The Edmonton Oilers already know the route to a blue-line upgrade in Nashville. They took it in 2023 when they landed Mattias Ekholm, and a potential Roman Josi deal would follow a similar path: send a major piece to the Predators, bring back an elite defender, and ask Nashville to absorb a long-term contract on the other side.
In this hypothetical, Edmonton would get Josi, who carries a $9.059 million cap hit through 2027-28. Nashville would receive Jake Walman, signed at $7 million through 2032-33, plus Josh Samanski, Beau Akey and Edmonton’s 2028 first-round pick.
Josi’s case starts with what he’s still doing at 36. He has 20 points in 17 games, and he remains the kind of skater who can carry the puck out of danger and jump-start offence in transition. Edmonton already has Evan Bouchard driving the top power-play unit, so Josi’s biggest value might come at five-on-five, where the Oilers could keep the two defencemen on separate pairs and stagger their shifts to keep an elite puck mover on the ice as much as possible.
The fit is attractive on the ice, but the cap picture is not nearly as clean. With Samanski and Akey off the NHL roster, the swap from Walman to Josi would add $2.059 million in annual cap hit against roughly $1.02 million in current room.
That means Edmonton would need Nashville to retain salary, another move off the roster, or enough room to open up by the deadline. There’s another wrinkle, too: moving the 2028 first before then would make the 2027 first owed to Chicago unconditional.
From Nashville’s side, the appeal is tied to the future. The first-round pick gives the Predators another swing at a player who could help the next core, while Akey brings a right-shot defensive prospect and Samanski offers a young, inexpensive forward who has already appeared in NHL games. Walman would step into top-four minutes right away, and his seven-year contract becomes easier to picture if Nashville believes he can hold that role for several seasons.
For now, though, the Predators are still in the mix. Their fourth straight win pushed them to 8-4-5, which makes it hard to imagine them moving their captain while they’re still chasing a playoff spot.
If that changes and they slip out of contention, a first-round pick plus two young players could make a Josi trade much easier to justify. Any deal would also need the approval of both Josi and Walman, since each has a no-movement clause.
The Ekholm trade offers the clearest template. Edmonton sent Tyson Barrie, prospect Reid Schaefer, a first-round pick and a fourth-round pick to Nashville for Ekholm and a sixth, with the Predators retaining four percent of Ekholm’s contract. This Josi concept uses the same basic structure, though Walman’s seven remaining seasons make him a far bigger commitment than Barrie ever was.
The Erik Karlsson trade is another reminder of how much cap gymnastics can shape a deal for a high-end offensive defenceman. Pittsburgh had to bring Montreal into the mix, move a protected first and veteran contracts to San Jose, and get the Sharks to retain $1.5 million annually. Penguins GM Kyle Dubas said Pittsburgh needed to “improve our ability to move the puck from our own zone,” and that same argument could be made for Edmonton if it ever got serious about Josi.
If Nashville decides it’s a seller and believes Walman can be part of its defence beyond this season, the framework is there. For Edmonton, the starting point would be Walman, Akey and the first. Samanski is the extra piece if that’s what it takes to finish the job.
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