At the expansion draft, the Oilers are likely going to lose either Griffin Reinhart or Jujhar Khaira. Both players are young, cheap, under control, and can grow with the new organization. It would be nice if Vegas snagged Benoit Pouliot and his $4 million annual contract, but I’m sure George McPhee would rather have younger players with upside rather than an older player who seems to be past his prime.

When that’s over with, the focus immediately shifts to two key extensions — Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. McDavid still has another year left on his entry-level contract, meaning the extension he signs this summer won’t come into effect until 2018-19. Draisaitl, on the other hand, needs a new contract for next season.

After his second season, Sidney Crosby signed a five-year extension worth $8.7 million annually, which, at the time, was 17.3 per cent of the salary cap. Malkin signed an identical contract a year later worth 15.3 per cent of the slightly-increased cap ceiling. If McDavid signs for, say, 17 per cent of the $73 million cap for 2017-18 like Crosby did, he’ll be coming in at $12.41 million annually. The Oilers could get both players to agree to some kind of hometown discount, but, realistically, McDavid and Draisaitl, come 2018-19, are likely going to cost the team around $18-19 million per year.

There’s also this whole Jordan Eberle conundrum. After a very disappointing playoffs in which Eberle managed just two assists in 13 games while looking completely lacklustre, the final part of H.O.P.E seems to be on the outs in Edmonton. As noted earlier, Eberle has a cap hit of $6 million for two more seasons. It seems like a terrible use of money, but in reality, it’s the going rate for a forward who scores 20 goals and 50 points, which Eberle did. For example, last year, Lucic earned $6 million annually for seven years coming off of 55 and 50-point seasons and Loui Eriksson got $6 million for six years after scoring 47 and 63 in Boston.

It wouldn’t surprise me to see Eberle moved this summer, but Peter Chiarelli really shouldn’t be in a rush to dump the winger’s cap hit. The Oilers won’t really be in a bind until 2018-19 when McDavid’s new contract kicks in. Also, Eberle’s value is at an all-time low, and we’ve seen way too many players jettisoned at their lowest points. While Eberle at $6 million seems terrible, there aren’t cheap replacements on the open market, and him in the top six is a hell of a lot better than Anton Slepyshev, Jesse Puljujarvi, or whatever other right shot the Oilers currently have.

Then there’s Kris Russell, who was quite solid for Edmonton this year. Andrej Sekera will miss the first couple months of the season after tearing his ACL in the playoffs, and the Oilers need somebody to fill his role. That said, it isn’t worth signing Russell, a 30-year-old who shoots left and doesn’t produce offensively, to a long-term deal in order to effectively fill a hole for two months. If they can get him on the short or cheap again, sure, go for it. But if somebody else is willing to pay the gritty blueliner money and term, you have to walk away.

Speaking of free agency, when it comes to improving the team via the open market, it’s unlikely Edmonton will make a big splash. They’ve done so in the past two years, handing out big, long-term deals to Andrej Sekera and Milan Lucic, but this year, based on their financial situation and the relatively thin market, the Oilers will likely be quiet. Some depth additions of solid veterans like Justin Williams, John-Michael Liles, P-A Parenteau, or Radim Vrbata would make a lot of sense for this team and it’s current composition.

In sum, I don’t expect a very busy summer in Edmonton as we’ve seen in previous years. There likely won’t be a mammoth Hall-Larsson swap, nor will there be a big Lucic/Sekera signing. This summer is about getting McDavid and Draisaitl locked up long-term, trying to free up some cap room, and making some low-key veteran additions before going on a playoff run with an older, more mature version of this group.