The window for eight-year contracts in the National Hockey League closes Tuesday, and the Edmonton Oilers are among the teams with nothing left to rush through it.
TSN reported Monday morning that a change in the collective bargaining agreement takes effect Wednesday, dropping the maximum term on a contract from eight years to seven for a player re-signing with his own team. The maximum for a player signing with a new team falls to six years. Until the change lands, any player set to begin the season on an expiring contract, and any restricted free agent still without a deal, remains eligible for the full eight.
Nine players signed eight-year contracts this summer, according to TSN: Zeev Buium, Cale Makar, Ville Koivunen, John Marino, Tyson Foerster, Eetu Luostarinen, Ivan Demidov, Alex Tuch and Darren Raddysh.
Makar’s was the largest. The Colorado Avalanche defenceman signed for eight years and $163.8 million last month, an average annual value of $20.4 million that sits just below the maximum allowable salary of $20.8 million, or 20 per cent of the current salary cap. Buium, a defenceman TSN identifies with the Vancouver Canucks, was the most recent, signing earlier this month for $75.04 million with an average annual value of $9.38 million.
Tuch’s deal with the Washington Capitals, at a $10.5-million cap hit, and Raddysh’s with the Toronto Maple Leafs, at $8.5 million, were both completed as sign-and-trades ahead of unrestricted free agency. Marino, Foerster, Luostarinen and Demidov signed extensions that begin next summer.
Several of the league’s younger stars passed on the long deal entirely. Macklin Celebrini and Connor Bedard each signed for five years, following Leo Carlsson, who signed a five-year offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers that the Anaheim Ducks matched.
A handful of restricted free agents remain unsigned with camps opening around the league this week. TSN lists Anaheim winger Cutter Gauthier, Columbus Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli, Detroit Red Wings defenceman Simon Edvinsson and Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Alexander Nikishin among them. None had a deal as of Monday morning.
Among pending 2027 unrestricted free agents, the eight-year term looks unlikely to be used at all. Quinn Hughes, whose future with the Minnesota Wild remains the sport’s largest open question, told reporters at the NHL Player Media Tour in Las Vegas last week that he is in no hurry.
“This is going to be done whenever I feel like it needs to be done,” Hughes said. “I don’t feel backed up against a wall. I’m very thoughtful. I want to make sure I’m taking my time on everything and make sure I’m making a decision that is going to be good for everyone.”
Dallas Stars winger Jason Robertson, who finished second only to Nikita Kucherov in points among potential 2027 free agents, is ineligible to sign a new deal until January after taking a one-year, $12-million contract to stay in Dallas. Ottawa Senators forward Drake Batherson and the Senators are not close on a deal, TSN reported, citing Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia.
No Edmonton player appears on TSN’s list of outstanding business. The Oilers’ roster work was done earlier in the month, most recently with the one-year signing of forward Alex Formenton on Sept. 9.
Edmonton’s own camp will open without four players. The club announced on Aug. 26 that forwards Mattias Janmark and Matt Savoie, defenceman Alec Regula and goaltender Frederik Andersen are not expected to participate. Janmark and Regula are recovering from medical procedures, while Savoie and Andersen are rehabilitating injuries sustained in off-season training, the team said in a statement.
Before the main group convenes, the Oilers’ prospects were scheduled to face the Calgary Flames rookies on Monday at 6 p.m. MT at the Scotiabank Saddledome, a game the club said would be streamed on Oilers+. Edmonton’s 25-player rookie roster includes Isaac Howard, Josh Samanski, Connor Clattenburg and Quinn Hutson, all of whom saw NHL time last season.
The Oilers open their pre-season schedule Sept. 19 against the Winnipeg Jets. The regular season begins Sept. 29 at Rogers Place against the Vancouver Canucks.
Photo credit: Chad Nathan via Unsplash. The image is illustrative. It is not an NHL facility and does not depict any team, player or event described above.
