The Edmonton Oilers’ preseason is almost over.

The Seattle Kraken will ice many of their NHL players, at least the healthy ones, tonight, as they skate in their sixth and final preseason game. This should help Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch get a better evaluation of the players battling for the final roster spots. When you play eight preseason games, the first four games are difficult to evaluate players on, because the rosters are often made up of 40-50% of an actual NHL roster.

However, tonight, it sounds like Matt Savoie, Isaac Howard, Josh Samanski, Quinn Hutson, Alec Regula and Atro Leppänen (not a guarantee they all play as illness has spread around the Oilers’ room) will face a more NHL-laden lineup, and a strong game could impact whether they make the opening-season roster. Unfortunately, Noah Philp and David Tomášek could miss tonight due to illness. Neither skated yesterday. Philp has had a very strong preseason with four points in four games, and he’s been noticeable each game, but he might have to miss tonight.  The Oilers have recalled James Hamblin, Connor Clattenburg and Viljami Marjala from Bakersfield, just so they can ice a full lineup.

Had Philp dressed and played well, would it have impacted the Oilers’ final roster decision? Possibly. He’ll be an interesting case study to see if the Oilers keep him up or send him to Bakersfield, which comes with the possibility of being claimed on waivers. It is very difficult to predict which players will get claimed. The vast majority don’t get claimed, as the other 31 teams usually feel they have a player of similar capabilities and talent. But it only takes one team to like a player. Philp, if he is waived, is hoping there is one team who views him as an NHLer.

I hope Philp can play tonight or Friday. He’s played well and deserves a look against an opposing roster filled with NHL players.

QUICK HITS…

— Jani Nyman leads NHL preseason with four goals. He’s played five games, so that helps, but he’s looked good, and Seattle could benefit from having someone become a 30+ goal scorer. Jared McCann is the only skater in Kraken history to score 27+ goals. He had 27 in 2022, 29 in 2024 and 40 in 2023. The Kraken finished 16th in goals for last year with 245 and were only one back of Florida. They were 24th in goals against (262), so they’d like to reduce their GA, but finding a 30-goal scorer would be huge for a team that, outside of 2023, has never really had a go-to goal scorer.

— The NHL has met with many NHL teams to answer questions about the new rules for the upcoming season. The “paper loan” deal, which states if a player is re-assigned to the AHL, they have to play a game before being recalled, isn’t that strict. The basic point of the rule is they don’t want teams doing what Carolina did last season, which was send a player down for one day, and for that day the player gets paid their AHL salary instead of the NHL salary. The rule protects players from losing money, simply due to a paper transaction. For instance, if a team sends a player down on Monday and the team has a game that night, and during the game, a player gets injured, the team can recall the player the next day or two. The rule doesn’t mean a player HAS to play one AHL game before being recalled, it simply is done so teams stop sending guys down, while keeping them in the NHL city, but losing money for one day.

— Stan Bowman made a smart trade today. He acquired Connor Ingram from Utah for future considerations (which is nothing). The Mammoth retain $800K, so he is now a $1.15m cap hit for Edmonton, and with him being in the minors, none of his salary will count on the cap because it is below the threshold. This move, rather than claiming him on waivers, allows them to have him in the AHL, and not impact their salary cap. Ingram will be given the opportunity to get back on track in Bakersfield. He played 22 games for the Mammoth last season and then joined the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. He was in the program once before in 2020/2021 when he was with Nashville. He used the program to help him learn how to deal with an obsessive-compulsive disorder that had been undiagnosed in his career up until that point. In between stints in the program, Ingram had two really solid seasons with the Arizona Coyotes organization.

In those two seasons (2023,2024) Ingram started 74 games, which was tied for 30th, and he was 21st in Sv% at .907. He was solid behind a rather porous Coyotes’ defense. The question is: Can he return to that form? The Oilers took a low-risk bet in making the trade. Ingram will start in Bakersfield, and they will evaluate how he plays. He didn’t take part in the Mammoth’s training camp, so he’ll need some time in Bakersfield to get up to speed, but after 10-15 starts, they will see where he is at.

— “I talk to Judd (Moldaver) almost every day,” said Bowman. “We have had very positive conversations, but I can’t add perspective of what is on their side, but we are ready, and we’d like to sign him. Nothing changes on our front, we just continue to have open dialogue,” Bowman said regarding Connor McDavid’s contract.

I’m curious what Oilersnation feels. In the comments put the date you think he signs.

— I’m not sold the Kirill Kaprizov contract will impact McDavid’s decision. I don’t think AAV was ever an issue. If he wants to be the highest paid player in the NHL, the Oilers will pay him, but I’m not sold he wants to be, because under the current NHL structure, the more you pay one player, the less you have to fill out the remaining roster. The best forwards can still only play 22-24 minutes (36.6 to 40%) of the game in the playoffs. They need a solid team around them.

McDavid’s current contract began in the 2018/19 season. The salary cap was $79.5m and his salary made up 15.7%. His percentage of cap dropped every year and this season he’s at 13% of the cap. Let’s say he signs for $17m next year — he’d take 16.3% of the $104m cap. In his second year when the cap goes up to $113m, he’d be at 15%. Him making $17m won’t change things that much, if he opts for that AAV. Maybe he decides to sign a two-year deal at $14m AAV (same as Leon Draisaitl), because he values winning over making the most money. Next year his percentage of cap would be 13.4% and it would be 12.3% in 2027/28.

Ultimately, when McDavid makes his decision, I believe it will be based mainly around the opportunity to win. Edmonton gives him a good chance. They’ve made two-consecutive Cup Finals. They have skill and a significant amount of playoff experience, and not many teams can offer that. I think money will be part of the equation, but not the leading factor.

LINEUPS…

Oilers

Will update them as we know officially. Calvin Pickard will start in goal, that we know for certain, and Stuart Skinner is scheduled to start Friday in Vancouver. It is a preseason game, but rosters for each team are more secretive than the Caramilk secret. Why? Why?

Kraken…

They are dealing with some injuries of their own. Ryker Evans is out six to eight weeks with an upper body injury. They also have Vince Dunn, Jared McCann, Brandon Montour and Chandler Stephenson battling different ailments. Head coach Lane Lambert offered a vague “They are progressing,” update on their status. The Kraken lineup won’t have some of their top players, but they will still have a strong percentage of NHL players.

TONIGHT…