Former Oilers first round pick Kailer Yamamoto could be on the way out of the NHL as he is still without a contract for next season. Yamamoto played for the Seattle Kraken last year, after spending the first six seasons of his NHL career with the Oilers organization. The 5'8 forward has always struggled to have a lasting impact in the league due to his small size, but he has shown time and time again that he is capable of playing in the league. According to public analytics models, Yamamoto has consistently played at a second-line level or better in every year of his career, aside from 2018-19 when he played in just 17 games. Last season was arguably his worst statistically, but he was still a useful NHL caliber player for the Kraken. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/IneffectiveMath/status/1821198091061473453'> </a></blockquote></div> Many reporters around the league have taken notice to the fact that he remains unsigned. One team that could potentially have some interest is the San Jose Sharks, who finished dead last in the league last season and have no reason not to make a bet on a player for free. After all, there is no downside if he does not work out. He can be sent to the AHL or simply not re-signed the following summer. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/Real_Max_Miller/status/1820141371409432640'> </a></blockquote></div> Yamamoto has played in 303 career NHL games and has58 goals and 134 career points. The vast majority of those came with the Edmonton Oilers, the team that originally drafted him. However, they elected not to re-sign him after the 2022-23 season after he put up 10 goals and 25 points in 58 games. Last season he had 8 goals and 16 points in 59 games with the Seattle Kraken, despite getting nearly 5 minutes less ice time per game. Again, this was apparently not good enough to warrant another contract offer, as the team allowed him to walk to free agency. Will he even get an offer from a team before training camps open up? Stick around to find out. Source: OilersDaily <a href='https://www.oilersdaily.com/nhl-team/edmonton-oilers/oilers-first-round-pick-has-career-in-jeopardy-with-no-interest-in-free-agency' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Oilers first round pick has career in jeopardy with no interest in free agency</a> Source: HockeyReference <a href='https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/y/yamamka01.html' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Kailer Yamamoto Career Statistics </a>