Oilers still have to follow the cap game. They are not exempt.

It wouldn't be super hard to make the money work for Sanheim at 2.6, maybe just carry 1 less scratch and send Turris to Philly or something like that

Although the Oilers are dealing with injuries at the moment, both Nurse and Keith should be back by next week. In the meantime, they have managed to go 4-1 since this rash of injuries began. They have an abundance of young LD who are near NHL ready and will push for roster spots next season. Broberg and Samorukov both project as two-way defenders, with very good puck-moving ability. Niemelainen is a huge, agile, shut-down guy who is also a very good puck mover. All three are bigger than Sanheim, and they all carry a fraction of his cap hit for at least the next couple seasons. I don't see a fit for Sanheim with the Oilers.

Its unfortunate that Edmonton doesn't have room for Konecny's contract, he'd probably be a great addition for them. Yamamoto would likely have to go, and many fans would not like that. I'd love to see Giroux join Edmonton for a playoff run... but the Oilers would probably need a third team to take on 50% of the remaining 50% of his AAV. That's a big ask, and would probably render the idea too expensive.

We have 4 guys on the IR and 4 guys on LTIR. I dont think it is a good idea to carry one less guy this year. We are completely undermanned.
Tough year. Need that Taxi squad.
We have 150,000$ in cap space. You would have to take Turris and Perlini, but we wouldnt have enough forward then.

Currently we have Barrie and Bouchard of regular Dman and still winning.

Sorry, but becuase have cap, does not mean they will take on JVR contract which is 7million, unless they get a real sweetner.

And future 3rd round pick does not cover it. My God he has 6 points in 21 games, what makes you think Yzerman would take on that anchor?

He's 1 season removed from 63 point scoring pace, and if you watch the Flyers at all this season it'd be very clear the entire team is scoring way, way below their average/normal rate. You take on JVR with the ability to retain salary and flip him to a different team at the TDL, while getting a player during the season capable of performing well in a top-6 role