During the first half of the season, Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland consistently stated that the team was close to reaching the NHL's salary cap and any trade made would have to be financially balanced.
Despite the limitation, which included the signing of former NHL MVP Corey Perry in January, Holland managed to add four players without losing any skaters from his roster, despite having little financial flexibility.
Although the Oilers did not acquire any players on Friday before the trade deadline, they were active earlier in the week. The team added scoring depth with Adam Henrique and brought in Sam Carrick, who provides grit to the fourth line and penalty-killing abilities. Troy Stecher was also acquired from the Arizona Coyotes to bolster the defensive core.
After completing the Stecher deal, Holland expressed the desire to contribute to the team's high level of play by adding players without causing disruption.
Holland aimed to enhance the team without causing significant disruption, referencing the addition of Henrique, Carrick, and Stecher.
Holland referred to the acquisitions of Henrique, Carrick, and Stecher, which began with the signing of Perry in late January after the Chicago Blackhawks terminated his contract due to his mental health seeking.
Anaheim is retaining half of Carrick’s $850,000 cap hit. Holland managed to include Henrique’s $5.825 million salary on Edmonton’s roster by combining cap management strategies from Anaheim and Tampa Bay, while the Oilers assumed all of Stecher’s $1.1 million salary.
Edmonton took on all of Stecher’s $1.1 million salary.
Edmonton gave up a first-round pick in 2024, a couple of fourth-round picks, and acquired two seventh-rounders. Importantly, the Oilers, who are currently second in the Pacific Division, did not lose any roster players.
To accommodate the new additions, Edmonton sent forwards Sam Gagner and Dylan Holloway to its AHL affiliate in Bakersfield, Calif., in terms of salary and roster space.
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch mentioned the need for more scoring depth throughout the lineup and expressed satisfaction with the acquisitions.
Given Edmonton's tight financial situation, the trade deadline acquisitions likely represent the best possible outcome. Throughout most of the season, the Oilers have managed a roster size lower than the 23-man maximum due to cap constraints, necessitating careful weekly decisions.
Both Henrique and Carrick made their debuts in Thursday’s 4-2 loss to Columbus, which ended Edmonton’s five-game winning streak. Carrick got into a fight, Henrique remained pointless with one shot on goal.
Stecher was anticipated to join the Oilers in Buffalo on Friday. The team faces the Sabres on Saturday afternoon, although Knoblauch expressed a cautious approach to integrating Stecher into the lineup, preferring to maintain the current six defensemen.
The plan is for him to wait for now. He needs to practice with us a couple of times and get used to our team. We are happy with our six defencemen and how they've been playing, so there's no need to change anything right now.
We believe there's no need to change that.
Defenceman Mattias Ekholm, who was acquired at the trade deadline in 2023, mentioned that adding Stecher for depth without replacing any of the core six players shows that the management has a lot of confidence in the team.
Ekholm expressed his excitement about this, saying they have a good thing going on the team. He believes they have been playing well in the last 40 or so games and have found a good team chemistry.
This also gives a confidence boost to the management, knowing that they don't have to make many changes. It's positive for everyone to see and feel the same about the team.
