A few NHL trade and roster storylines are getting a lot of noise this week, but the biggest takeaway may be that one of the loudest rumors is probably already dying on the vine.
The Elliotte Friedman-to-Amazon chatter has apparently been blown way out of proportion. According to insider Jonah Sigel, the notion that Amazon came in with some massive offer is basically fiction.
There may have been discussions, but Amazon was never expected to empty the bank for one insider. Most of the real framework with Rogers is reportedly already in place, and Friedman is said to be overseas on vacation while the remaining details get worked out.
That tracks with the practical side of it, too. Amazon only has one night of games and some regional coverage, so the idea of throwing a blank check at Friedman never really lined up with the scale of the job. The sense here is simple: Rogers wants him, he wants to stay, and this is more about finishing the paperwork than staging a full-blown bidding war.
In Ottawa, the conversation around Brady Tkachuk is far messier.
The Senators are planning a tribute video for Tkachuk when he returns as a Panther, but the idea has already sparked a strong backlash from some fans and voices around the sport. Sid Seixeiro was especially blunt about it this week, arguing that Tkachuk spent months pushing back against trade rumours before eventually asking out anyway. In Seixeiro’s view, giving him the polished, respectful sendoff sends the wrong message.
That reaction has clearly landed with a chunk of the fan base. Some have said the most pointed response, if the video goes ahead, would be silence rather than applause.
Still, not everyone is against recognizing him. There are fans who believe Tkachuk’s community work in Ottawa should count for something, even if the way he left left a bad taste.
The organization may still feel pressure to do the “classy” thing, but the mood around the return does not sound warm. Whether it turns into boos, “baby brother” chants, or just a cold quiet, this is not shaping up to be a friendly reunion.
And then there’s the Oilers, where a quieter move may end up mattering more than most people realize.
Josh Samanski is starting to look like exactly the kind of depth piece teams love to stumble into. Edmonton signed him in April 2025 after he put up 40 points in 52 DEL games, and the Oilers listed him as a 6-foot-5 centreman. Since then, he’s had a strong AHL season, got a real NHL look, and even played five playoff games without looking overwhelmed.
The numbers help explain why Edmonton seems to like him. He was the Oilers’ only bottom-six forward last season with 200-plus minutes and a positive goal share, and he posted the best defensive numbers on the team. That’s not flashy stuff, but it’s the kind of profile that earns trust fast.
His versatility makes him even more useful. Samanski can play center or wing, and he’s already shown he can hold his own next to elite talent after skating with Leon Draisaitl on Germany’s Olympic team.
If the offense comes along even a little, he could move beyond a fourth-line role and work his way into a real depth spot in Edmonton’s top nine. For now, he looks like the kind of cheap, overlooked pickup that quietly becomes a lot more important than anyone expected.
In Other News...
Oilers Depth Gamble Suddenly Has A Real Opening To Make Noise
Eduards Tralmaks has spent a winding pro career proving he can score wherever he lands, whether that was in the Czech leagues, the NCAA or the AHL, and now the 29-year-old undrafted forward is getting a fresh look with the Oilers after signing as a free agent on July 1, 2026. He also brought that touch to Team Latvia at the Olympics, which helps explain why Edmonton was willing to add him as another depth option for a group that is always searching for usable offense beyond the stars.
The opening may be bigger than it first looked a few weeks ago, because injuries have thinned the competition among the bottom-six forwards and created a real lane for Tralmaks to press his case for NHL minutes. The one thing that has long trailed his scoring profile is skating, so the question now is whether he can do enough in camp and early-season looks to make the Oilers keep him around when the roster starts to settle. [Read more 🡒]
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 🡒]