Oilers Insider Projects Contract Extensions For 4 Players By September

The Edmonton Oilers made a number of good changes this offseason and should look refreshed to come out and have a good start to the season for the first time in three years. They got younger and faster, but kept their most important pieces while adding good ones to fill holes.

It's hard to imagine any more moves for the Oilers ahead of the season, but that doesn't include potential extensions ahead of time so there's no worry during the season. Bob Stauffer, Oilers' insider, said that "let's say by August 28th, I could foresee a scenario where extensions are done on (Vasily) Podkolzin, (Jake) Walman, (Mattias) Ekholm, and (Connor) McDavid."

Those are four key players. Of course, the big name there is McDavid, and nothing suggests that he isn't going to re-sign after Leon Draisaitl signed for eight years and the team has gone to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals without a win yet. He will get however much money he wants, but it's partially on him to allow a certain amount of space for the team to add enough and build a team that can win around him.

Walman is a younger version of Ekholm and I believe that the two are going to relatively switch cap hits. Walman is on a cheaper deal and is in his prime, plus he played very well for the Oilers. He is going to get over $6 million AAV. Ekholm is on the back-9 and is slowing down, but is still useful and is a solid defensive player with a sneaky offensive side to him. He has been a great partner for Evan Bouchard, so I can see Ekholm getting 2-3 years. The Oilers will want to lock down Walman for longer.

As for Podkolzin, he got a much better opportunity with the Oilers than he did with the Vancouver Canucks and is going to get a pay raise. It's not going to be anything crazy, but it will probably be over $2 million AAV for a few years, even up to five considering the deal Trent Frederic got. Podkolzin didn't have luck offensively on his side, but he was in the right places and that could turn. A contract ahead of the season could really benefit the Oilers. He is someone who they want around for a while by the way he plays and the skill he possesses to get him drafted 10th overall in 2019. He is also before the prime of his career, so things are likely to get better.

The Oilers have some work to do, but Edmonton is now a place where players want to come to and play due to the winning culture they've established, and also some of the best players in the world to play with.