Oilers Sign Ryan McLeod, What’s Next as Trade Rumors Linger

The Edmonton Oilers have taken care of their final piece of contract business this summer by locking up forward Ryan McLeod to a one-year deal worth $798K. It’s not the contract extension the Oilers were hoping for as GM Ken Holland confirmed a two or three-year deal would have been ideal, but the team’s salary cap situation meant a one-year deal was the best the two sides could do, at least for now.

☁️ 𝗖𝗟𝗢𝗨𝗗𝗘𝗥 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧 ☁️

The #Oilers have signed forward Ryan McLeod to a one-year extension worth $798,000.

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 22, 2022

McLeod is slotted for a top-nine role this season, most likely at the third center position to start the year. He’s got speed to burn, can transport the puck through the neutral zone like few others at that speed, play the penalty kill, and should get some time on the Oilers’ secondary power play unit. He’ll undoubtedly outplay the value of this deal and earn himself a well-deserved bump next summer. But, a lack of leverage and the Oilers’ tight cap situation meant settling on a number lower than what he was probably worth.

What happens next will be very intriguing. Signing McLeod to a $798K deal is about as good as the Oilers could have done and the hope here is that the deal is low enough that Edmonton isn’t forced to trade a player like Jesse Puljujarvi to get under the salary cap. He’s been rumored as the most likely piece to go as the team struggles to find a way to move money. As The Hockey News writes:

On Sept. 12, TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reported the Oilers were continuing to explore their options to trade Puljujarvi. A week later, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector wondered if general manager Ken Holland would move Puljujarvi if winger Jake Virtanen makes the club on his professional tryout offer and agrees to a league-minimum salary.

As Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic writes, “The good news for the team: it’s a low salary (much lower than anyone expected), it gives them more cap flexibility, and the player starts camp on time. The bad news: it’s for only one year.”

Can Edmonton avoid trading a player they want to keep with this new deal in hand? Will Puljujarvi stay with the club to open the season? Ken Holland mentioned that he’s trying his best to avoid making a trade before the season opens but also said there’s a chance he’ll have to make some quick decisions and take it day by day as things get closer.

Next: Jakob Chychrun Confirms He Has Asked to Be Traded by Coyotes