The Edmonton Oilers didn’t waste time making their mark in July. After a stretch of keeping the players they wanted and then jumping into free agency, they stacked up a busy day that included a trade for a young goalie, a major move on the blue line, and a handful of additions that changed the look of the roster in a hurry.
The first headline came Wednesday, July 1, when Edmonton swung a deal with the Buffalo Sabres for Devon Levi and a seventh-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft. In return, the Oilers sent out their third-round pick in 2028.
Levi is 24 and hasn’t appeared in the NHL since the 2024-25 season. Across 39 career NHL games, he has 17 wins, a 3.29 goals-against average, and a .894 save percentage. For Edmonton, it was a bet on a young goalie and another layer of depth for an organization leaning into a win-now mindset.
The bigger roster shakeup came when Darnell Nurse was finally moved after weeks of speculation tied to his trade request. Edmonton sent him to the San Jose Sharks and brought back defencemen Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zack Sharp.
That deal cleared Nurse’s full $9.25 million salary off the books, and it gave the Oilers two defensive prospects in the process. More importantly, it opened up flexibility for whatever comes next. It was a sharp piece of business from general manager Stan Bowman.
Edmonton also dipped into free agency for a pair of veterans. Ryan Shea arrived on a five-year deal carrying a $4 million AAV, while Mathieu Joseph signed for one year at $1 million AAV.
Shea, 29, put up six goals and 29 assists for 35 points in 80 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season. In 150 career games, he has nine goals and 32 assists for 41 points.
Joseph, also 29, split last season between the St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings, finishing with two goals and nine assists for 11 points in 51 games. Over 471 career games, he has 61 goals and 99 assists for 160 points.
The Oilers also kept Kasperi Kapanen in the fold on a one-year contract with a $2.6 million AAV. Kapanen produced eight goals and nine assists for 17 points in 41 games last season, and he now has 98 goals and 141 assists for 239 points in 568 career games.
He spent plenty of time on Leon Drasaitl’s wing, and that fit seemed to work. Add in the way Kapanen tends to show up when the playoffs arrive, and it made sense for Edmonton to get that deal done.
Then came the move that really turned heads: the Oilers signed Frederik Andersen to a one-year contract with a $2.8 million AAV. Andersen, 36, is coming off a Stanley Cup win with the Carolina Hurricanes last season.
He brings a long résumé with him, too. Andersen has played 552 career games, won 324 of them, posted a 2.59 GAA and a .913 SV%, and recorded 28 shutouts.
For Edmonton, the result is a summer that has gone about as well as it could have so far. The Oilers still have cap space to work with, and they can continue focusing on their restricted free agents or add more pieces if they choose. For now, the roster looks different, deeper, and a lot more interesting heading toward the 2026-27 season.
In Other News...
Sabres Quietly Made A Goalie Move Fans Did Not See Coming
The Sabres offseason roster work kept rolling with a move that trimmed their goaltending depth and added another draft asset, as Buffalo traded Devon Levi and continued to reshape the back end around a younger core. It was part of a broader stretch of housekeeping for a club that had already been active in adding defenseman Olen Zellweger and bringing back familiar faces like Dennis Gilbert and Conor Sheary on short-term deals.
Buffalo also dipped into the depth market by adding AHL players Jason Polin and Trevor Kuntar, the kind of low-risk moves that help fill out a roster after a playoff run changes the way a team views its needs. The Levi deal stood out because it came quietly, and because it suggests the Sabres are still willing to keep adjusting even after the headline moves are done. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Make Another Low-Risk Forward Bet With Something To Prove
The Sabres added another low-risk forward option Friday, signing Aidan McDonough to a one-year, two-way contract as they continue to stock the organization with players who can compete for depth roles. McDonough, 26, arrives with a modest NHL rsum but a track record that suggests there may still be some runway left, especially after his most productive professional season in the AHL.
He put up 23 goals and 21 assists in 65 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, a strong step forward for a player who has bounced between the NHL and AHL since being drafted by Vancouver in 2019. McDonough also brings a familiar development path through Northeastern, and for Buffalo the appeal is straightforward: a player with something to prove, on a deal that does not ask for much up front. [Read more 🡒]
Marty Birons Son Gets A Special Chance With The Sabres
Jacob Biron got a memorable look inside the Sabres organization this week when the son of former Buffalo goalie Marty Biron took part in Development Camp. The 21-year-old goaltender is entering his junior year at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he is balancing hockey with the path that comes after graduation, and he arrived in Buffalo with a modest but encouraging college track record in hand.
For Jacob, the camp was also another chance to lean on a familiar hockey sounding board. Marty Biron has stayed involved as a resource while Sabres staff have helped guide the younger Biron through his development, giving him a chance to absorb advice from both family and the organization his father once represented. Even the small details carried a little history, from Jacob wearing No. 35 at camp to the connection back to a name Buffalo fans know well. [Read more 🡒]