Oilers may target these two veterans before the start of next season

The Edmonton Oilers are in a bit of a tough spot as we enter the fourth week of unrestricted free agency.

General manager Ken Holland wants to add some depth to his team's forward group, but only has $5.6 million to work with and still needs to sign forward Ryan McLeod and defenceman Evan Bouchard.

Allan Mitchell of The Athletic has suggested two depth options that the Oilers could add to their forward group - Paul Stastny and Tomas Tatar.

Stastny, 37, would likely be the cheaper of the two options. He was under contract with the Hurricanes last season at $1.5 million and could sign for even lower with the Oilers if no other opportunities come up. Statsny finished last season with 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists) in 73 games.


As for 32-year-old Tomas Tatar, he's still seeking a relatively decent AAV after putting up 20 goals last season for the sixth time in his NHL career, along with adding 28 assists for 48 points in 82 games. Tatar's options seemed to be pretty limited at the moment and as the summer drags on, there's a possibility that the Oilers could get him for very cheap, unless another team swoops in or if he's offered a professional tryout contract where he thinks he has a better opportunity.