Oilers Could “Get In On” Race for Top UFA Winger

According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, “If the Edmonton Oilers clear more cap space, I wouldn’t be shocked if they entered the Brock Boeser race come July 1.”

This comes as part of a massive rumors update Pagnotta put out just before the NHL Draft, getting underway on Friday. With the Oilers having already moved on from Evander Kane, they are said to be shopping Viktor Arvidsson. Edmonton officially signed Trent Frederic on Friday, and it sounds like Connor Brown is headed to free agency. The Oilers are making moves trying to build the best roster possible in after losing twice in two seasons in the Stanley Cup Final.

The Oilers are still tight on the cap with a big deal coming for Evan Bouchard, but they also know they need a winger to play in the top six. Brock Boeser is heading to free agency and could command upwards of $8-$9 million per season. He’ll have several interested suitors, and he might need to take a slight discount to play in Edmonton, but if the fit is there, it would make sense for the Oilers to at least take a look.

The questions that arise from the Oilers’ decision to invest a significant amount of money in Boeser will be obvious. Is he the right fit? Does Boeser bring what Edmonton needs or is he a more expensive version of Jeff Skinner or Arvidsson? Boeser has a much higher ceiling, but he’s also battled with consistency.

Frank Seravalli reports that the Canucks recently made another run at bringing back Boeser over the past couple of days. It didn’t lead to a deal, and Boeser will be going to market on July 1.

It would quite the pivot if the Oilers moved Evander Kane to Vancouver and the former Canucks’ winger in Boeser came to Edmonton.

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