The Edmonton Oilers will make some roster adjustments this summer after demonstrating that their forward group is incapable of winning when it counts. Of course, the great tandem of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl isn't going anywhere, but their wingers may change, and a couple of wingers from the Tampa Bay Lightning may be brought in.
Look for the Oilers to contact the Lightning to assess the market on a handful of its forwards once general manager Ken Holland has made his internal free-agent selections. The Lightning must make moves before next season because they were so close to the salary cap this season that they kept players out of the lineup until they could find a way to get around it.....cough* cough* Nikita Kucherov.
Regardless of where you stand on that, you can expect the Oilers to have interest in Alex Killorn, Ondrej Palat and Yanni Gourde. They each have their own no-trade protection, however skating with Connor McDavid is normally good for your pocket book so the decision should be an easy one. Killorn is signed for two more seasons at $4.45 million, Palat has one year left at $5.3m and Gourde is signed long-term for another four years at $5.16m.
The Oilers have some young defensive depth that could entice the Lightning, and won't cost a ton on the salary cap which for Tampa Bay, may be the most important thing. Look for the Oilers top-six forwards to have a couple new names penciled in next season, and some current Lightning forwards could be included.
