With the market mostly picked over, the Oilers are left sorting through a short list of unsigned veterans: Anthony Mantha, Patrick Kane, Patrik Laine, Vladimir Tarasenko, Michael Bunting and Eeli Tolvanen. Each one brings a different selling point, and each one comes with baggage.
Mantha has the size and scoring upside. Laine owns one of the league’s best shots when he’s healthy.
Kane brings elite playmaking. Bunting can irritate opponents and work the forecheck.
Tolvanen has shown flashes of 20-goal ability. But none of them comes clean.
Inconsistency, injuries, age, cost and limited skill sets all hang over the group.
For Edmonton, the fit that makes the most sense is Tarasenko.
He doesn’t have to be the engine of an offense, and that matters. The Oilers already have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. What they need is someone who can slide into a complementary middle-six role and still create his own looks when the lineup is spread out a bit under new head coach Mike Babcock.
Tarasenko checks that box. His 23-goal, 47-point season with Minnesota last year showed he still has scoring touch, and his playoff résumé, including a Stanley Cup with St.
Louis, gives him the kind of postseason experience Edmonton could use. The Oilers are still trying to get over the hump and win their first championship since 1990, so that matters.
There is a catch, of course. Tarasenko has a habit of moving on after one season, and that’s a fair concern in general.
In Edmonton, though, that’s not really a problem. This looks like a one-year swing anyway.
The Oilers are not in the market for a long-term commitment here. They want someone who can come in, produce and fit into whatever cap space is left.
Tarasenko is 34, so this is not the kind of player they should be tying themselves to beyond this season. He also doesn’t fit a bonus-structured contract, which leaves Edmonton with a simple choice: one year at a reasonable salary, or nothing.
Given the trade chatter that already linked him to the organization this summer, a short-term deal at the right price could be exactly the kind of secondary scoring boost the Oilers are looking for.
In Other News...
Why Kapanens Oilers Fit Suddenly Feels A Lot More Real
Kasperi Kapanens return to Edmonton on a one-year, $2.6 million deal gives the Oilers another familiar piece for the bottom six, and it comes with a little more context than a routine depth signing. His history with Mike Babcock in Toronto matters here, because that was the stretch when Kapanen flashed the most complete version of his game and earned a bigger role than just a speed-and-skill winger.
The fit also feels more real because it is not just about what Kapanen has already done, but where the organizational overlap is headed. He is expected to reconnect with Babcock in the 2026-27 season, alongside other former Maple Leafs already in the mix, which gives this move a longer view than a simple one-year bet. For Edmonton, it is another sign that the roster is being built with some very specific familiarity in mind. [Read more 🡒]
Connor McDavid Suddenly Faces A Real Concern Under Edmontons New Coach
Connor McDavid is heading into a season where the biggest question may not be how dominant he can be, but how much room a new coach will give him to keep piling up points. Mike Babcocks reputation for a tighter, more defensive approach has prompted some early speculation about whether Edmontons offense could be asked to trade a little flash for structure, even if McDavid still looks capable of producing at an elite level.
The concern is less about whether he remains the engine of the Oilers and more about whether the ceiling shifts at all under that style of play. Some around the league are already wondering if a more controlled system could shave a bit off McDavids peak totals, leaving Edmonton to balance its best players brilliance against the demands of a different kind of hockey. [Read more 🡒]