In the new cap world of the NHL, every contract general managers sign is extremely important. There have been plenty of cases where teams either get too excited about the potential addition of a free agent or are too loyal to a long-tenured player, that they overpay them and soon come to regret it.
As good as the Edmonton Oilers are expected to be heading into the 2023-24 season, they are no different than any other team in this regard. While they have one of the league’s biggest bargain contracts in Leon Draisaitl, they also have a few bad deals that restrict them when it comes to bringing in additional talent. Here are four Oilers players who are making too much money based on their contributions.
Jack Campbell
Cap hit: $5 million
Percentage of total salary cap: 6%
2022-23 stats: 36 GP, 3.41 GAA, .888 SV%
When the Oilers chose to sign Jack Campbell to a five-year, $25 million deal last offseason, there was plenty of skepticism from the get-go. The 31-year-old only had one NHL season playing more than 40 games and only had 135 games of NHL experience. The Oilers were desperate, however, and hoped that he could stabilize a position that had been a major weakness for this team in seasons past.
Campbell’s first season in Edmonton went very poorly, as he had a 3.41 goals against average (GAA) along with a .888 save percentage (SV%) in 36 appearances. Thankfully for the Oilers, rookie Stuart Skinner had a fantastic year and ended up being their number one. The hope now is that Campbell can bounce back, as his contract is impossible to move at this point.
Darnell Nurse
Cap hit: $9.25 million
Percentage of total salary cap: 11.1%
2022-23 stats: 82 GP, 12-31-43
Darnell Nurse is a very good NHL defenceman and is extremely valuable for the Oilers. That said, his $9.25 million cap hit is seventh amongst all blue liners in the NHL, ahead of names such as Roman Josi, Alex Pietrangelo, and Victor Hedman. This deal has really affected the Oilers from a cap perspective and remains on the books for another seven years.
After receiving two separate bridge deals from the Oilers, Nurse had a ton of leverage before signing his latest contract, and he certainly made the most of it. The 28-year-old logs a ton of minutes for them and is solid at both ends of the ice, but would be better served for a salary of around $7 million.
Warren Foegele
Cap hit: $2.75 million
Percentage of total salary cap: 3.3%
2022-23 stats: 67 GP, 13-15-28
Since arriving in Edmonton in a trade for Ethan Bear during the 2021 offseason, Warren Foegele hasn’t done a ton to impress fans. At the time of the deal, there was real optimism that he could be a solid secondary contributor, one capable of posting 40+ points a season. So far, that hasn’t been the case.
Through 149 games with the Oilers, Foegele has 25 goals and 54 points. When at his best, he can be a solid third-line player who is excellent at cycling pucks down low, but he is quite inconsistent. While not a liability, he hasn’t done anything to show that he is worthy of his $2.75 million salary.
Cody Ceci
Cap hit: $3.25 million
Percentage of total salary cap: 3.9%
2022-23 stats: 80 GP, 1-14-15
Many poked fun at the Oilers when they chose to sign Cody Ceci to a four-year, $13 million deal two summers ago. The 29-year-old was often a lightning rod for criticism during his time with the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs, leading to many assuming it was a bad contract.
Ceci proved his doubters wrong in year one with the Oilers, as he was arguably the team’s most consistent defenceman throughout the entire 2021-22 campaign. His play fell off in a big way this past season, however, to the point that he was sometimes viewed as a liability, particularly in the playoffs. A bounce-back is possible, but he was not worth the $3.25 million he commanded last season.
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