Adam Henrique is still sitting on the free-agent market, and that alone makes him one of the more interesting unsigned names left as the new league year keeps rolling along. He’ll be 37 during the 2026-27 season, but there’s still a real case that he can help a team in the right spot.
This is the kind of veteran signing plenty of teams have already leaned into: low risk, some upside, and a player who can fill a role without needing to be the center of everything. The Oilers have done it before, including when they brought in Corey Perry in 2024 and later brought him back again in the offseason. Those bets do not always hit, whether the fit is off or the player just doesn’t have enough left, but Henrique looks like the sort of dependable option worth considering.
His offense dipped hard last season with Edmonton, when he finished with three goals and 15 points, one of the lowest totals of his career. Even so, that sits against a much longer track record of steady production.
Over the four seasons before that, he put up 27, 51, 38 and 42 points. He has never been a pure scoring force, but he has consistently made plays and has long been an effective playmaker.
The drop-off in 2025-26 is easy to connect to age and a sharp cut in ice time. In the right fourth-line role, Henrique could still be a useful contributor and, as the source argues, he should be able to land somewhere around 20 points next season. He shoots the puck enough to matter, and outside of last season he has been efficient doing it, with a career shooting percentage of just under 15%.
There’s also more to his game than the box score. Henrique ranked inside the top 10 on the Oilers last season in created expected goals and expected goals, which speaks to how often he can tilt things in the right direction even when the production isn’t jumping off the page. He isn’t a star-driven offense engine, but he stays involved and helps create chances.
What really gives him value, though, is the other end of the ice. Henrique has picked up Selke Trophy votes multiple times in his career and has built a reputation as a strong faceoff man, with a 50.6% career mark in the circle.
He blocks shots, he works the penalty kill, and he does the kind of little things coaches tend to trust. Last season he ranked eighth on the Oilers in defensive zone giveaways with just 13 and won 54% of his faceoffs.
That combination makes him a fit for teams looking for a veteran presence without paying for a splashy name. The Oilers have enough younger options and enough strength up front that they can move on, which opens the door for a few possible landing spots.
New Jersey would make for a natural reunion. Henrique was drafted by the Devils in 2008 and stayed there until he was traded in late 2017. It would also reconnect him with former Oiler Connor Brown, with whom he played strong playoff hockey, while giving New Jersey another piece as it keeps trying to shape a contender.
Montreal is another team that could use him. The Canadiens are young and getting closer to the big stage, and after losing a couple of key veterans, a player with Stanley Cup Final experience could matter in that room. A roster needs different ages and different skill sets, and Henrique would give them a veteran layer they no longer have.
Chicago also makes some sense, even if the timeline is different. The Blackhawks are young, with Connor Bedard and Bowen Byram among the names pushing things forward, but they have also moved on from leaders like Nick Foligno and Taylor Hall, who had been there to help guide them. Henrique would give them another voice in the locker room and another steady bottom-six option on the ice.
There are probably a few more teams that could fit, but the broader point is simple: Henrique should still be on an NHL roster when the season opens. Somebody should see the value in that.
In Other News...
Oilers Fans Are About To See A Familiar Media Brand Look Different
Oilers Nation has been a familiar stop for Edmonton fans for years, but the site is headed for a new look. The longtime Oilers blog announced it will become Daily Faceoff Edmonton by January 2027, part of a wider rebrand across The Nation Network as the company works to bring its city-specific sites under one umbrella.
The change follows The Nation Network and Playmaker Capitals acquisition of Daily Faceoff, and the new branding is already showing up on social media accounts. For readers who have followed the site as part of the daily conversation around the Oilers, the shift is a notable one, even if the disclaimer remains the same: these platforms are not officially affiliated with the NHL team. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Face A Costly Question In Search For Hymans Successor
The search for a power forward who can eventually fill Zach Hymans shoes has already pushed the Oilers into the kind of market where patience and price both matter. Edmonton is being linked to one of the Maple Leafs young forwards as a possible long-term solution, a fit that makes sense on paper for a club that values size, speed and net-front work in its top six.
What makes the idea tricky is the cost, because any deal for that kind of player figures to be substantial and could force the Oilers to part with more than just future draft capital. Toronto is not in a hurry to give away a young piece with upside, so Edmonton would likely have to decide how aggressively it wants to chase a replacement before the season gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Babcock Could Create One Early Oilers Lineup Tension
Veteran coaches tend to bring familiar habits with them, and that is already part of the conversation around the Oilers as they sort out what their next lineup looks like. Looking back at the way Todd McLellan handled combinations in 2017 offers a useful reminder of how quickly role definition can shape a teams early identity, especially when a roster is still settling into how it wants to play.
Mike Babcocks history adds another layer of intrigue because his approach has long leaned toward clear usage patterns and defined responsibilities. For Edmonton, the question is not just which players fit where, but how quickly those choices could create tension around ice time, line deployment and the balance between established stars and the rest of the group. [Read more 🡒]