The Edmonton Oilers may have room to add by the time the 2026-27 season rolls around, but that doesn’t mean a big deadline swing would come cheap. If they go hunting for a major upgrade, someone on the current roster may have to go the other way.
Three names stand out as possible trade bait: Kasperi Kapanen, Mattias Janmark and Spencer Stastney. All three are entering the final year of their contracts, and their combined cap hit tops $5.5 million. That kind of money matters when a contender is trying to fit in one more difference-maker before the 2027 deadline.
Kapanen looks like the most obvious piece to move in a larger deal. Edmonton brought him back on a one-year contract with a $2.6 million cap hit after he put up eight goals and 17 points in 41 games last season. He also led the Oilers with four goals in the 2026 playoffs.
There’s still value there. Kapanen brings speed, shoots right-handed and showed he can show up in the postseason. But Edmonton is still chasing a steadier top-six scoring winger, and if the Oilers make a run at a player like Brock Boeser, Owen Tippett or Alex DeBrincat, Kapanen’s money may be part of the equation.
He wouldn’t be a dead-end contract for another team, either. A rebuilding club could use him in its middle six, see what it has, and decide whether to extend him or flip him later. For Edmonton, though, his main appeal may be as a cap-matching piece attached to a pick or prospect.
Janmark presents a different kind of decision. He’s in the final season of a three-year deal carrying a $1.45 million cap hit, and his value has mostly come from the defensive side of the puck.
The 33-year-old has been a useful bottom-six option because of his penalty-killing, versatility and playoff experience, but last season his offense dipped hard. He finished with one goal and eight points in 43 games, while averaging 11:51 of ice time and getting more defensive-zone starts than offensive ones.
That kind of role could become harder to hold onto. Edmonton has more forward competition now, with Colton Dach, Mathieu Joseph, Josh Samanski and Isaac Howard all in the mix for regular minutes.
A deal involving Janmark alone probably wouldn’t bring back much more than a late-round pick. The real value would be in freeing up $1.45 million and opening a lineup spot for a younger player who can bring more offense.
Stastney’s situation is murkier, but he’s in the mix too. Edmonton signed him to a one-year, $1.575 million contract after he posted 10 points in 66 games between the Oilers and Nashville Predators.
Only one of those points came in his 36 games with Edmonton, and the numbers behind his time with the Oilers weren’t especially strong. At five-on-five, Edmonton controlled 48.55% of the shots and 44.89% of the high-danger scoring chances with Stastney on the ice.
Those figures point to a depth defender who didn’t tilt play in Edmonton’s favor. With Shakir Mukhamadullin and Ryan Shea added to the picture, and Ty Emberson already around, Stastney could end up fighting for the final defensive spot. If he settles in as the seventh or eighth defenceman, moving him could create room for another addition.
Of the three, Kapanen is the likeliest to be bundled into a bigger trade because his salary helps the math. Janmark is the cleanest candidate to move for flexibility.
Stastney’s fate depends on whether he can lock down a regular role. None of them has to be dealt right away, but all three have contracts that make them natural outgoing pieces if Edmonton goes after another aggressive deadline upgrade.
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