Stan Bowman’s big swing on Sam O’Reilly and Ike Howard is starting to look like a problem for the Edmonton Oilers.
A year after Edmonton moved O’Reilly to Tampa in the trade for Howard, the deal is not aging well from the Oilers’ side. O’Reilly has kept climbing, while Howard’s path in Edmonton has already run into traffic.
Edmonton paid a real price to get O’Reilly in the first place. The Oilers worked hard at the 2024 draft to land the first-round pick, sending away their own first-round selection in the 2025 draft to do it.
At the time, Oilers scouting director Rick Pracey, a Jeff Jackson hire, made it clear how highly the organization thought of him: “We valued Sam extremely high and we thought there was a probability he’d be late first roundIt was time to make a move. It was aggressive, yet we think Sam’s worth it.”
That belief paid off this spring. O’Reilly was the MVP in both the OHL playoffs and the Memorial Cup Finals, and he is now expected to push for an NHL job this coming season - just not in Edmonton.
Bowman then flipped O’Reilly to bring in Howard, who had been taken by Tampa in the late first round in 2022. After a standout 2024-25 season at Michigan State, Howard made it clear he wanted to go elsewhere, and Bowman made the move.
Howard did his part in the AHL, putting up 24 goals and 50 points in 47 games while also earning a reputation as a willing and hard-working defender. But in Edmonton, the production never translated.
He managed only two goals and five points in 29 games, and his ice time was squeezed once the Oilers signed attacking forward Jack Roslovic early in the regular season. Another Bowman addition, Andrew Mangiapane, also faded quickly because of weak attacking play.
Howard still looks like he could fight for a Top 6 job in Edmonton this year, but there’s already talk the Oilers may try to trade for another Top 6 winger, which would shut that door before it opens.
Tampa, meanwhile, may have a legitimate shot to get O’Reilly into the lineup. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on his 32 Thoughts podcast: “I’m very interested to see if Sam O’Reilly makes this team next year… I don’t want to put too much pressure on O’Reilly, but I think eventually, and I don’t know when it will be, I think he has a chance to be a real game changer for them.”
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