With training camp getting closer, the Edmonton Oilers are going to hear the familiar chatter about professional tryouts. An unsigned veteran on a PTO can look like easy depth, but for this group, that move could get in the way of something more valuable: figuring out what they really have in Matt Savoie, Isaac Howard and Josh Samanski.
That matters because Edmonton needs cheaper, younger help around Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The only way to find it is to let the prospects play real minutes and see what sticks.
Savoie already showed he belongs in the NHL last season. In his rookie year, he put up 18 goals and 37 points in 82 games, chipped in on the penalty kill and eventually got a look next to McDavid late in the year.
Now the next step is consistency. The Oilers should be using this season to see whether he can settle in as a reliable top-nine forward, not shuffling him down the lineup to make room for a veteran trying to hang on.
Edmonton paid a heavy price to get Savoie, and that investment needs to keep paying off through his development.
Howard’s case is different, but the logic is the same. His first pro season was a tale of two levels: 50 points in 47 games with Bakersfield, but only five points in 29 NHL games.
The scoring touch is obvious. The adjustment to the league is the part that still needs work.
The Oilers are not going to learn Howard’s ceiling by burying him on the fourth line, scratching him regularly or giving him eight minutes a night. He needs steady top-nine usage and something in the range of 12-15 minutes per game, ideally with linemates who can help him do what he does best.
There will be rough patches, but that’s part of the process. Edmonton acquired Howard after he won the 2025 Hobey Baker Award, so the team should be putting him in a spot that plays to his offensive strengths.
Samanski belongs in the conversation for a different reason. He posted four points in 24 regular-season games with Edmonton and added two points in five playoff games, and while the scoring numbers were light, he showed a responsible two-way game and enough versatility to fit in a bottom-six role.
That is why the Oilers should let him battle for the fourth-line center job instead of bringing in another veteran on a PTO. Assistant general manager Kalle Larsson has already praised Samanski’s reliability and versatility, and those traits fit the profile of a checking-line center.
A tryout player might offer a small boost to the depth chart, but it could also close the door on three younger forwards who might become real pieces for Edmonton’s supporting cast. The Oilers have spent years looking outside the organization for affordable help. This time, they should give Savoie, Howard and Samanski the chance to prove the answers are already in-house.
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Oilers Fans Face A Familiar Connor McDavid Tradeoff This Season
Connor McDavid has made a career out of turning the Oilers into a nightly must-watch team, and this season the conversation around him is familiar: how much individual production comes with the territory when the bigger goal is winning in the spring. A recent fan survey suggests Edmonton supporters are bracing for a slight dip in his point totals, but not in the broader value he brings if the team is better positioned for playoff success.
The more interesting part is the temperature around what comes next if the Oilers keep coming up short. Fans may be willing to trade a little offense for a deeper run, but there is still an uneasy sense that the long view of McDavids future in Edmonton will depend on whether those results ever arrive. [Read more 🡒]
Capitals Face Intriguing Next Step With Two Young Forwards
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Around the league, the broader landscape is shifting in ways that could matter down the road for teams trying to build and keep star power. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly has suggested Houston could be the next expansion market, with play potentially beginning in the 2029-30 season, while Connor McDavids future continues to be a topic of conversation as his Oilers contract plays out. For the Capitals, the immediate focus remains on Leonard and Sourdif, but the market for young talent is only getting tighter. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers May Use A Familiar Face To Solve A Camp Dilemma
With training camp coming fast and the preseason shortened, the Oilers could use a low-risk way to add bodies and get a read on depth under new coaches Mike Babcock and D.J. Smith. Kurt Leavins of The Edmonton Journal floated the idea of bringing in a familiar face on a professional tryout contract, a practical move for a team that may lean toward players the staff already knows rather than spending precious time evaluating complete unknowns.
Curtis Lazar fits that description well. He has already worn an Oilers sweater and remains unsigned, making him an easy name to circle if Edmonton wants experience in a bottom-six role and some comfort in the camp competition. The appeal is obvious, even if the final decision still hinges on whether the organization wants to keep looking inward or give a known depth option another shot. [Read more 🡒]