Oilers have reached a decision on what to do with Nugent-Hopkins

Trade chatter was quite loud last month when it came to Edmonton Oilers’ Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as the forward was not close to coming to an agreement with team general manager Ken Holland on a contract extension.

However, it has been mentioned more than once how RNH would like to remain with the Oilers and finally on Wednesday we got a feeling on what the team plans to do with its forward.

Oilers insider Ryan Rishaug of TSN reported that Holland and Nugent-Hopkins’ camp finally met to discuss a potential contract after five months of silence.

Rishaug believes that while nothing is imminent, an agreement is expected to be reach seeing that he doesn’t expect the Oilers to trade RNH while Edmonton remains in playoff contention.

After almost 5 months of quiet, Ken Holland and RNH agent Rick Valette had a lengthy conversation today about an extension. Nothing imminent but they plan on keeping an open dialogue. I don’t sense any rush from either side at this point despite the trade deadline looming.../
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) March 16, 2021

...seems highly unlikely Oilers would move RNH while in a playoff spot so there is time to continue working on a solution. Both sides have stated their intention/desire to find a deal that works. We’ll see what happens in the coming weeks.
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) March 16, 2021

GM Holland will need to be careful with his wallet. RNH isn’t the only asset in the final year of his contract…Defenseman Adam Larsson is in the final year of a six-year, $25 million contract and can also become a UFA this July. It is believed that no talks are currently planned.

The Oilers have just under $25 million in salary cap space next season with Kailer Yamamoto as their only major pending restricted free agent in need of a new contract.

But it’s surely a good sign that discussions have restarted between the Oilers and RNH.