The Oilers still have room to make one more move, and the front of the roster is where it would most likely happen.
Edmonton has close to $6 million in cap space heading into the 2026-27 season, and with eight defensemen and three goaltenders already locked in, the focus is squarely on adding another forward. That search has already included names like Claude Giroux, who has since returned to Ottawa, and Vladimir Tarasenko. Now another veteran has entered the conversation: Anthony Mantha.
Insider David Pagnotta linked the Oilers to Mantha and said Edmonton could be interested if the winger is willing to go short term.
“There are other free agents out there as well in Anthony Mantha, Eeli Tolvanen and others who are looking for homes and interested in joining a team like the Oilers… Curious to see how else they address the forward core. I don’t think they’re done.
In terms of somebody versatile you’re looking at an Anthony Mantha. Would you take a shot on a two-year deal?
I think some teams would, I think the Oilers would be intrigued by that possibility. The longer this goes he’ll have a decision to make,”
Mantha, 31, is coming off a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the Penguins that he signed in free agency in 2025. He delivered the best offensive season of his career, finishing with 64 points in 81 games, including 33 goals and 31 assists.
Pagnotta made those remarks several days ago, and Mantha is still available. That could work in Edmonton’s favor if the market keeps pushing him toward a shorter contract than the one he wants.
If that happens, the Oilers could become a very real landing spot. A chance to skate with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on a team chasing the Stanley Cup is the kind of pitch that can change a player’s thinking, and Pagnotta made clear that possibility is in play.
Stan Bowman doesn’t have to spend every dollar of the team’s cap space, but if Edmonton does decide to make a meaningful addition, Mantha is a name worth watching.
In Other News...
McDavid Finally Opened Up About The Oilers Trading Darnell Nurse
Losing Darnell Nurse after a 12-year run in Edmonton was always going to leave a mark, and Connor McDavid made it clear the departure hits beyond the blue line. Nurse had been part of the Oilers core for years, including a stretch as an assistant captain, so his exit leaves not just a roster hole but a leadership one as well as the team heads into a new season with a different look.
McDavid also pointed to the other side of the change, saying the Oilers are encouraged by the additions around the roster and by the arrival of Mike Babcock behind the bench. With Babcocks long coaching rsum now part of the picture, Edmonton is betting that experience can help smooth out the transition while the club figures out how to replace Nurses presence both on the ice and in the room. [Read more 🡒]
One Oilers Roster Question Could Still Define Their Cup Chances
Edmontons top-end centre depth still looks like a luxury most teams would envy, with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl driving the lineup and giving the Oilers a foundation few clubs can match. Even so, the roster picture is not completely settled, because the middle six still lacks a right-handed centre who can be trusted for second- or third-line minutes, and that kind of hole tends to matter more once the games tighten in the spring.
Stan Bowman may have to keep working the trade market to address it, especially with centre help getting harder to find and more expensive to acquire. The Oilers have been linked in the broader search to a few possible fits, but the larger question is whether Edmonton can land the right kind of piece without paying too steep a price, because this is the sort of roster decision that can shape a Cup run long before the playoffs begin. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Still Need To Solve Their Costly Trent Frederic Problem
The Oilers paid a real price to bring Trent Frederic into the fold, sending out draft capital and prospects in a three-way deal with Boston and New Jersey before committing further to him after his first postseason run in Edmonton. The hope was that a heavier, versatile forward could give the lineup more bite and some middle-six stability, but the fit has not looked nearly as clean as the investment suggested.
Frederics role has stayed pinned low in the lineup, with fourth-line usage limiting the chances to make a bigger offensive imprint. His numbers have followed suit, and for a team that already spent assets to get him, the question now is whether Edmonton can unlock more from a player it has already decided to build around for the long haul. [Read more 🡒]