The Edmonton Oilers are looking for more scoring depth, and Vasily Podkolzin is one of the names they’re counting on to help supply it. Bob Stauffer said recently that fans shouldn’t be shocked if Podkolzin takes a major step in 2026-27, with a bigger role potentially on the way.
Stauffer expects Podkolzin to get looks in Edmonton’s top six, while also seeing time on the second power-play unit and the penalty kill. He described him as one of the hardest-working players on the roster, and said Mike Babcock could be drawn to that kind of game.
That makes Podkolzin a key watch item for the Oilers. The 24-year-old is in the second season of a three-year, $2.95 million deal, and if he can turn into a steady 20-goal scorer with more than 20 assists, that would go a long way toward giving Edmonton the kind of secondary offense it needs behind Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the rest of the core.
In Columbus, the Blue Jackets got bad news in goal. Elvis Merzlikins underwent successful shoulder surgery Monday, and general manager Don Waddell said there is no timetable for his return. Waddell said Merzlikins first noticed discomfort during offseason workouts, and an MRI showed surgery was needed.
The timing is rough. Training camp opens September 16, and the regular season starts October 1. Merzlikins, 32, is in the final year of his contract after going 14-11-3 with a .883 save percentage and a 3.40 goals-against average last season.
Columbus does at least have some stability behind him. Jet Greaves emerged as the club’s clear No. 1 last season, and Pheonix Copley, who signed this summer to a one-year, $850,000 contract, is expected to step into the backup role while Merzlikins recovers.
Elsewhere, Darryl Sutter stirred up an old conversation about why some American stars don’t stay with Canadian teams. On the Cam and Strick podcast, the former Calgary Flames coach was blunt when talking about Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk leaving Calgary.
Sutter pointed to the difficulties American players faced during COVID-19 restrictions, along with the pull to return home. He also noted tax advantages in some U.S. markets, family proximity and players wanting more control over where they land as reasons behind the trend. His comments land in the middle of a broader question about whether Canadian teams face a tougher battle when trying to keep elite American talent.
And in Detroit, the Dylan Larkin situation still isn’t getting any cleaner. Ansar Khan of MLive reported that the Red Wings are still having trouble finding a trade partner, with Minnesota as Larkin’s preferred destination but without the assets to make it happen. Khan reported that the Wild would need to include a top-six NHL forward, preferably a center, while Detroit is not interested in futures.
Khan also wrote that Larkin’s other listed options - Florida, Vegas and Dallas - either don’t have much interest, lack cap space or don’t want to give up the necessary return. There have also been reports that even if Detroit had a general manager in place to make the move, the team appears to be waiting for a deal that actually fits.
In Other News...
Oilers May Have A Real Blue Line Decision On Atro Leppanen
Atro Leppnen spent most of the 2025-26 season doing what a lot of late-blooming defensemen have to do in the Oilers organization: quietly stacking good AHL shifts in Bakersfield and making it hard to ignore him. The Finnish blueliner, signed by Edmonton in April 2025, showed steady offensive growth and finished as the Condors top-scoring defenseman, the kind of progression that got him a contract extension in February and kept his name in the conversation as the season moved along.
The tricky part for Edmonton is that progress in the minors does not always map cleanly onto a path upstairs, especially on the left side of the blue line. The Oilers already have established options there, and Leppnen is approaching age 28 while also trying to prove his game fits the demands of Mike Babcocks system. He has made himself a legitimate depth decision, which is a win in its own right, but the next step for him is where the real uncertainty begins. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Fans Have A New Reason To Feel Lane Hutson Is Overlooked
Edmontons offseason had enough encouraging moments to give fans a reason for optimism, but the conversation around the front office has not exactly cooled off. Stan Bowman and the Oilers still have plenty of skeptics watching closely, because even with some improvement in the summer, the teams recent track record keeps hovering over every move and every missed opportunity.
The frustration is tied to a bigger question about whether the organization has truly corrected course or just patched over old mistakes. Fans are still weighing the decisions that have drawn the most criticism, along with the latest attempts to reshape the roster, and the next step will be measured not by talk but by whether the team looks better when it matters most. [Read more 🡒]
Connor McDavid Rumors Raise One Uncomfortable Question For Oilers Fans
The Connor McDavid chatter that surfaced this week was less about a sudden change in his stance and more about the uncomfortable exercise of imagining what life would look like if Edmonton ever had to answer the question it has long tried not to ask. McDavid has not made any public demands or decisions about his future, but the latest round of reporting has naturally put the Oilers back in the spotlight, because any discussion of his next step starts with the same basic truth: his priority would be finding the best path to another Stanley Cup.
That is what makes the latest list of possible destinations so jarring for Oilers fans. The teams being floated are the Flyers, Red Wings and Rangers, which says plenty about how little a market size or big-city profile would matter if McDavid ever reached that stage. It also leaves the same nagging issue unresolved, since observers are already skeptical that any of those clubs offers a direct, obvious route to a title. [Read more 🡒]