5 Oilers most likely to play out their contracts in 2024-25 – Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers have a lot of top talent making big money. As a result, managers need to do a good job of finding lower-paid players to complement these stars and hope that less expensive additions outweigh their deals. The team’s overall success and desire to win the Stanley Cup may depend on it.

With that in mind, which players in the band are most likely to be successful beyond their own hits?

Ty Emberson ($950K)

Defenseman Ty Emberson is among the new Oilers to join the team. The newly acquired defenseman will get big minutes, possibly slotting into the Oilers’ top four on their blue line. It’s unknown if Emberson can still handle that role — he has 30 games on his NHL resume — but Edmonton is about to find out.

If he can, he could be the steal of the summer. He was added in a deal that saw Cody Ceci moved for salary cap reasons and Emeberson put up good on-base numbers in a small sample size. If he can translate that into an 82-game season, the Oilers will have struck gold.

Evan Bouchard ($3.9M)

With a huge cap hit at the end of his contract, Evan Bouchard will be undervalued in 2024-2025 based on his $3.9 million salary. This is a player who is becoming an elite defender. He scored 82 points in 81 games last season and an even more impressive 32 points in 25 playoff games.

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He is the Oilers’ top right back and is rumored to be on the Four Nations Canada Team. Bouchard may be on his way to a long-term extension of around $10 million per season. The hope is that Edmonton can take advantage of a window where he is making significantly less than his production warrants.

Connor Brown ($1M)

After last season, in which Connor Brown signed the league minimum but received a huge bonus for playing 10 NHL games, the forward returned the favor to the Oilers. Brown didn’t play well in the first half of 2023-24, but came on strong and worked well for the team in the playoffs. Word is that he looks fast and steady this year.

If Brown can perform for the rest of the season like he did in the last quarter of 2024, he will clear his $1 million salary per mile. He has speed, can play up and down the lineup, and is the team’s best killer.

Vasily Podkolzin ($1M)

After being acquired in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks, it is not yet clear where Vasily Podkolzin will fit into the Oilers roster. He’s not a guarantee to make the team, though he appears to be a part of the sixth-deep. But, if he predicts hard, adds a few goals, and uses his speed to get opponents off the puck, he could be just what the Oilers need after losing Evander Kane for six months.

Podkolzin is not likely to fight much. He’s not afraid to mix it up, though, and if he enjoys the role of disruptor in this Oilers club, there’s really no one else who can play that part.

Stuart Skinner ($2.6M)

This could be goalkeeper Stuart Skinner’s breakout season. He has already proven himself as an NHL starter and took the Oilers to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, but in 2024-25, Skinner was able to establish himself as the NHL’s premier Canadian netminder and possibly work himself into the Vezina conversation.

Skinner still has doubts because he hasn’t changed. Still, his numbers are impressive and if he gets his head in the right place and can cut down on some of the dud plays that follow him from time to time, he’ll be in the same conversation with $7-$8 million goals. That’s a total net worth of around $5 million.