One of the busiest times on the NHL calendar—the NHL Draft—has come and gone. While some might’ve expected huge swings of player movement league-wide, the relatively stagnant cap seems to be a great hindrance to such plans. Still, the Oilers managed to make a number of transactions and draft selections, making for a whirlwind 48 hours between June 28 and June 29.
Without further ado let’s recap and analyse what transpired during a busy draft. First up, the Oilers draft picks.
Oilers 2023 draft selections
2nd round, 56th overall
Beau Akey
RHD 6’0″
Akey is a slick skating mobile defenceman, capable of producing offensively. While his production might leave a bit to be desired, it is worthwhile to mention that Akey was blocked from top offensive usage, including the top power play, by teammate and 2021 eighth overall pick Brandt Clarke.
Clarke is a top prospect, not only in the Los Angeles Kings system, but across the league as well. It is by no means a slight to Akey’s skill that he slotted in behind the elder Clarke, though undoubtedly it depressed his offensive totals, and thusly his draft stock. This has all the makings of a shrewd selection by the Oilers, acquiring a talented right shot defender.
We should expect to see Akey build on his OHL success over the next two seasons, where his offensive totals should skyrocket. Perhaps, Akey might even find himself in the running for a spot on one of Canada’s U20 world Junior teams in the future. As a talented attacker, Akey’s production will likely be a source of hope for Oilers fans tracking the prospect.
6th round, 184th overall
Nathaniel Day
G 6’2″
In the sixth round, the Oilers added to their goaltending pool selecting Day. He surprised many by taking over the starting job for the Flint Firebirds, leading them to a playoff appearance. There is clear upside present in Day’s profile.
The hope should be for Day to reinstate himself as the Firebirds starter next season, if not improving on his overall effectiveness as well. There is still a ways to go before Day dawns upon the NHL, but the Oilers did well to add a quality goalie prospect after a run of goalies were selected in the fifth round of the 2023 draft.
7th round, 216th overall
Matt Copponi
RC 5’11”
A double over-ager, the selection of Copponi may have left some scratching their heads. As a seventh-round pick, there is not much to lose in taking a shot on a player that NHL Central Scouting had ranked 98th in this year’s draft.
Copponi is already playing and producing in the NCAA, improving his effectiveness greatly during his sophomore season in 2022–23. Nearing a point per game—and ranking second on his team in scoring—Copponi has already accomplished a great deal relative to other 2023 late-round picks.
Likely to return to Merrimack for the 2023–24 season, we should hope to see continued improvement from Copponi, at least somewhat reflected by his point totals. Oilers fans will be keen to keep track of the centreman, as he might find himself in some AHL games in the spring of 2024.
Copponi would be joining a contingent of forwards around his age in the AHL, as the Condors will likely be amidst a youth movement with the likes of Xavier Bourgault, Tyler Tullio, Carter Savoie, Matvei Petrov, Jake Chiasson, Jayden Grubbe, and Maximus Wanner all likely be be on the Condors roster.
Yamamoto and Kostin to Detroit
Draft choices were far from the only happenings over the past couple days, as the Oilers were able to offload Kailer Yamamoto’s $3.1 million cap hit, trading him to the Detroit Red Wings. Klim Kostin was added, essentially as a sweetener, after reports that he and the Oilers were too far apart salary-wise in extension talks. While the relatively small amount between Kostin’s ask and the Oilers budget might have seemed minimal, the truth is that the Oilers are too close to the cap to be anything but ruthless in filling out their bottom-six.
While both Yamamoto and Kostin were valued contributors to the Oilers success during the 2022–23 season, the Oilers might still be able to re-sign or add players of equal quality at a lower cost. With the hard salary cap constricting teams across the league, the Oilers among them, moving off of salary, even for competent NHL talent, for no cost is tidy business.
At first glance this move might be tough to swallow for Oilers fans, but the hope is that the final product, so to speak, speaks for itself and that the Oilers are able to take advantage of a depressed free agent market, finding capable forwards to replace Yamamoto and Kostin at a fraction of the cost. Considering the Oilers were rumoured to be buying Yamamoto out and letting Kostin hit unrestricted free agency, sending both away for the vaporous wisps known as “future considerations” might still be a win.
Oilers RFAs qualified
While Kostin was rumoured to be left unqualified, free to UFA status, the Oilers were sure to qualify a number of other RFAs on their roster. Evan Bouchard, Ryan McLeod, Raphael Lavoie, Noah Philp, and Olivier Rodrigue were all qualified, the first step to likely re-signings.
Bouchard, of course, headlines the Oilers offseason proceedings as a rising star on the blueline. After a breakout playoff performance, Bouchard’s services won’t be cheap, and will likely force the Oilers hand in terms of contract length.
While we might be sure of Bouchard’s skill—expecting him to remain an impactful NHL player—and conventional wisdom says to lock up such players as long as possible if given the chance, the Oilers cap constraints might force them into a shorter deal. While two or three seasons might represent a more conventional bridge deal, the Oilers might have little choice but to sign Bouchard to a one-year deal in hopes of keeping his cap hit as low as possible.
Meanwhile, McLeod acquitted himself nicely as a legitimate third line checking centre last season. The Oilers should be keen to retain his services. Raphael Lavoie will be looking to have a strong training camp next season, hoping to assert himself as an NHLer. Lavoie had some ups and downs on his path towards legitimate AHL production, but the talented winger has done enough to warrant a fair shake. His contract should not be burdensome, as a short deal with a cap hit under $1 million is most likely.
In net, Rodrigue had a nice season in the AHL, taking a big step forward, increasing his games played and improving his numbers. Rodrigue should look to continue his strong play at the AHL level, perhaps even as the outright starter, next season.
The most curious case comes from the situation surrounding Noah Philp. While his offensive totals and age don’t jump off the page as a potential NHLer, his style of play seems quite translatable to the next level as a bottom-six NHL forward. A complication in the matter is that Philp has, for all intents and purposes, retired this offseason.
His decision came as a surprise, and all of Oil Country is certainly wishing him the best. The Oilers extending him a qualifying offer means that they will retain his rights should he choose to resume his playing career. If anything, the Oilers manoeuvre here might suggest there is still a chance that Philp reverses his decision at some point in the future.
Puljujarvi undergoes double hip surgery
While technically not Oilers news, fans across Oil Country will find it notable that former Oiler Jesse Puljujarvi has not been qualified by the Carolina Hurricanes, becoming an unrestricted free agent. On top of this Puljujarvi will have to undergo another double hip surgery this offseason, a fact that might affect his ability to start next season on time, as well as the market to sign him.
This is another bad break for a player who has had a lot of them already. While Puljujarvi brought a lot to the ice there were some areas of his game that were noticeably lacking, including his scoring touch and his agility, something that might be related to his ongoing hip issues. Having already undergone double hip surgery in his young career, Puljujarvi was never quite able to regain the pop, or at least the confidence, that made him a tantalising prospect years ago. Regardless of what we might have thought about Puljujarvi’s fit with the Oilers, we will all be pulling for a return to health.
Edmonton still has more work to do
The offseason is just getting started, and there is sure to be much more activity in the days, weeks, and months ahead. While in a vacuum some moves might be questionable, we should wait to see the context, the bigger picture, of how the Oilers offseason comes together before making rash evaluations on a given move in particular. Or, we should at least try to.
