The Edmonton Oilers are in the market for help on the back end, and Arber Xhekaj is one name that keeps popping up in the conversation.
With Darnell Nurse gone, the Oilers may need another defenseman who can bring size and a heavy edge as they gear up for another run at the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Xhekaj checks some of those boxes.
He plays with the same kind of truculence and grit that Nurse did, and maybe even more in certain areas. The catch is that he isn’t the more complete player.
That’s where the fit gets tricky.
Contenders need depth everywhere, and the Oilers have already seen how quickly a playoff run can wobble when the injury bug hits. Zach Hyman’s absence in the Western Conference Final mattered a lot in Edmonton’s second straight Cup Final loss to the Florida Panthers, and Mattias Ekholm was also significantly limited by injury. A player like Xhekaj, who is 25 years old, could help absorb some of that damage if a top-four defenseman goes down.
Still, he comes with real questions. Xhekaj is not an elite defender, and his advanced metrics have consistently leaned negative.
He would need the right partner beside him, maybe someone steady in his own zone like the recently extended Connor Murphy. Even then, the price matters, especially with several teams reportedly trying to get in on the Canadiens’ talks.
Cost-versus-value is the real issue here. Xhekaj’s last NHL contract carried a $1.3 million cap hit, but a raise is likely coming.
Some general manager may be willing to pay for the intangibles he brings, but he is also a role player whose average ice time has dropped in each of his NHL seasons. That makes the gamble harder to justify.
Oilers GM Stan Bowman will have his pro scouting staff digging into whether Xhekaj makes sense. The view here is that he could handle a limited depth role on a strong team, but there’s not much reason to expect a major leap beyond what he already is. And with the Canadiens highly unlikely to sign and then retain salary after a trade, Edmonton may end up looking in another direction for defensive depth.
In Other News...
Oilers Rumors Put Edmontons Faith In Its Young Forwards Under Fire
Speculation around Edmontons forward group has started to carry more weight as talk turns to whether the Oilers could chase a name like Patrik Laine or Vladimir Tarasenko. On the surface, the appeal is obvious: proven scoring help is always tempting for a team trying to stay in the hunt. But any move of that kind would also send a pretty clear message about where the organization stands on its younger forwards, especially Isaac Howard, Vasily Podkolzin and Matt Savoie.
The Oilers are already working within a tight cap picture and roster constraints, so bringing in another veteran scorer would not be a small cosmetic tweak. It would look more like a judgment call on the clubs internal pipeline, a sign the front office may not be fully convinced those prospects are ready to carry more of the load. Whether Edmonton chooses to trust its young talent or make room for a more established winger, the decision is likely to say plenty about how the team views its own future. [Read more 🡒]
Stan Bowman Has A Real Oilers Opportunity Before Camp Gets Messy
The Oilers have put themselves in a rare late-summer spot: cap space to work with and no obvious emergency on the roster. With a projected 23-man group that already includes three goalies, nine defensemen and 15 forwards, Stan Bowman is carrying about $4.7 million to play with before camp opens, which means this is less about filling a hole than deciding whether there is a meaningful upgrade worth chasing before the roster picture gets crowded.
That is where the intrigue comes in, because the names floating around are the kind of players that can change the conversation if Bowman decides to act. Shane Wright has been mentioned among the possible targets, along with Kirill Marchenko, and any addition of that caliber would force the Oilers to sort out a cleaner roster path on the other side, including players who could end up on waivers or squeezed off the team if everyone stays healthy. [Read more 🡒]
Connor McDavid's Next Oilers Deal Could Define Edmonton's Cup Window
Connor McDavid is still playing under the two-year, $25 million deal he signed with Edmonton, but the conversation around his next contract is already looming over the Oilers future. With the salary cap set to keep climbing and recent NHL megadeals reshaping the market, any extension would instantly become one of the leagues defining pieces of business and a major marker for where Edmonton believes its Cup window really stands.
There is also a familiar wrinkle in McDavids situation: he has signed below his market value before, and the Oilers would certainly welcome a repeat if they can keep convincing him they are built to contend. For Edmonton, this is about more than a number on a cap sheet. It is about whether the franchise can present a case strong enough to keep its captain aligned with the same urgency that has defined the teams push to stay in the championship mix. [Read more 🡒]