With the Blues tendering offer sheets to defenseman Philip Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway, the Oilers now have to decide if they’re going to match those offers, even though it would put them more than $7M over the salary cap. While Evander Kane’s expected presence on LTIR would mitigate that in the short term, it’s fair to say that Edmonton will need to create some cap space at some point. With several veterans on pricey long-term agreements who are unlikely to be moved, free agents who just signed or players on low-cost contracts, there aren’t many viable candidates to make that happen.
Of the ones who potentially could be moved, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the Oilers are trying to get the contracts of blueliners Cody Ceci and Brett Kulak off their books. Combined, the two carry a $6M cap charge which still wouldn’t be enough to get cap-compliant when Kane is able to play but moving those two would at least get them compliant to start the season in conjunction with Kane’s $5.25M AAV landing on LTIR.
Ceci has one year left on his contract with a $3.25M price tag. The 30-year-old has spent the last three seasons in Edmonton, playing in their top four with an ATOI of more than 20 minutes each year. Last season, Ceci had five goals and 20 assists in 79 games while chipping in with five points in 22 playoff contests as the Oilers made it to the Stanley Cup Final. As an expiring deal and being a right-shot defender, he might be the easier of the two to move even with the slightly higher cap hit and he does not have any trade protection on his deal.
Kulak, meanwhile, checks in at a $2.75M AAV for the next two seasons. Acquired at the 2022 trade deadline from Montreal, the 30-year-old has settled in nicely on Edmonton’s third pairing. Last season, Kulak had three goals and 13 assists in 82 games while averaging 15:23 per night. His playing time went up a bit in the postseason to 16:30 per contest while adding eight points in 25 appearances. That price point for a third-pairing defender is on the high side, though, which isn’t ideal in terms of trying to get top value for his services. Kulak also does not have any trade protection in his contract.
To that end, while Garrioch relays that teams have shown interest in both players, it comes at a cost. Not to the potential acquiring team, however. Instead, he notes that with teams knowing that the Oilers are in a bind as a result of these offer sheets, they’re going to want compensation to be sent with the player to incentivize them to bail Edmonton out. Garrioch suggests that the price tag to take a player on in both scenarios could be a first-round pick or a second-round selection. Worth noting is that the Oilers don’t have either of those for the 2025 draft but do for 2026 and if they match the offer sheets, they won’t be getting any compensation from St. Louis.
Edmonton has seven days to make a decision on matching the offers to Broberg ($4.58M) and Holloway ($2.29M). There’s a good chance that their ability (or lack thereof) to find a satisfactory trade for one or both of Ceci or Kulak will play a big role in the decisions on their two youngsters.
