Sports

Cody Ceci or Ryan McLeod on way out for Edmonton Oilers? NHL insider digs into Oil’s free agent haul

Published

6 months ago

July 2, 2024

Admin

Cody Ceci or Ryan McLeod on way out for Edmonton Oilers? NHL insider digs into Oil’s free agent haul

Published Jul 02, 2024 • Last updated 39 minutes ago • 6 minute read

Adam Henrique (19) of the Edmonton Oilers, against the Dallas Stars at Rogers Place in Edmonton on June 2, 2024. Photo by Shaughn Butts /Postmedia

This in from TSN’s Darren Dreger, his assessment of Edmonton’s big day in free agency and cap issues: “The Edmonton Oilers are over the cap, and that’s something they can address. Move out Ceci or McLeod or who knows what happens with Evander Kane. But without a general manager, (Edmonton hockey boss and interim GM) Jeff Jackson did some maneuvering and adding.”

Advertisement 2

Article content

Edmonton signed unrestricted free agents such as Viktor Arvidsson, Jeff Skinner, Adam Henrique, Connor Brown and Mattias Janmark but is now a projected $2.5 million over the $88 million cap, with restricted free agents Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway still to be signed. Edmonton has the rest of the summer to sort out this matter, but some sorting is definitely in order.

Dreger said attacking winger Jeff Skinner’s final decision primarily came down to the Leafs and the Oilers.

Added hockey analyst Ray Ferraro on their Ray & Dregs podcast, “A lot of teams were interested when (Skinner) became available… I think he’s going to have a good year. He’s never been in the playoffs. Never. Which is remarkable. He’s an in and out player. When he’s in, or on it, he’s a really dangerous player. He’s going to be in a position here to play with a pretty terrific player (Leon Draisaitl most likely), and you’ve got one year… I thought that was a really good piece that maybe got snowed under a little bit with the volume of players that signed.”

Dreger said Arvidsson was a “nice add” and that Winnipeg offered Henrique $3.5 million per year for two years, and that Tampa’s Jon Cooper tried to recruit Henrique as well, as did St. Louis.

Article content

Advertisement 3

Article content

Added Ferraro, “If Arvidsson can stay healthy — he’s had back issues that have really curtailed him — but if that guy can stay healthy, he can really score. He can shoot and he can scoot. There’s no question that the team that went to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final is better than they were before. Josh Brown will replace (Vincent) Desharnais. He’s not a particularly smooth player but he’s rugged… I thought Edmonton had a good day.”

Dreger said the Corey Perry was a “curious signing” for the Oilers, but the Oilers saw enough in him to bring him back.

“Overall I thought Jeff Jackson had a real solid, pretty productive day,” Dreger said.

Ferraro agreed, noting Edmonton lacked cap space. “They have to hope that the guys that they have, that they are familiar with, want to take a deal, a short-term deal, for money that they (the Oilers) can afford, and that happened with (Connor) Brown and Janmark. I think those players are so valuable because they can fill a couple of different spots for you and they don’t have a big ego so they don’t need a lot of minutes.”

My take

1. McLeod has speed and he’s been good on the wing, even in a Top 6 role. He scored a few big goals in the playoffs, but he was generally mediocre in terms of his two-way play. He was solid on the PK and had a good regular season. He can be a solid NHL player if he ramps up his battle level and focuses on completely shutting down the opposition attack. If he becomes a reliable third-line centre, he’ll have a long NHL career, but he has yet to pass that audition in Edmonton. He’s only 24-years-old and makes just $2.1 million. I can see plenty of NHL teams willing to take on his contract, with the Oilers scoring a draft pick in return.

Advertisement 4

Article content

2. Cody Ceci played well in the playoffs but only when he wasn’t paired with Darnell Nurse, who was in the biggest defensive slump of his career in May and June. I still can’t get my head around those two being paired up again in Game 1 against Florida, but such is the life of a fan.

Ceci did just fine with Brett Kulak. Ceci remains a reliable right shot d-man, just 30-years-old, still in his prime. He has one year left at $3.25 million. Can the Oilers move him out without swallowing any kind of poison pill, such as having to include a draft pick? I would think so, but my estimation of Ceci may be higher than what others think. Of course, with our Cult of Hockey video analysis project, I watch Ceci more closely than most, see him through different eyes, mainly by repeatedly reviewing all his key plays on the ice. I’ll suggest when paired with a puck-moving d-man who is solid defensively, Ceci can still get the job done in a second-pairing role. He and Kulak were good in the heat of playoff competition. If they are paired up again this year on the Oilers, they will be an expensive option, but a useful one.

Advertisement 5

Article content

3. If it turns out the Oilers can keep McLeod and/or Ceci, Edmonton will be a better team for it. Both those players can help Edmonton win games. But I can see other teams wanting them, which means they can provide a solution to Edmonton’s cap woes.

4. There are plenty of options up front to take McLeod’s playing time. Ceci is more difficult to replace on defence. Josh Brown and Troy Stecher both seems like a stretch for full-time duty, as does Phil Kemp. Maybe one of those players will step up, thought, and seize the job.

5. As for Evander Kane, plenty of fans and pundits never liked him and still don’t. Some have had their proverbial knives sharpened up for him — and have had them so since he arrived here. There may be some members of the Oilers team and management who aren’t sold on Kane either. I don’t know. I can’t say. I’m no insider.

All I know is that Kane was a beast in the playoffs when he was still relatively healthy. If he wasn’t there to hammer on Quinn Hughes and to take on Vancouver’s Apex Predator Nikita Zadorov, who was running Edmonton’s show, I’m not sure the Oilers would have beat Vancouver. Kane played with guts, skill and ferocity in the playoffs until his body broke down. I suspect some of his teammates would have noticed that same commitment to winning and respect Kane for that, but I’m no insider and can’t speak with any certainty on this, if indeed anyone can.

Advertisement 6

Article content

6. Kane has two years left on a deal that pays him $5.1 million per and has a no movement clause right now, then a modified no trade clause, with a 16-team trading list as of March 1, 2025. If Kane does not want to move this summer, he’s not moving. Edmonton needs a player with his ferocity in the playoffs. If the Oil can keep Kane, I hope they do so. When he was anywhere near healthy last season, he was an extremely valuable player for the Oilers, given his unique still set.