Eduards Tralmaks is not the kind of signing that usually turns heads in Edmonton. He’s 29, undrafted, and for much of his career he’s been a name tucked away in places most NHL fans don’t check unless they really mean it. But the Oilers gave him a contract on July 1st, 2026, and that alone says this is more than a routine depth add.
Tralmaks has spent time in a lot of different hockey worlds. He played four years at the University of Maine, had parts of three seasons in the AHL with Providence, then moved overseas after leaving the Bruins organization. In the Czech Extraliga, he suited up for Rytíři Kladno for two seasons - the club where Jaromir Jagr serves as president, owner, and occasional home-game player.
The production followed him there. In 2023-24, Tralmaks put up 32 points in 52 games. In 2024-25, he took another step and led Kladno outright with 23 goals and 51 points in just 48 games.
Then came his return to North America last season, and that’s the stretch that likely put him on Edmonton’s radar. With the Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit’s AHL affiliate, he finished second on the team with 26 goals and added 42 points in 64 games. He chipped in four goals in eight playoff games and posted a plus-29, which was third-best on the roster and the best mark among the team’s forwards.
For Tralmaks, the mission has stayed the same through all of it.
“My whole life, I’ve been battling to get an opportunity to play in the NHL. At the end of the day, the goal is to play at least one game in the NHL.”
That kind of line fits the way he’s built his game. Tralmaks scores.
He scored in the Czech league. He scored in the AHL.
He even produced for Latvia at the Olympics, where he led the team with three goals in four games and created dangerous looks while outpacing NHLers like Zemgus Girgensons and Teddy Blueger in the goal column.
The numbers back up the eye test too. His scoring rates in both the AHL and the Czech Extraliga landed him in elite territory, above 96% of forwards in the Czech league and above 93% in the AHL, including 98% at 5v5.
That’s the part Edmonton clearly found intriguing. Stan Bowman signed Tralmaks on Day 1 of free agency, and that’s not the sort of move teams usually make for a fringe body unless they think there’s something real there. At 6’4″ and 225 pounds, he gives the Oilers a type they don’t have in abundance: a big forward who can finish.
The question, naturally, is whether he can move well enough to stick.
Skating is the obvious issue. Tralmaks is strong on the boards, hard to move, and capable of winning battles, but he doesn’t bring a lot of pop in transition. Even he and Griffins coach Dan Watson pointed to that as the area that needs work.
Watson’s view was straightforward:
“On the ice, he’s got a physical presence. He has a good shot and is a guy we need offensively, but even his understanding of the defensive side of the game is improving. We need that big, physical presence on the forecheck, around the net, and contributing to our offensive-zone numbers right now.”
Edmonton’s depth chart makes the path tough, but not impossible. Mattias Janmark and Matt Savoie will both miss the start of the season, and that opens a lane for Tralmaks to get into the conversation. He’ll be competing with Mathieu Joseph, Colton Dach, Josh Samanski, Isaac Howard, Quinn Hutson, and Trent Frederic for minutes.
It’s not a clean runway. It never is. But there is room for him to make noise.
Tralmaks brings some of the same traits that made David Tomasek interesting last season - size, scoring touch, and a game that’s built more around finishing than flying. Tomasek couldn’t keep up and went back overseas. Tralmaks stayed in North America, produced, and earned this shot.
That’s why this signing is worth watching. He may end up as a surprise contributor.
He may become a useful call-up if injuries pile up. Either way, the NHL dream is still alive for Eduards Tralmaks, and this time it feels closer than ever.
In Other News...
Connor McDavid Faces One Oilers Question That Could Shape Everything
Edmontons offseason conversation has drifted beyond the usual questions of depth and special teams and landed on a far bigger one: how Mike Babcock will handle Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl at five-on-five. The pairing has obvious offensive upside, but it also sits at the center of the Oilers defensive concerns, especially with a new coach inheriting a roster that has already spent plenty of time trying to balance scoring with structure.
For McDavid, the discussion is not just about who skates beside him, but what version of his game the Oilers will get if the alignment changes. His 2016-17 numbers are part of the argument, as are the defensive and offensive trends that have followed him into the 2025-26 season, and a recent fan survey leaned toward splitting him and Draisaitl at even strength. The result is a familiar Oilers tension heading into the new season: whether a different lineup arrangement can unlock more balance, or whether the team is simply asking its best players to solve a problem that keeps coming back. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Prospect Situation Suddenly Feels Bigger Than Routine Draft Chatter
The Oilers track record with draft picks from Russia has been a mixed one over the last decade, with Edmonton cycling through several selections between 2010 and 2019 and getting only limited NHL returns from that group. That history gives extra weight to every new prospect update, especially when it comes to players whose paths to North America already carry more uncertainty than most. Maxim Berezkin remains part of that broader conversation, but the more immediate intrigue now sits with another young player whose development has started to matter in a bigger way.
Paul Fischer has drawn attention because his play has been encouraging, yet his contract situation still hangs there without a resolution. The Oilers brought him in through the August 2024 offer-sheets trade, but he still has not signed, and that leaves his long-term fit with the organization feeling less routine than draft churn usually does. For a team that has already learned how hard it can be to get talented players to stay and succeed in North America, the next step with Fischer carries a little more urgency than it might have a few months ago. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Babcock Arrives With One Big Question For Oilers Fans
Mike Babcocks arrival in Edmonton comes with a familiar expectation and a new wrinkle for Oilers fans: the organization wanted a demanding coach, and it appears to be getting one. The bigger question is what that version of Babcock looks like now, after years of scrutiny around his methods and the way he handles a room.
There are signs he may be trying to build a stronger structure around himself this time. The Oilers have put people in place to keep him challenged and checked, which suggests this is not simply a return to old habits but an attempt to shape something different. If it works, it could say as much about how Babcock has adapted as it does about the teams willingness to lean into a harder edge. [Read more 🡒]