Trade chatter is circling Edmonton again, and this time it’s being fueled by the people closest to the Oilers.
Bob Stauffer, on the post-game show after Saturday night’s 3-1 win over the Kraken of Seattle, said there’s a chance injured centre Jason Dickinson could return during the team’s upcoming three-game road trip, which begins Wednesday in Anaheim against the Ducks of Anaheim. Stauffer also floated the idea that something else could happen before then.
“Maybe there’s an addition between now and then as well,” Stauffer said of Wednesday’s game, mentioning the team will practice Monday and Tuesday before leaving for California. “I just wonder.
Like I’m just looking at the timeline here. If you integrate somebody new into the team, make a smaller deal.”
That lines up with what Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said during Saturday’s broadcast, when he pointed to Edmonton’s roster imbalance and the possibility of a swap.
“Edmonton has a lot of D. And some forward injuries.
They have explored a lateral trade - is the phrase I’ve heard - maybe a defenceman for a forward. Their forwards are not out long term, so it’s not like they’re panicked to do it, but if there is a lateral D for forward move the could make with their depth players, they will look at it.”
The names floating around the conversation are already starting to take shape.
Shakir Mukhamadullin has played only two NHL games for the Oilers and is already in the trade mix. That’s where things stand in Edmonton. Along with him, the depth picture on defense includes veterans Spencer Stastney and Ty Emberson, plus prospects in Bakersfield like Damian Carfagna and Tomas Cibulka.
If Edmonton is looking for a move, Emberson stands out as the most logical hold. He’s the only right-shot defenseman among that group, and he’s also the most proven in NHL action.
His game took a real step forward from his first season with the Oilers to his second, and he and Jake Walman formed Edmonton’s most effective pairing against Anaheim in the playoffs. In theory, that also gives Emberson the strongest trade value among the club’s depth defenders.
Stastney feels like another name that fits the kind of deal Friedman described. He had a rough season, and Edmonton already has plenty of left-side depth behind him.
Carfagna and Cibulka are pushing hard, and both young defenders looked capable during the preseason. Stastney is on a one-year deal worth $1.525 million, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he cleared waivers in a move to the minors.
That makes him a possible piece in a one-for-one type of swap with a forward in a similar salary range.
Mukhamadullin is a different case. Moving him after only two games would be a strange step, especially since the Oilers acquired the big Russian defender this summer in the Darnell Nurse contract dump.
His first outing was fine, but he was also caught up in the late-game collapse against the Canucks in Edmonton’s 9-7 win. Edmonton has seen much more of him than the public has, so the team will have a much clearer sense of what it has there.
Carfagna and Cibulka, based on what was seen in the preseason, look like players who could survive a short NHL run this season. The sense here is that both may already be better than Stastney and perhaps Mukhamadullin right now, which helps explain why Edmonton could be willing to move one or both of those names if it brings back help up front.
At forward, Isaac Howard and Josh Samanski are both viewed as promising, but neither has really won over coach Mike Babcock yet. Neither has played much. Samanski is only with Edmonton as an emergency recall player, which makes him the simplest option to send down if the Oilers bring in another forward.
In Other News...
Flames Already Have An Early Problem Fans Know Too Well
The early returns on the 2026-27 season have already put Calgary in a familiar spot, and not the one the Flames wanted to revisit. Seattle pushed the pace at Climate Pledge Arena and took advantage of defensive breakdowns to keep Calgary chasing the game from the opening stages, turning what should have been a measuring-stick road test into another lopsided result.
Calgary did get on the board in the third period on a power-play redirection from Morgan Frost, but by then the damage was done and the frustration was already obvious. The more troubling part for the Flames is how quickly this matchup has tilted in Seattles favor, with the Kraken outscoring them 12-2 in the first two regular-season meetings and leaving Calgary with an early problem it knows too well. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Third Straight Loss Raised An Early Concern Fans Cant Ignore
The early road trip keeps getting tougher for Calgary, and the latest stop in Seattle only sharpened the concern around how this group is starting the season. In the Krakens home opener, the Flames were beaten 6-1 as Seattle controlled the game from the outset, putting together a fast start and then keeping Calgary on the back foot the rest of the night.
What stood out most was how often the Flames were chasing the puck and losing the defensive details that usually keep a game manageable. Their only offense came on a third-period power play, a brief spark in a night that otherwise reinforced the same problem: too many breakdowns, not enough clean exits, and a three-game skid that already feels bigger than the calendar says it should. [Read more 🡒]
Connor Zary Just Became A Tough Early Test For The Flames
The early days of the 2026-27 season have already put the Flames in a tricky spot with Connor Zary. A former first-round pick who was supposed to be part of the organizations longer-term answer, Zary found himself scratched in Game 2 after opening with two rough outings, a jarring development for a player whose fit in Calgary has already felt uneasy at times.
Brayden Pachal was also caught up in the move, with the Flames placing both players on waivers as the club continues to lean toward a younger look. For Calgary, the decision is less about one bad week than the broader question of how quickly this roster can sort out its identity, and whether Zary can still become part of it after a rocky stretch with the team. [Read more 🡒]