Major salary cap breathing room coming the Oilers way

Well, those days of the flat salary cap of the NHL are finally behind us, and it has brought welcome relief for many teams, of which the Edmonton Oilers are one. In this latest NHL Board of Governors meeting, it was disclosed that the salary cap would be set to $92.5 million for the 2025-26 season. This increase does offer much-needed financial flexibility for a capped-out team like the Oilers, which would definitely assist them in planning for the future with the possibility to make adjustments they feel would be needed to the roster. Therefore, teams can now be much more strategic in their decision-making instead of being handcuffed by any previous shortcomings.

Per projections on PuckPedia, the Oilers should be at a salary cap of around $77.4 million in 2025-26. That is to say, with approximately $15 million in cap space and 16 players already signed. That includes a rather drastic $5.5-million raise for star forward Leon Draisaitl. While that may sound like a lot to take out of the budget, it would still leave Edmonton with plenty of room to sort out other pressing contract situations.

Perhaps one of the key areas the Oilers need to focus their attention on is signing emerging star defenseman Evan Bouchard. Coming off his breakout year, he can expect a significant raise and will likely push an AAV of $10 million or more. If he keeps improving this season, that could be even higher. For the sake of the rest of this, let's project Bouchard signs for around $80 million over eight years. That would leave the Oilers with $5.1 million in cap space to address other roster needs.

Going forward, Edmonton does have some decisions to make on a couple of other players. Veterans like Jeff Skinner, Corey Perry, Derek Ryan, and Ty Emberson will all need new contracts. Of course, some of those players, namely Perry and Ryan will likely retire. Skinner, coming off a strong season, may be priced out of Edmonton's budget unless he's willing to take a team-friendly deal. With a tight cap situation, the Oilers may have to rely on young prospects like Matt Savoie and Raphael Lavoie to fill major roles in the lineup, particularly in the bottom six.

The good news is that the Oilers seem well-positioned to retain all of this core talent and have ample cap space to extend Evan Bouchard and add depth where they might need it. They also have to consider the 2026-27 season, during which the likely mammoth extension of Connor McDavid will kick in. Still, with the stars locked up now, Edmonton can continue to build around its elite players and stay competitive for many years.