The Edmonton Oilers didn’t sign Alex Formenton to make a splash in the scoring column. They brought him in because they think he can help kill penalties, and that’s the lane that could decide whether this one-year, $850,000 deal turns into anything more than a brief trial.
That was the thinking behind the move from the start. Matt Savoie’s injury during off-season training left Edmonton thinner on the penalty kill, and the concern only grew after Adam Henrique departed this summer. General manager Stan Bowman said the team looked at trades and the remaining free agents before zeroing in on Formenton as the best fit for the role they needed.
“So, we started to look around at players that were available,” Bowman told Jason Gregor in a recent interview. “I called some teams about possible trades to see what the market was like for penalty killers and the free agents that are remaining. There are still guys out there, but really none of them are penalty-kill guys.
“We then went through the exercise to see how we could help the penalty kill, and it led to a lot of conversations with Alex and looking into the situation. And based on his profile as a player and his player type skill set, that’s how we really narrowed our focus and looked at a lot of other options, but didn’t feel that any of them were going to fit this role as well as we hope Alex will.”
There is at least some statistical support for that belief. HockeyStats had Formenton in the 95th percentile in PK impact across his last two NHL seasons, and he finished second among Ottawa Senators forwards in expected goals against on the penalty kill.
He also has familiarity with Edmonton penalty kill coach D.J. Smith from their time together in Ottawa.
Still, the clock is loud here. Formenton hasn’t played an NHL game in over 1,500 days, so the Oilers are betting that the penalty-killing version of him is still there. If it isn’t, this won’t last long.
The bigger question may be what he can offer at five-on-five. When he last played in the NHL in 2021-22, Formenton was mostly used as a third-line scorer and brought speed to the table, finishing with 18 goals and 32 points in 79 games. That kind of offense is what made him interesting in the first place.
But the production has not held up during his time away from the NHL. He spent three seasons with HC Ambri-Piotta in the Swiss National League, where he played 88 games and totaled 52 points. In 2025-26, he averaged 0.55 points per game, which lagged behind former Oilers Jesse Puljujarvi (1.00), Drake Caggiula (0.65) and Gaëtan Haas (0.63).
That leaves Edmonton with a player whose offensive ceiling looks muted right now and whose defensive track record at even strength has never been much of a calling card. According to HockeyStats, his defensive impact at five-on-five was better than only two per cent of NHL forwards, and in 2021-22 he ranked second-worst among Senators forwards in both goals against and expected goals against per hour. The PK strengths didn’t translate cleanly to even-strength play.
Line fit could be a problem, too. At last week’s captain’s skate, Connor McDavid was with Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin, while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins skated between Zach Hyman and Isaac Howard. If those combinations stick to open the season, Jason Dickinson would be the likely center for a shutdown third line, which does not sound like a natural landing spot for Formenton.
That makes the fourth line the most realistic five-on-five role if he cracks the roster. Even there, the Oilers would be asking for a specific job rather than a broad impact.
And he does have a real shot to make the team. The league-minimum deal gives Edmonton the flexibility to send him to Bakersfield if needed, but the club clearly targeted him for a reason. Unless he has a rough preseason, the safest bet is that the Oilers keep him around and see whether the fit on the penalty kill is as clean as they hope.
Formenton’s path has already taken him far from where it once seemed headed, and now he has a chance to prove he can still belong in the NHL. The Oilers may not need him to be more than a specialist, but they do need that specialist to show up quickly, especially with Savoie out.
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