Edmonton Oilers offseason: Who stays, who goes from the roster this summer?

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The NHL calendar moves quickly after the playoffs end, so it’s already time for the Edmonton Oilers to start thinking about next season.

Coming off a second straight loss in the Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers, the Oilers must immediately focus on building their team for 2025-26 and trying to make another run at a championship.

Most of the core is under contract, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t important decisions. There’s a potential extension for Connor McDavid. Evan Bouchard needs a new contract, too. There are pending unrestricted free agents to discuss and trade candidates to consider.

The Oilers have just under $12 million in salary cap space, per PuckPedia. Here’s where each player stands.

The certain returnees

Leon Draisaitl

The Hart Trophy runner-up’s eight-year extension kicks in next season.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

The guy dubbed the Swiss Army knife and the coach’s favourite player has four more years on his contract with a full no-movement clause.

Zach Hyman

The Oilers sure missed him in the Cup Final.

Darnell Nurse

No, he’s not perfect, but Nurse was much improved this season — perhaps having his best NHL campaign. Be annoyed all you want about his contract, but a full no-movement clause means he’s going nowhere.

Jake Walman

General manager Stan Bowman didn’t give up a first-round pick in March just to turn around and trade Walman, who has another year on his contract. Walman showed plenty of promise with the Oilers, so having him for an entire season is tantalizing.

Mattias Ekholm

Ekholm struggled in the Final after a long injury layoff. Though he’s 35, there’s little reason to believe he can’t get back to being an excellent two-way defenceman if he returns to full health.

The big deals

Connor McDavid

The smart money is on McDavid signing an extension at some point this offseason. One of his best buddies, Draisaitl, re-upped for eight years last summer. His former agent, Jeff Jackson, runs the team. McDavid has repeatedly said that the only thing that matters to him is winning. The Oilers haven’t quite done that yet, so there’s unfinished business in Edmonton. He’ll undoubtedly want a clear picture of the future before committing for the long haul. Price point and term shouldn’t be issues for the Oilers. Just give the man whatever he wants for as long as he’s willing to stay.

Evan Bouchard

There were a few gaffes in the playoffs, but Bouchard had another magnificent postseason overall. If he hasn’t firmly established himself as the Oilers’ third-best player behind McDavid and Draisaitl, it’s at worst up for debate. He’s a cornerstone player who’s a pending restricted free agent and is two years away from hitting the open market. Bouchard also has arbitration rights this summer and has the type of eye-bulging offensive stats that would allow him to score a big reward from a mediator. It’s time for the Oilers to pay him. The expectation is that they will.

Probably back

Adam Henrique

At 35, Henrique appears to be slowing down. He faded in the Final. Still, he played all but one game for the Oilers this season and has a full no-movement clause. He might end up being a pricy fourth-line centre when the playoffs start next season.

Mattias Janmark

He’s finishing the first of a three-year contract with a partial no-trade clause. He’s inexpensive at $1.45 million, too. Expect him back.

Vasily Podkolzin

A tireless worker and aggressive forechecker, Podkolzin can play up and down the lineup for $1 million. There’s nothing wrong with that. At 23, he’s also the youngest player on the roster, and the Oilers need more youth.

Max Jones

He projects to be a 13th to 15th forward with a $1 million cap hit who can be fully buried in the minors if needed.

Brett Kulak

A $2.75 million hit while being in the last year of his contract means Kulak could be a cap casualty, but it’s more likely than not that he will be back. The 31-year-old showed tremendous versatility and had his best NHL season.

Ty Emberson

He got squeezed out of the lineup in the playoffs after appearing in the first nine games. Emberson signed a two-year, $1.3 million extension before the postseason began.

Troy Stecher

He’s a serviceable No. 6 or No. 7 defenceman and is regarded as a great teammate. A $787,500 cap hit for another season also helps his cause.

Josh Brown

Brown is slated for the minors while entering the second year of a three-year contract. Like Jones, Brown has a $1 million cap hit that frees the Oilers of any cap penalties when he’s not on the NHL team.

The goaltenders

Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard

They’re lumped together here because, in some respects, they go hand in hand. Both have one more season on their contracts with cheap cap hits — $2.6 million and $1 million, respectively. Both got turns as the starting goaltender in the postseason with runs of success. Neither posted a save percentage above .900 in the regular season or playoffs. This must be the ultimate dilemma for Bowman, who was steadfast in his view that he didn’t need a new goalie before the trade deadline. Conventional wisdom dictates the Oilers must upgrade this pivotal position, but they lack cap space, the goalie free-agent market is almost non-existent, and they have few assets to make a trade.

UFA decisions

Trent Frederic

It sounds like Frederic wants to come back, and the Oilers want the same. All that seems left to determine is finalizing the term and cap hit. Frederic didn’t contribute a ton in the playoffs — one goal and four points in 22 games — but he appeared restricted by the ankle injury that hindered him for weeks to end the regular season. Bowman had him pegged as a third-line centre or top-six winger when he gave up a second-round pick and two prospects to acquire him before the trade deadline. It’ll be interesting to see if he can fulfill either role.

Connor Brown

Brown was quiet in the Final but otherwise solid this season. He had 13 goals and 30 points while appearing in all 82 games before adding five goals and nine points in 20 playoff contests. Brown was on a $1 million contract this season. He loves playing for the Oilers. They could do a lot worse than bringing him back for something in that same ballpark.

Corey Perry

Perry’s age (40) and his slow boots are yellow flags, but the Oilers should at least consider re-signing him. He had 19 goals in the regular season and another 10 in the playoffs. The superstars love having him around. Another cheap contract with incentives should be the offer.

Kasperi Kapanen

Kapanen found an NHL role with the Oilers after being claimed off waivers in November. His speed and tenacity would be useful to a team that lacked both at times.

John Klingberg

In the playoffs, Klingberg showed signs of his old self, a game-breaking defenceman for the Dallas Stars. However, he’s 32 and the Oilers have seven defencemen under contract. Someone will almost certainly have to be moved out to make room for him to sign.

Trade candidates

Evander Kane

The Oilers must clear cap space to facilitate a likely big Bouchard contract and plan for what they’re hoping will be a massive McDavid extension. Dealing Kane is the most obvious way to do that. Kane is entering the last season of a contract with a $5.125 million cap hit, and he can block a trade to half the teams in the league. He had some impressive moments in the playoffs, posting six goals and 12 points in 21 games. That and his track record of being motivated in the last year of a contract should intrigue other teams around the league. Though all that should intrigue the Oilers, too, the cap dilemma and his penalty-filled Cup Final are bound to have them at least exploring the market. Exploring re-signing Frederic is another sign Kane could be on the outs.

Viktor Arvidsson

It was a disappointing first season with the Oilers for Arvidsson, a high-profile free agent signing last July 1. He was expected to provide Draisaitl with a reliable winger. Instead, he missed 15 games with an injury in the first half of the season and never really got on track. He was scratched for seven playoff games, including Tuesday’s finale. He was annoyed by being kept out of the lineup earlier in the playoffs. Arvidsson has another year on his contract with a $4 million cap hit. The Oilers could use that cap space. But that contract also comes with a full no-movement clause, so Arvidsson has full authority to decide if and where he goes.

All but gone

Jeff Skinner

The marriage between the player and the team didn’t work out. Skinner was scratched for 10 regular-season games and suited up in just five of 22 playoff contests. Skinner is a free agent, and both parties should end this relationship.

Derek Ryan

Ryan, 38, was an extra for the Oilers in the playoffs after playing 36 games in the regular season. He’s without a contract, and this might be it for his career. If so, it was an impressive run. The former University of Alberta Golden Bear appeared in 606 games despite not making his NHL debut until he was 29.

(Photo of Stuart Skinner: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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