Edmonton’s offseason has already been swallowed up by the coaching change and the goaltending logjam, but the forward group still looks like the area that could use one more swing. The Oilers are believed to be hunting for another addition up front, and the focus is on a legitimate top-six piece if the right player can be pried loose.
A few names keep coming up in the noise around the team, and the list starts with one of the most obvious fits: Alex DeBrincat.
DeBrincat, now with the Detroit Red Wings, is still producing like a true top-line scorer. He’s 28 and just finished a season with 41 goals and 85 points in 82 games played.
He’s also in the final year of his deal, which puts Detroit in a tricky spot. Steve Yzerman could move him and get assets back, or gamble on a new contract.
Edmonton would gladly take on that last year, but the $7.875 million cap hit is a problem unless the Oilers can send money back the other way.
Jake DeBrusk is another name that refuses to go away. The Vancouver Canucks winger has been tied to Edmonton for years, and the connection is easy to see.
He was born in Edmonton, and his father still works with the team in a broadcast role. DeBrusk posted 23 goals and 42 points last season, and at 29, his $5.5 million cap hit is much easier to imagine fitting into the Oilers’ picture.
If Vancouver pushes further into a rebuild, a reunion starts to make real sense. He’d also give Edmonton a useful second-unit power-play option as a net-front presence with soft hands.
Owen Tippett may be the cleanest fit on pure style alone. The Philadelphia Flyers forward is 27, coming off a 28-goal, 23-assist season, and his speed and shot would slide naturally into Edmonton’s top six.
His $6.2 million cap hit is a little rich for the Oilers, but if Philadelphia has to move money after landing Leo Carlsson via an offer sheet, there could be a path through salary retention or a smaller contract coming back. Tippett is entering the prime of his career, and other teams would be in the mix if the Flyers make him available.
The Pittsburgh Penguins show up twice on the list, and for good reason. Rickard Rakell is already on Edmonton’s radar, and he remains a productive winger at 33.
He scored 24 goals and 24 assists in 2025-26 and carries a $5 million cap hit with two years left. The catch is the asking price.
The Penguins have reportedly made him available, but they want a strong return.
Bryan Rust is the other Penguin worth watching. Oilers insider Jason Gregor has mentioned him as a name that may be flying under the radar.
Rust is 34, a steady 20-goal scorer, and he has two years remaining at a $5.125 million cap hit. The Athletic’s Josh Yohe has reported that Penguins GM Kyle Dubas doesn’t want to move him, but that hasn’t stopped contenders from asking about him for years.
Then there’s the one option that doesn’t require a trade at all: Vladimir Tarasenko. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman recently floated the unrestricted free agent as a possible fit in Edmonton.
The Oilers were reportedly interested in Claude Giroux, but after his decision to return to Ottawa, he’s no longer in the picture. Tarasenko has started to emerge as a value add for a team that wants help now.
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One of those names is a former Penguins defenseman who just finished a career-best season in Pittsburgh before reaching unrestricted free agency. He would fit as a short-term depth addition, the kind of veteran who could push for a bottom-pairing job while also giving the club a steadier left-shot option as it sorts through the rest of its defense plans. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Blue Line Still Has One Problem Dubas Must Solve
The Penguins spent the offseason reshaping the blue line, and on paper the incoming group looks capable of handling the defensive side of the job. The deeper issue is balance, especially on the left, where the roster picture still feels unfinished even after the departures and additions that changed the look of the unit.
For now, Pittsburgh appears to have only one established NHL left-shot defenseman to lean on, which leaves Kyle Dubas with a real lineup puzzle before camp opens. There are internal candidates who could be asked to help, and there is always the possibility of a trade or a longer-term swing to fix it, but the current setup still leaves the defense looking less complete, and less balanced, than it did when last season ended. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Face A Defining Offseason Choice They Can't Delay
The Penguins are heading into the offseason with a roster puzzle that looks straightforward in a few places and murky everywhere else. Their top six up front appears mostly settled, but there is still real uncertainty about where Justin Brazeau fits and whether one of the current forwards gets nudged out to make room. Behind that, the organization has to decide how aggressively it wants to push younger options into the mix, with Rutger McGroarty, Avery Hayes and Hendrix Lapierre all sitting in that uneasy space between future piece and roster squeeze.
On defense, the questions are just as pointed, especially when it comes to how much the coaching staff can lean on certain pairings and whether the group is actually built to handle the heavier minutes it will be asked to absorb. The bigger issue may be philosophical as much as tactical: for all the talk about getting younger under Dan Muse, the lineup still carries a lot of age and a thin margin for error in the areas that usually decide close games. The Penguins can talk about depth and competition, but until they sort out the forward logjam and the back end, the roster still feels like one that needs answers more than optimism. [Read more 🡒]