The Edmonton Oilers have a lot of work to do leading up to the season. Besides the elephant in the room, Connor McDavid, a UFA at season’s end, Frank Seravalli told Bleacher Report that the Oilers are making progress on a Jake Walman extension. Rumblings of such were previously discussed earlier in the month, and now it is believed to be a longer-term deal in the works, which could happen soon.
Walman, 29, was acquired last March after a successful turnaround stint in San Jose, for a conditional 2026 first-round pick and fringe prospect Carl Berglund, proving to be tidy business from GM Mike Grier and the Sharks. The blue liner appeared in 38 combined regular and postseason games for the Oil, tallying 18 points and averaging over 20 minutes a night.
Originally drafted 82nd overall in 2014 by the St. Louis Blues, the Toronto native established himself as an everyday defender with the Detroit Red Wings, netting a three-year, $10.2MM contract, only to be salary-dumped to San Jose after the 2023-24 campaign. Having proven himself once again, Walman seems to have found himself in a favorable situation in Edmonton, with an opportunity to take on a bigger role in the future as well.
Walman could be due for a five-to-six-year deal in the $6.5MM annual range, according to AFP Analytics.
With Evan Bouchard and Darnell Nurse the only notable defensemen signed beyond the 2025-26 season, and well over $10MM in current defenders to be freed up, GM Stan Bowman has the opportunity to overhaul his d-corps, as the Oilers look to build the right supporting cast for their mega stars, and finally get over the hump toward a Stanley Cup. It is hard to ignore Mattias Ekholm, 35, another UFA at season’s end, and the possibility of Walman slotting in as a potential long term replacement on the left side – either entirely, or if the veteran Ekholm is re-signed with a more age-friendly role.
Whether McDavid, or the supporting cast, it will be interesting to see which shoe falls first in Edmonton, and perhaps we will have an answer by season’s start.
How much money do the Oilers have left after this extension? I’m still hoping to see McDavid sign for $20M per year.
Good luck with that. Guy is horrendous in his own zone.
Walman folded in the finals, When things got weird, I hope that Oiler fans realize, Bowman is going to destroy that team, And McDavid will be in LA next summer.
I don’t know all about that.
But what I can tell you is that he’s horrendous in his own end. Not physical at all. Very overrated. He can skate I give him that and will get some PP points, but overall he’s a liability. I watched every single one of his games in Detroit. He was maddeningly frustrating to watch.
Not the name I’m sure oiler fans were hoping for
He’s wildly overrated, he scored a couple of clutch goals for the Red Wings, did a dance, and people think he’s a top pair d-man. People need to look at the entire body of work. He’s a decent player, but a bottom pair guy on a contending team.