The Edmonton Oilers may not be done yet, but the sense around the roster is that the heavy lifting is already finished.
That matters because this is a huge season in Edmonton. Connor McDavid is eligible to sign an extension on July 1, 2027, and Leon Draisaitl put the pressure point into plain language at year-end media availability when he talked about how the Oilers may have one year left of McDavid despite him just starting a two-year contract extension.
Against that backdrop, the focus keeps landing on GM Stan Bowman, who has not upgraded the roster since taking over in the summer of 2024. The results have not helped his case. The roster has gotten worse, and this past season ended with the Oilers losing to the Anaheim Ducks in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Bowman’s moves have included keeping free agents and trade deadline additions Connor Murphy and Jason Dickinson. He also moved Darnell Nurse to the San Jose Sharks after Nurse requested a trade, bringing back Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zack Sharp.
On top of that, Bowman added organizational depth by trading for Devon Levi from the Buffalo Sabres, signing Frederik Andersen, and signing Ryan Shea. He also kept Kasperi Kapanen.
Jim Biringer of NHLRumors.com and Full Press Hockey joined The Green Zone with Justin Blackwell and Scott Roblin, filling in for Jamie Nye, and said the Oilers appear close to finished.
“Seems like their roster is pretty much set, though. You never know with Edmonton and the way Stan Bowman works.
I think there’s been a lot of criticism of this roster, a lot of criticism of the hiring of Mike Babcock. I think this feels like a Mike Babcock-type roster.
If anything, you’re going to have to add a depth forward or depth defenseman, considering, again, Darnell Nurse is not there anymore, and you bring in Ryan Shea and used some of his dollars.”
Biringer added that Edmonton still needs more help in the supporting cast.
“If anything, if I’m Edmonton and I’m Stan Bowman, I got to continue to add depth. Because you listen to what Leon Draisaitl said at the end of the season, he talked about the guys that aren’t there anymore, and those are the depth pieces that they’re missing to get to a playoff spot and potentially get back to a Stanley Cup Final.”
As things stand, the Oilers probably still are not built to win a Stanley Cup. That is why there may be a little more tinkering around the edges. If Edmonton can add anything else, a top-six forward would be the ideal target, though that’s the kind of move plenty of teams are chasing this offseason.
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Oilers Suddenly Have A Deadline Opportunity Fans Have Waited Years For
The Oilers have given themselves something they have not often had at this time of year: real flexibility. After clearing significant salary cap space ahead of the NHL trade deadline, Edmonton is sitting on about $5.9 million in room right now, a figure that could climb sharply as the deadline approaches. For a team that has spent years trying to squeeze every possible move into a tight cap picture, that kind of breathing room changes the conversation around what is possible.
PuckPedias projection has only added to the intrigue, with Edmonton potentially able to work with roughly $27 million by deadline day if the numbers continue to line up. Even then, the Oilers still have to navigate the usual trade-deadline balancing act, including finding the right assets to make a major deal happen and keeping an eye on the postseason cap rules. Still, for fans who have been waiting for the front office to have this kind of opening, the next few weeks suddenly look much more interesting. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers May Have Just Made Their Riskiest Blue Line Bet Yet
Ryan Sheas path to Edmonton has been a long one, winding from a 2015 draft pick of the Blackhawks to Northeastern, then through stops with Dallas and Pittsburgh before he finally found some traction with the Penguins. The left-shot defenseman is coming off the kind of season that put him back on the map, and the Oilers clearly believe there is more upside to tap as they try to reshape a blue line that needs steadier answers.
Now the real test begins. With Darnell Nurse gone, Shea is expected to step into a second-pairing role and handle tougher minutes than he has seen before, with his work on the penalty kill and at five-on-five likely to determine whether this move looks shrewd or risky. Edmonton is betting that his breakout was a sign of what is still ahead, not just a one-year spike, and that is a wager worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Face One Huge Decision With Their Cap Space Suddenly Open
Edmontons improved cap picture has opened the door to a more aggressive kind of summer shopping, and it has put the front office in a spot it has not always enjoyed in recent years. With room to maneuver, the Oilers can look beyond bargain fixes and evaluate whether a real top-six upgrade is worth pursuing, especially for a team still trying to squeeze more support around its stars.
The appeal is clear enough: a proven goal scorer who also brings responsible two-way play and could fit into a higher-end forward group without needing the puck on every shift. The harder part is deciding how much that kind of addition should cost, because the Oilers can make the numbers work, but the bigger question is whether the price matches the impact they would be buying. [Read more 🡒]