The Edmonton Oilers have already done plenty of roster work, but the picture still isn’t set. With training camp approaching and only so many spots available, the club may still need to move a few pieces to clear room for the players it wants to keep.
That’s especially true up front, where the numbers are tight. Edmonton has 16 forwards who could realistically push for the opening-night roster, but only 12 will dress. That kind of squeeze makes some players easier to move than others, and Mattias Janmark is one of the clearest candidates.
Janmark’s offensive production has dried up. Since arriving in Edmonton, he has 17 goals in 260 games, and just seven of those goals have come in his last 194 games.
Last season, before injury cut things short, he managed one goal and eight points in 43 games. The 33-year-old needed season-ending surgery in early March after getting hurt on Feb. 25 against the Anaheim Ducks.
Even so, he still brings something teams value. He’s a quick bottom-six forward, a dependable penalty killer, and his cap hit is only $1.45 million in the final season of a three-year deal.
He also has a 10-team no-trade list. But with Josh Samanski, Mathieu Joseph, Max Jones, Eduards Tralmaks, and Isaac Howard all competing for just two spots alongside Janmark, the Oilers could look to deal him now and get something back instead of risking waivers.
If they want to give Howard a real shot at NHL minutes, they’ll need the roster space to do it.
Howard himself is another name that belongs in the discussion, though only under the right circumstances. The Oilers shouldn’t move him unless a clear top-six forward is coming back.
Edmonton still needs that extra complementary scorer to help Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman. If Kasperi Kapanen can slide down the lineup and the Oilers can land a legitimate top-six threat, that changes the team’s ceiling.
There’s also the possibility of trying Howard in that role, but that comes with risk. He had two goals and five points in 29 games last season, and the Oilers are entering what the source calls the biggest season in franchise history.
That leaves little room for uncertainty. If a Howard trade makes the roster better, the Oilers should be open to it.
At 22, he should not be viewed as untouchable.
The blue line presents another likely trade decision. Edmonton currently has eight defencemen and will probably carry seven, which means one will be moved or waived. Spencer Stastney, Ty Emberson, and Shakir Mukhamadullin are battling for two spots, and all three would have to clear waivers.
Emberson carries the lowest cap hit at $1.3 million and shoots right. Mukhamadullin, a left shot who can play both sides, just signed a two-year deal worth $1.75 million.
But the Oilers already have Mattias Ekholm, Jake Walman, and Ryan Shea on the left side, so keeping a right-shot option or someone who can handle the right side should be the priority. That makes Stastney the odd man out.
Stastney came over from the Nashville Predators for a third-round pick after Edmonton traded Brett Kulak to the Pittsburgh Penguins in December. He is a pending unrestricted free agent with a $1.525 million cap hit.
Last season, he bounced in and out of the lineup, then sat as a healthy scratch for Edmonton’s final 12 regular-season games and all six playoff games. In 66 games, he posted two goals and 10 points while averaging 16:02 per night.
Because he’s on a reasonable contract, there’s a real chance another team would claim him if he hit waivers. If that happened, the Oilers would be left with nothing after paying a third-round pick to acquire him, and that’s not the kind of asset management they can afford. A trade before camp would be the safer play.
The Oilers have already made notable additions, including moving Darnell Nurse’s entire $9.25 million contract and bringing in a young defenceman, signing Ryan Shea, and strengthening the goaltending with Devon Levi and Frederik Andersen. But with the roster still crowded, more shuffling could be coming before the puck drops on 2026-27.
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