Oilers insider Bob Stauffer made a bold prediction when he revealed the four player names that will have new deals by August 28, along with coach Kris Knoblauch. <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/edmonton-oilers/reporter-links-the-edmonton-oilers-to-900-game-nhl-veteran-still-available-in-free-agency' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Big changes could be coming for the Edmonton Oilers</a>, even after an eventful offseason that has seen them sign Andrew Mangiapane and Curtis Lazar, add Isaac Howard through trade, and clear cap space. <a href='https://oilersnation.com/news/real-life-podcast-tylers-putting-green-leon-draisaitls-wedding-and-mlb-economics' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Oilers team insider Bob Stauffer says</a> the Oilers will be able to sign contract extensions on a number of key pieces over the next month, including Connor McDavid, Jake Walman, Mattias Ekholm, Vasily Podkolzin, and head coach Kris Knoblauch. Let's say by August the 28th, which is a Thursday, a month from today, I could foresee a scenario where extensions are done on Podzkolzin, Walman, Ekholm, and McDavid, Stauffer said on Monday's edition of OilersNow. So I'm not moving off it. (Frank) Seravalli and myself both said 100 percent that Connor would re-sign. All along, nothing was happening before Leon's wedding. I could see some traction occurring after that. Oh, and a potential extension for Kris Knoblauch as well. Those ones. I would say that (Brett) Kulak will probably have a decision to make. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/OilersNow/status/1949969621089436050'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div> While this is the first real buzz on extensions since the playoffs ended, Connor McDavid's potential deal naturally takes the spotlight. <h3>McDavid Will Likely Become the NHL's Highest-Paid Player</h3> The NHL's second-highest-paid player, McDavid, projects via 'Evolving Hockey' to sign an eight-year contract at $15.39 million annually. In reality, however, it may as well be a blank cheque. The Oilers will need to balance compensating their superstar with having cap flexibility to keep their core competitive. As for the others, they're all in the final couple of years of their deal. Ekholm, 35, is finishing a $6.25-million AAV contract (with Nashville retaining $250,000). Walman, 29, has a $3.4-million deal, and Podkolzin, 24, is a pending RFA making $1 million. Evolving Hockey projects extensions of three years at $6.86 million (Ekholm), three years at $4.91 million (Walman), and two years at $2.17 million (Podkolzin). Brett Kulak, 31, also stands in line for an extension, projected at four years with a $3.96-million cap hit. Knoblauch's extension is also on Bowman's plate, with negotiations reportedly ongoing since late June.