro Pakarinen | RW | 23 | 925,000 | 82,500 | 92,500 | 1,100,000 |
| Luke Gazdic | LW | 25 | 800,000 | 0 | 0 | 800,000 |
| Ryan Hamilton | LW | 30 | 600,000 | 0 | 0 | 600,000 |
| Tyler Pitlick ** | RW | 23 | 945,000 | 0 | 0 | 945,000 |
| Matt Fraser ** | RW | 25 | 687,500 | 0 | 0 | 687,500 |
| Curtis Hamilton ** | RW | 23 | 761,250 | 0 | 0 | 761,250 |
| Brandon Davidson ** | RW | 23 | 704,000 | 0 | 0 | 704,000 |
| Brad Hunt ** | RW | 26 | 605,000 | 0 | 0 | 605,000 |
| Andrew Miller ** | RW | 26 | 708,750 | 0 | 0 | 708,750 |
** Even though this player isn’t officially signed their cap hit/salary is based on the mandatory qualifying offer
As you can see I have a feeling that the Oilers may try to rid themselves of the likes of Ryan Hamilton and Luke Gazdic. This may just be a fantasy but its the way I’d have it play out, especially since neither player counts towards the cap in the AHL.
Going Forward
Over the next few weeks I’ll be referencing this article a lot. I or someone at Copper and Blue will also be updating it as players are signed or traded. It will also be updated once the NHL announces next season’s salary cap. Let us know if anything was missed and we’ll try to remedy it as soon as possible.