Quote:
Originally Posted by FanSince'01
I know we all rag on the Oilers here because it's our job as fans of their primary rival, but I'm gonna be honest... I'm not even sure if their window even has two seasons left. I personally think this season is their last "real" kick at the can until they hit true level 9 salary cap hell and their days as a true "top tier" contender are done.
Even though McDavid's new contract wouldn't kick in for 2 more years, Draisaitl's extra 5.5 million will be on the books next year and Bouchard is going to need a hefty, hefty raise as well. Unless they can somehow convince him to take a 1 year bridge for a miniscule raise, they're going to have only about 4 million in cap space (depending on how much the cap goes up by) to fill 5-6 roster holes, which is a tall task. And Bouchard has Arb rights so I don't see why he'd sign a low money deal when an arbitrator would likely award him more than what Nurse is geting currently...
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They have 10 forwards, 5 D, and 2 goalies signed for next year, totalling $78.2M. If we assume a 5% increase, that would put the cap at $92M, leaving them $11.8M to work with.
Bouchard is going to cost $9-10M. The
minimum cost for the remaining 6 players would be roughly $4.8M, meaning that if Bouchard costs anything more than $7M, they will have to shed more cap space off the roster. Also, Emberson would be without a contract, so if - as Oiler fans would have you believe - he is actually able to contribute, he too would be looking for a raise, out of that same insufficient pile.
Even with that, that means no upgrades anywhere in the lineup, and everybody gets yet another year older (with Draisaitl joining the 30-something club). And 6 spots on the roster would be filled with replacement-level players.
This year's team is not as good as last year's IMO.
Next year's team is going to be worse, and the (by far) oldest team in the league will be yet another year older. It's too early to say the window is already closed, but anyone suggesting that it is still wide open for the next two years, should probably take a closer look.
Oh, and ALL of the conversations assume that Skinner will continue to perform between the pipes. If he falters AT ALL, they're dead, because they have no money to solve the problem.