My last blog discussed that the Oilers will be challenged to sign any free agents of note without finding a way to clear some cap space. Today we will start looking at some options on ways to clear cap space, starting with Andrej Sekera.
Any deal involving moving Sekera is a gamble for both sides. At 32 Sekera is past his prime and questions remain over the injuries he has sustained. However if the injuries are not debilitating him Sekera is a strong top 4 option for any team.
With Sekera the Oilers backend currently looks like this
Klefbom-Larsson Sekera-Benning Nurse-Bear Russell-Bouchard
The Oilers have four NHL caliber left shots and are still extremely thin on the right side. Larsson is the only real top 4 option they have, Benning is still too raw and neither Bear nor Bouchard should be considered a lock at this time.
Get to the point already!
The Oilers should use Sekera to acquire Faulk from the Hurricanes.
Yes we are going to do some armchair GMing today.
Here are the facts right now
- The Oilers need to shed cap space - The Oilers need a right shot defender - The Hurricanes need a left shot defender - The Hurricanes are trying to move Faulk
A deal centered around these players makes sense for both teams. With their acquisition of Hamilton by trading Hanifin, the Hurricanes have four right defensemen; Hamilton, Faulk, Pesce and van Riemsdyk. Meanwhile aside from Slavin, the Canes are inexperienced on their left side with Fleury and Jake Bean.
As reported by many insiders, the 'Canes have been interested in moving Faulk for some time and one has to wonder if acquiring Hamilton has influenced that as well. An additional wrinkle to this is Faulk has a NTC which kicks in July 1st meaning if the team does want to move him it could happen quickly in the next couple days.
From the Edmonton side; Sekera would have to waive his NMC for this to work. Considering Sekera has already played for the Hurricanes and had his most productive season there... those are good signs.
This whole discussion started around clearing cap space. Trading Sekera's 5.5 million dollar cap hit for Faulk's 4.8 million dollar cap hit is a savings of roughly 700,000 for Edmonton. The Oilers won't be signing Tavares with that cash but it moves money from the left depth chart to the right while providing small cap relief. At the same time Faulk has two year left on his deal compared to the three years Sekera has.
Faulk gives the Oilers a stop gap option that prevents the team from forcing Bouchard into a position he is not ready for. Faulk does have some issues with his defensive game but he would still be head and shoulders better than any options Edmonton has at present. When Faulk's contract ends in two years, Bouchard should be ready to step into that role.
Longer term this also helps with a topic no one wants to think about again; The Expansion Draft. We can assume that the Seattle team won't be playing until the 2020/2021 season. Meaning expansion draft won't occur until the summer of 2020. Letting Faulk play two years here and then allow him to go to free agency lets the Oilers protect Klefbom, Nurse, Larsson, and Bouchard (still under ELC) while allowing the team to protect whatever seven forwards they choose.
What say you? Leave in the comments your own thoughts on Andrej Sekera.