The Edmonton Oilers are among the teams who could be taking a swing on winger Brock Boeser when free agency opens next Tuesday morning, according to The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta.
That’s only if the Oilers are able to find a way to clear some more cap space, Pagnotta added.
Heading into Friday night’s draft, the Oilers have $12.35-million in cap space, according to PuckPedia, with the team having made Trent Frederic’s eight-year, $3.85-million AAV deal official earlier in the day. There have been rumours swirling about the Oilers trading Viktor Arvidsson and his $4-million cap hit, which would certainly open up more options for the team.
The Oilers still need to figure out an extension for restricted free agent defenceman Evan Bouchard, and assuming they agree to terms on a $10.5-million contract, as well as trade both of Viktor Arvidsson and Adam Henrique, Edmonton would have just under $8-million in cap space.
Based on that amount of cap space, the Oilers would have to decide between signing Boeser, and filling out the rest of their roster.
The 28-year-old Boeser is projected to sign a contract in the range of eight-years with an $8.15-million cap hit, according to Evolving Hockey, or a six-year deal with a $8.549-million cap hit, according to AFP Analytics.
There’s no denying Boeser would make an interesting addition to the Oilers’ top-six. While he’s coming off a down year in which he scored 25 goals and as many assists in 75 games, the 2023-24 season saw him put up 40 goals and 73 points in 81 games for the Canucks, adding anotehr seven goals and 12 points in 12 playoff games.
While the offence has been there, he’s been far from a complete player. His on-ice impacts over the last four years have him at the level of a third-to-fourth liner, according to Hockey Viz, though his second through fifth years in the league had him as a strong top-six player.
The Canucks have taken another run at signing Boeser, according to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, who reported the winger will be hitting the free agent market on July 1st. There’s an intriguing player here, no doubt, and a pure goalscorer like Boeser is what the Oilers were hoping to add last summer when they signed Jeff Skinner to a one-year, $3-million contract.
The only way the Oilers could find themselves in the mix for an upper-echelon free agent such as Boeser, is if there was significant salary cleared from their books. We’re talking about the likes of a Darnell Nurse, or a Mattias Ekholm — moves that I don’t foresee happening.
