NHL Rumors: Washington Capitals, and the Edmonton Oilers

Could the Washington Capitals be a landing spot for Pierre-Luc Dubois?

Sammi Silber of The Hockey News: The Washington Capitals will be looking to make some moves this offseason and one player they could look to acquire is pending RFA forward Pierre-Luc Dubois. If the Winnipeg Jets aren’t able to sign him to a long-term extension this summer, he could be dealt.

The Montreal Canadiens are rumored to be front-runners for Dubois, but Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe reported that a team close to New York could be the landing spot. The Capitals fit that and have the need.

Capitals Evgeny Kuznetsov would like to play somewhere else and Nicklas Backstrom has injury concerns.

NHL Rumors: Connor Hellebuyck and Pierre Luc Dubois Contracts Hang Over The Jets

The Oilers need to extend Evan Bouchard, and have a few other free agent decisions to make with limited cap room

Ryan S. Clarke and Kristen Shilton: The Edmonton Oilers were inconsistent against the Vegas Golden Knights, losing in six games.

2023 draft picks: 2nd, 5th, 6th, 7th

The Oilers need to sign pending RFA defenseman Evan Bouchard to a contract extension. He became a top-pairing defenseman after the Tyson Barrie-Mattias Ekhom trade and a contributor to the league’s top power play. He could be in line for a big, long-term deal and it could get tricky for the Oilers.

They’ll need to find some talented players willing to play on team-friendly deals to round out their roster.

Klim Kostin and Ryan McLeod need new contracts and will they be able to re-sign any of their trade deadline acquisitions – Nick Bjugstad, Mattias Janmark and Derek Ryan – who are pending UFAs?

Edmonton Oilers Free Agents

2023 UFAs – Nick Bjugstad, Devin Shore, Mattias Janmark, Derek Ryan, Oscar Klefbom, Ryan Murray, Mike Smith, Jason Demers, Slater Koekkoek, and Justin Bailey.

2023 RFAs – Klim Kostin, Ryan McLeod, Evan Bouchard, Bogdan Yakimov, Anton Slepyshev, Tyler Benson, Philip Kemp, Oliver Rodrigue, Raphael Lavoie, and Noah Philp.

2024 UFAs – Warren Foegele, Vincent Desharnais, Calvin Pickard, Greg McKegg, Brad Malone, and Seth Griffith.

2024 RFAs – Kailer Yamamoto, Dylan Holloway, Philip Broberg, Carter Savoie, Ryan Fanti, James Hamblin, and Cam Dineen.

NHL Rumors: The Edmonton Oilers may be thinking bridge deal for Evan Bouchard