How much cap space Edmonton Oilers will have this summer
The offseason has arrived for the Edmonton Oilers, and big changes will need to happen, but how much cap space will they have to do so?
The NHL has officially revealed that next year’s cap will rise from $95.5 million to $104 million, which will affect how the Oilers navigate the offseason. There will be a total of 11 players off the current roster who become either UFA or RFAs this summer, and not all of them will be returning to Edmonton.
NHL officially informs teams of the 2026-27 Salary cap and payroll range:
Floor: $76.9M
Midpoint: $90.4M
Ceiling: $104MMaximum salary: $20.8M
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) May 6, 2026
Guys like Adam Henrique and Calvin Pickard are likely on the way out, while decisions on others like Jack Roslovic, Connor Ingram, Jason Dickinson, and Connor Murphy will need to be made in short order.
On top of deciding who to re-sign, GM Stan Bowman will also have to leave some space to bring in new players to help improve the team. So, where does the Oilers’ cap situation stand heading into free agency?
Let’s take a closer look…
Who is coming off the books?
As mentioned, there are quite a few Oilers players coming off the books this summer, and a few of them will open up a bit of space.
Here is a list of every Edmonton contract set to expire on July 1 and how much money it will clear up for the Oilers:
Adam Henrique: $3 million
Connor Murphy: $2.2 million
Jason Dickinson: $2.125 million
Jack Roslovic: $1.5 million
Kasperi Kapanen: $1.3 million
Connor Ingram: $1.15 million
Calvin Pickard: $1 million
Max Jones: $1 million
Colton Dach: $825,000
Spencer Stastney: $825,000
Curtis Lazar: $775,000
In total, that adds up to an additional $15.7 million opening up for the Oilers, and that’s not including the space being created in the limit rising next season as well.
How much cap space is left?
So, what does all that money opening up from expiring contracts leave the Oilers’ cap situation heading into the summer?
According to PuckPedia, Edmonton will enter free agency with $16.4 million in cap space to play with. Around the league, that will rank as the 17th most cap space for a team heading into the summer. The Colorado Avalanche have the least amount of projected cap space right now, with just $2.98 million, while the Pittsburgh Penguins are expected to have a whopping $45.8 million headed into the summer.
Edmonton will need to use that space creatively, as Bowman will need to both bring back a few players on that list and keep enough free space so he can add to the roster.
Ways to make even more room
There are ways for the Oilers to open up even more cap space, but it won’t be easy.
Edmonton has a few bloated contracts that they could try to offload through trades. Darnell Nurse’s massive $9.25-million cap hit might be at the top of that list. Recent reports say the Oilers tried trading Nurse to the Toronto Maple Leafs this past season, so there appears to be an appetite to move on from that contract.
Bowman could also explore moving goaltender Tristan Jarry, who was relegated to a backup role this past season despite having a cap hit of $5.375 million.
It remains to be seen if the Oilers can find any takers for those two contracts, and if they can afford to pay the price for teams to do so. If they can manage to offload just one of those contracts, it would give Edmonton a lot more flexibility to improve the roster.