Spots in the Edmonton Oilers’ bottom six are still very much open, and Max Jones is right in the middle of the fight.
Jason Dickinson looks like the one true lock down there, with the veteran set to centre the third line. Beyond that, the picture gets crowded fast.
Matthew Savoie’s injury has opened the door for Kasperi Kapanen to potentially slide into the top six, while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins still has an undefined role. That leaves Isaac Howard, Mathieu Joseph, Josh Samanski, Trent Frederic, Quinn Hutson, Colton Dach, Mattias Janmark, and Jones competing for a limited number of jobs.
Jones gave the Oilers a jolt last season, and that was especially noticeable when he was in the lineup late in the year. Acquired in the Trent Frederic trade ahead of the 2025 trade deadline, he made a strong first impression by picking up an assist in his debut and standing out as one of the most noticeable players on the ice. After that, the production dried up for a while, as he went pointless over his next 17 games before scoring in the final game of the season.
He was waived before the season began and didn’t make his debut until mid-December. His first run was short, but effective enough: a goal and an assist in eight games. Later in the year, when the Oilers were dealing with a pile of injuries, Jones was recalled for the final 15 games.
That second stretch was where he really made his case. In 13 games, he added two goals and an assist, and even when the box score stayed quiet, he was easy to notice in the bottom six.
He brought pace and energy every shift, and the numbers backed it up. During five-on-five play, he logged 174:48 minutes, with the Oilers outscoring opponents 8-5 and posting a 60.5 percent expected goal share.
Now the question is whether that work is enough to stick. Jones will get his chance in pre-season, but he’ll have to beat out players like Joseph, Hutson, Dach, and Janmark. If he wants to be on the opening roster, he needs to separate himself by bringing the same impact he showed in limited minutes last season.
There are three possible paths from here. He can make the team, he can be lost on waivers if he doesn’t, or he can end up in another organization. The Oilers have already seen him clear waivers in each of the last two seasons, which matters here.
If he’s not with Edmonton and not claimed elsewhere, Jones would land with the Bakersfield Condors in the American Hockey League. Between NHL appearances, the Rochester, Michigan product played 39 games and put up 10 goals and 18 points. For now, the likeliest outcome is that he starts in California, but he’ll have every opportunity to force his way back into the Oilers’ bottom-six mix.
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