The first thing that jumps out about the Oilers’ summer is how much cleaner the picture looks after the Darnell Nurse move. Edmonton didn’t just clear the contract off the books - it opened up real breathing room, and that changed the entire shape of free agency for Stan Bowman and company.
That flexibility helped the Oilers attack a few different needs at once. They brought in Frederik Andersen, Devon Levi, Ryan Shea, Shakir Mukhamadullin, Kasperi Kapanen and Mathieu Joseph, and the overall theme was pretty clear: practical additions, not splashy ones. The goal was depth, value and a roster that’s easier to manage under the cap, and that’s exactly how the outside evaluators saw it.
Matt Larkin pointed to the early numbers on July 1 and said it was obvious Edmonton had locked up center Jason Dickinson and defenseman Connor Murphy at reasonable AAVs. He also noted that Murphy is one of the best penalty-killing defensemen in the game and a better actual defender than Jacob Trouba, while re-signing for less than half of what the San Jose Sharks paid for Trouba.
Larkin also said the Nurse trade helped indirectly by bringing back an asset with upside in Shakir Mukhamadullin and freeing up $9.25 million in cap space. He added that part of that money went to Ryan Shea, whom he described as an underrated puck mover whose game is like a young Brett Kulak’s, and to Kasperi Kapanen, whom he called the Oilers’ leading 2026 playoff goal scorer.
He also described Freddie Andersen as a step in a new direction in net and said he can keep the crease warm until Devon Levi is ready.
Allan Mitchell came at it from the same basic angle: Edmonton needed to get out from under the Nurse contract, and it needed plug-and-play help in several spots. In his view, Bowman delivered a focused and reasonable July 1 by adding Andersen, Levi, Shea, Mukhamadullin, Kapanen and Mathieu Joseph. Mitchell wrote that not every move will hit, but the group adds depth and still leaves some cap room to address another need, such as a scoring winger.
ESPN’s Kristen Shilton gave Frederik Andersen an A-, and the goaltending bet was the centerpiece of her breakdown. She wrote that the Oilers have tried just about everything to find a reliable tandem, and Andersen is the latest veteran brought in to help solve that problem. Shilton also pointed out that Jarry was hardly reliable given his record for the Oilers last season, 9-6-2 with an .858 save percentage, and that Levi didn’t appear in a single NHL game for the Sabres last season.
Shilton added that Edmonton is asking Andersen to bet on himself. He’s earning just $1 million in salary, with another $1.8 available in bonuses tied to games played.
She also noted the familiarity between Andersen and new Oilers coach Mike Babcock, saying some of Andersen’s most productive and consistent years came in Toronto when Babcock was behind the bench from 2016 to 2019. Her bottom line was simple: it’s a low-risk move that gives Edmonton an experienced goalie with recent championship pedigree.
The Score handed Edmonton a “Winners” label and focused heavily on the Nurse deal. The outlet said moving his $9.25-million cap hit for the next four years without retaining salary or taking back another bad contract seemed almost impossible. Bowman, it said, got Nurse to widen the list of teams he’d accept a trade to, then found the San Jose Sharks, who not only took the full contract but also sent back assets.
From there, The Score liked how Edmonton filled the hole. It called Ryan Shea a smart bet after his breakout season, noting that the 29-year-old posted 35 points last season after barely playing in the NHL before that.
The outlet also highlighted Shea’s five-on-five numbers, saying he won those minutes 77-55, averaged almost 19 minutes and posted a 51.2% expected goals share. If he keeps that level, The Score wrote, Shea at $4 million will be an excellent value contract.
The Score also praised the Andersen addition, saying he came off a Cup run and still showed enough in the playoffs to suggest there’s something left in the tank. It called him a low-risk move on a one-year contract, especially in a market where there weren’t many appealing goalie options. And with the Nurse move, Edmonton’s cap flexibility now sits at over $6 million, even after accounting for Shea, Andersen and Kapanen.
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Oilers Face A Costly Top Six Decision They Can't Delay
The Oilers are sitting on close to $6 million in cap space, which is enough to keep the conversation going but not enough to make the need disappear. A top-six winger remains the obvious target, and the list of realistic options is not exactly overflowing, which is why the front office has to weigh whether a move can be made now rather than letting the market tighten even further.
The names that keep surfacing point to the same kind of player Edmonton is after: a winger who can score and fit into a contenders top six without disrupting the rest of the lineup. With the free-agent path looking thin, the real question is whether the Oilers want to wait for the trade deadline dance or get aggressive before the asking price and the competition both climb. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Still Have One Roster Problem Fans Wont Ignore
The Oilers have room to maneuver, and that alone keeps the conversation around their roster from settling down anytime soon. With salary cap space available and a few defensive additions already in place, Edmonton has at least given itself options as it tries to round out a team that still looks a little light on the blue line after moving Darnell Nurse.
The bigger question is how the club balances those options at the start of the season, especially with a three-goalie plan hanging over the roster picture. There is a path for Edmonton to keep adjusting as the year goes on, and the cap flexibility gives it some breathing room if the front office decides the current mix still needs another jolt before the trade deadline. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Blue Line Squeeze Could Force A Move Fans Saw Coming
The Oilers have spent the summer building depth on the blue line, but the math is starting to get awkward. After a run of trades and signings, Edmonton now has eight defensemen making $1.3 million or more, and it is hard to imagine the club carrying all of them when the season opens. For a team that has spent years trying to stabilize its back end, this is the kind of surplus that can look like a luxury right up until it turns into a roster decision.
What makes the situation interesting is that the likely move does not appear to involve one of the more established names. Edmontons choice seems to be narrowing around a pair of younger defensemen, with handedness and recent usage both part of the equation. One option has the cleaner fit on paper, while the other spent more time on the outside looking in, and the Oilers now have to decide whether they want to keep the extra insurance or turn that depth into something else before camp sorts it out for them. [Read more 🡒]