Injury Rule Makes Cap Situation Suddenly Sticky for Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers decided that instead of spending to the cap ceiling this summer, they’d leave themselves some room to make moves later in the season, keeping around $5 million in cap space on their books. Part of that space came from the Darnell Nurse trade, but the thought was to use it later. It’s a good thing the Oilers have that space, because some unexpected injuries are forcing them to use it now.

---

In a recent article from PuckPedia, the injury situation is explained in detail and it’s not great for the Oilers. “Every team walked into camp with a plan on its whiteboard for its opening-night roster. But an injured player on a one-way contract still counts against the cap, and you can’t waive an injured player.” The Oilers know how much this rule can impact plans.

They write:

“The Oilers are a good example. We heard all summer about how much cap space they would have this season. Then, back in late August, they announced that Mattias Janmark, Matt Savoie, Alec Regula and Freddie Andersen weren’t expected to participate in training camp. That’s four players eating up cap space while the Oilers need four more healthy players to replace them.”

To make matters even worse, Jason Dickinson has since been injured, another $4 million AAV contract that works against Edmonton.

They add, “In Regula’s case, he’s on a two-way contract, but because he was on the Oilers roster for more than 50 games last season, his full cap hit counts against Edmonton’s cap while he’s injured. Given he’s ninth or so on their defensive depth chart, I’m pretty sure he was a candidate to be waived and sent down. Instead, he now represents another $850,000 of space gone.”

Most of Edmonton’s Cap Space is Now Gone

This is temporary, but it creates a situation where another injury could be problematic. The article notes, “At one point, the Oilers were projected to have almost $5 million in cap space. Now they’re down to about $1 million, and one or two more injuries could force them to start the season with a short roster.”

Clearly, this isn’t what the Oilers expected as the season began. They were hoping to have plenty of cap space and accrue even more. If Dickinson is back in time for the season, that would be ideal. Then, if Regula is healthy enough to be waived, that solves another concern.

This could mean the Oilers make other moves ahead of the regular season opener on Tuesday. A defenseman like Spencer Stastney could be in trouble. Even someone like Ty Emberson could be considered for a move.

Next: Something Feels Different in Edmonton This Time Around