We are in a crisis. The global trading system has been upended, supply chains have been destroyed…

…McDavid, is unsigned.

For now, at least. There’s no shortage of sky-is-falling news media following the McDavid situation, but that’s not the only player that Edmonton has dealt with since falling to the Panthers in June.

Additions

The first move of the off-season was signing deadline pickup Trent Frederic to an 8 year contract with a $3.75M cap hit. It’s a lot of term and money for a player who wasn’t exactly a world mover in 2025, but the hope is that his high ankle sprain is fully healed for the 2026 campaign. Time will tell.

Kasperi Kapanen was re-signed for a one-year deal worth $1.3M. Kapanen wasn’t amazing in the regular season, but he was a strong depth player in the playoffs and gave Edmonton some much needed speed. He also scored the game winner against Las Vegas to bring the Oilers to the WCF.

Evan Bouchard signed a four year contract with a massive $10.5M annual cap hit. I expected longer term out of Bouchard, but point-per-game defensivemen don’t exactly grow on trees. There were also rumours of offer sheets floating around Bouchard’s name; after the Holloway/Broberg debacle, $10.5×4 might be worth it just to avoid another headache.

Edmonton made an interesting move in signing former Calgary Flames Andrew Mangiapane to a two year deal at a price of $3.6M. Mangiapane was a part of a very strong Flames club, up until they were dismantled by the Oilers in the 2022. Since then, Mangiapane hasn’t put up the strongest numbers and spent most of his time in Washington in the bottom six. However, he plays a creative game, and he can slot in throughout the line up. I’m bullish.

Curtis Lazar comes from the NJ Devils on a one-year deal at league minimum. I can’t say I know much about Lazar, and his points don’t inspire much awe. Depth is depth though, and it’s good to have people battling for spots.

Finally, Noah Philp and Isaac Howard are rookies signed for low term and low cap hits. Philp got a bit of a look in the 2024-25 season, but no playoff games. Seeing more from him would be great, but if Edmonton is lacking in one thing – it isn’t center depth. If he doesn’t find a spot at 4C, there might still be room in the bottom six.

Howard didn’t look spectacular in the Oilers-Flames rookie matches held last weekend, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he spent some time in Bakersfield before getting called up (maybe the preseason will fare better).

Subtractions

The first loss of the off-season was Drake Caggiula who left for Switzerland. Caggiula never got much ice time with the Oilers, and he spent most of his time in Bakersfield. Not much more to say.

Evander Kane was picked up by his hometown Vancouver Canucks early in the summer. This move surprised me, because Kane seemed well liked, and he brought a physical element that the team doesn’t have in surplus. However, Kane was completely pacified against Florida when the refs decided to call every infraction Kane commited. He couldn’t figure out how to contribute, and Edmonton suffered for it. Moving on from Kane might be a net positive.

Viktor Arvidsson agreed to waive his no-movement clause to be traded to the Boston Bruins. The 2025 season didn’t go the way that the Oilers or Arvidsson hoped. Viktor Arvidsson was a big scoring threat in LA, but couldn’t quite find his game despite playing with Draisaitl throughout most of the season. Sometimes players just aren’t the right fit.

Connor Brown left for New Jersey for a whopping 4 year deal worth $3M annually. This move was the most brutal day of the off-season for me. I loved watching Connor Brown play in Edmonton. He brought hustle every single shift. There was a stretch in time where I was excited to head to a penalty kill, because it meant there was a good chance that Brown would be scoring a shortie. He’ll be sorely missed on the PK.

Corey Perry left for the LA Kings on a one-year deal worth $2 million (potentially $4 million after performance bonuses). It’s an insane contract to give a 40 year old winger, but maybe the Kings saw something they needed after getting bounced by Edmonton in the playoffs for the fourth year in a row.

So far it doesn’t look like a smart move; Perry recently underwent knee surgery and won’t be able to play for two months.

Lastly, John Klingberg and Jeff Skinner both went to play for the Sharks. Losing Klingberg isn’t a huge deal. Losing Skinner is very much agruably an addition by subtraction.

Verdict

The Oilers didn’t make any huge splashy moves this off-season. Stan Bowman’s job was simple: retain what depth you can, fill in the holes, re-sign Bouchard, and work on a McDavid extension. Still praying for that McDavid contract to get signed, if only so I can stop reading articles about how he wants to leave to become a Maple Leaf.

The Oilers are still a contender – their last hurdle in being a true juggernaught is 1) stop giving your opponent multi-goal leads, and 2) stop letting your opponent take away your multi-goal leads. Edmonton would have so much more energy to spare if they beared down on their tendency to play roller coaster pond hockey every third game, but that is a systems issue – and hopefully we see some improvements in that regard come October.

The Oilers’ pre-season starts this Sunday with a side-by-side Battle of Alberta.