Trade Deadline Primer: Edmonton Oilers
With the Olympic break upon us, the trade deadline is under a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? After looking at bubble teams in recent days, we now shift the focus to teams currently in a playoff spot. Next up are the Oilers.
Coming up just short of the Stanley Cup in the last two seasons, the Edmonton Oilers have had an up and down season so far but the door is as open as ever. 2025-26 marks a decade since the Connor McDavid/Leon Draisaitl era began, and although the franchise is facing mounting pressure, it’s not like they haven’t been close, simply running into a buzzsaw in the Florida Panthers. Back in October, the Oilers locked up McDavid on a two year extension, meaning until at least 2027-28, it’s all systems go. GM Stan Bowman was busy in December, finally addressing goaltending, acquiring Tristan Jarry, as well as depth offensive defenseman Spencer Stastney. Jarry has not fared much better than the off-cast Stuart Skinner so far, but Edmonton hopes he can hold things down behind a dynamic group. Firmly in the playoff hunt yet again, with their nemesis in Florida possibly out of the picture, the Oilers will look to return to the Finals for a third straight time.
Record
28-22-8, 2nd in the Pacific (74.9% playoff probability, per MoneyPuck)
Deadline Status
Buyer
Deadline Cap Space
$2.88MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 46/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2026: EDM 2nd, EDM 3rd, EDM 6th, EDM 7th
2027: EDM 1st, EDM 2nd, EDM 5th, BOS 5th, EDM 6th, EDM 7th
Trade Chips
With limited draft capital and salary cap limitations, Edmonton will primarily look at moving out roster players to iron out their group. The most obvious candidate is Andrew Mangiapane, who has been subject of rumors all year, most recently linked to Ottawa as well as Anaheim, Detroit, and Winnipeg. With just 12 points in 49 games, the usually dependable secondary scorer has not been a fit with the Oil, and it seems all but guaranteed he’ll be moved before March 6. The only issue besides his struggles; the 29-year-old is signed through next year at $3.6MM and has trade protection, although he’d surely welcome a fresh start.
Elsewhere it’s not as clear. Mattias Janmark, a key role player over the past several seasons, has just one goal all year. The veteran’s possession metrics have steadily declined, currently at a 39.4% corsi for in all situations, a career-low at age 33. Similar to Mangiapane though, he’s signed through 2026-27, coming in at a $1.45MM cap hit. Janmark’s value would likely be limited to a 1-1 player swap for another comparable bottom sixer with a similar contract.
As their 2026 first round pick is expected to end up in the hands of San Jose from the Jake Walman deal, if Bowman decides it’s essentially now or never, he could tap into a prospect pool which is not surprisingly bottom ranked, but offers some interesting names. On the defensive side, Beau Akey stands out, the 2023 second round selection a righty with raw offensive potential, just 31 games into his professional career with AHL Bakersfield. NCAA standout Paul Fischer, a lefty, figures to have more of a path forward in the organization, assuming the team locks him up on an entry-level contract this spring.
Expected to search for supporting cast rather than big game hunting, top prospect Isaac Howard is still a name hard to ignore in any trade speculation. The 21-year-old has 31 points in 24 AHL games this season, also making 28 appearances at the highest level in his first pro season. Seemingly a full time NHLer as soon as next year, where his energy and skill are exactly what the team needs, the Oilers would be showing keen patience by holding onto the youngster, rather than falling into the classic short term gains trap. Regardless, if Bowman were to pull off a surprise splash, Howard, along with their 2027 first round pick, would be in the conversation.
Team Needs
1) Third-line Center: Having just turned 36, Adam Henrique is no longer a viable option at 3C, should Edmonton make another deep run. The respected veteran has just 10 points all season. Henrique is still dependable at the faceoff dot, but he is currently on LTIR with an undisclosed injury. Even once healthy sometime post-Olympics, an upgrade would be beneficial. Columbus captain Boone Jenner would be a tremendous acquisition, but in the midst of a remarkable turnaround, the Blue Jackets may be content to hold onto their longest tenured player. Even so, the team also offers Charlie Coyle as an intriguing higher end rental candidate, but his $5.25MM cap hit would be difficult to sneak in even if Bowman put together a compelling trade package. Elsewhere, Winnipeg offers two viable options, the club already being linked to Mangiapane. Vladislav Namestnikov emerges as a capable center with similar contract term in a possible swap. Bowman could also try to bring in his former Chicago captain in Jonathan Toews, but the 37-year-old is clearly not ring chasing at this stage, and may be hesitant to depart his native Jets in a sentimental final chapter. The future Hall-of-Famer firmly holds all cards in terms of his future.
2) Middle-Six scoring depth:
Somewhat surprisingly it came out just yesterday that the team is not likely to target defense, so besides an anchor down the middle in Henrique’s mold, Edmonton also could use a winger to bring what Mangiapane was signed for. If Nashville holds onto their bigger ticket veterans, they could retain on Michael Bunting’s expiring $4.5MM, the 30-year-old already known to have a skillset complementary of elite centers from his time in Toronto. Speaking of the Maple Leafs, Bobby McMann and his highly manageable $1.35MM cap hit would be a huge addition by the Oilers, filling a Corey Perry-type void. However, Toronto will not part with their surprise 20-goal-scorer easily, and Edmonton’s limited offerings make a deal difficult to pull off. Finally, Calgary’s Blake Coleman would thrive wearing the blue and orange, but he would require salary retention along with Edmonton likely having to move out Henrique’s $3MM cap hit, not to mention the two clubs being divisional rivals. Dealing Henrique would be difficult as he holds trade protection, and Bowman has limited draft capital sweeteners to work with. Whatever the case, the Oilers have no shortage of names to pursue as they work toward a seventh straight playoff berth.
Image Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
Latest On Eemil Vinni
Edmonton Oilers goalie prospect Eemil Vinni was loaned to a different team in Finland’s second-tier league today, according to an official announcement. The 2024 second-round pick has thus far spent the entire season with Mestis side JoKP, and has now been loaned to Ketterä.
Ranked as the No. 7 prospect in the Oilers’ system entering the season by the team at Elite Prospects, Vinni has had an uneven 2025-26 season. He got into 37 Mestis games for JoKP in 2024-25, but has just 17 this season. His .884 save percentage across those 17 contests ranks last among the three goalies who have seen time for JoKP this season, behind 27-year-old Juho Ahopelto (.891) and former AHL All-Star Kasimir Kaskisuo (.888).
Vinni has not played since Jan. 10, so this loan should give him the chance to get into games on a more regular basis, a key factor in the development of goaltenders.
While Vinni is unlikely to challenge incumbent starter Reima-Ville Roos, whose .917 save percentage ranks No. 2 among all goalies in Mestis, he should be an upgrade over backup Väinö Tanninen. Tanninen, 21, has gone 2-6-3 with an .865 save percentage in 13 games this season.
Since Vinni is playing out a contract that only runs through the end of the season, his development path should open up this summer. Vinni will likely have several options to choose from when it comes to continuing his hockey journey. While staying in his native Finland appears to be the most likely choice, the possibility that Vinni takes an alternative development path cannot be ruled out.
Oilers Not Likely To Target Defense At Trade Deadline
The Edmonton Oilers are still sorting out their targets with the Trade Deadline rapidly approaching. As it nears, it’s becoming clear that defense won’t be high on the Oilers’ list, per hockey insider Frank Seravalli on The Kevin Karius Show. Instead, the Oilers will prefer to let their defense grow with the players already in their depth chart.
Edmonton brought in third-pair defender Spencer Stastney with a trade in December. He has one goal and a minus-seven in 27 games with the Oilers, after starting the year with nine points and a minus-one in 30 games with the Nashville Predators. Despite the lackluster stat line, Stastney has earned consistent ice time next to Ty Emberson. The Oilers also carry Alec Regula, who has three points and a minus-16 in 29 games, on the NHL roster.
The Oilers could also look towards Cam Dineen and Riley Stillman in the AHL if they needed to fill a roster spot. Their depth of fringe NHL-defensemen is rich while Edmonton’s lack of cap space – only a projected $2.89MM on deadline day per Puckpedia – likely prices them out of acquiring a top-four talent. That will steer Edmonton’s focus away from the blue-line as they look to add this Deadline season.
The decision to not add to the defense depth chart will keep a path clear for defense prospect Paul Fischer, who was nominated for the NCAA’s Hobey Baker Award for his performance at the University of Notre Dame this season. Fischer has 18 points in 25 games. He has been heavily used all season long and brings an overwhelming physicality and hard-worked defense to the lineup. The 21 year old could be a candidate to sign his entry-level contract when his junior year of college concludes this Spring.
The Oilers also have Asher Barnett performing well for the University of Michigan. The two-way, puck-moving defender has racked up 14 points in 29 games behind an electric Wolverines offense this season. Barnett was a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Condors' Carfagna NHL Ready?
- Another young player making a push for consideration to land on his team’s NHL roster is Edmonton Oilers prospect defenseman Damien Carfagna. The 23-year-old undrafted blueliner is playing his first campaign as a professional, and has scored 13 points in 40 AHL games for the Bakersfield Condors. The Athletic’s Allan Mitchell wrote that Carfagna “appears close to NHL ready” and could see a call-up to Edmonton thanks in large part to his skating, which Mitchell called “exceptional at the AHL level.”
Oilers Reassign Josh Samanski
2/5/26: The Oilers announced that Samanski has been reassigned to the AHL Bakersfield. This is not a transaction with immediate on-ice implications for Samanski, as he won’t be spending the Olympic break in California playing in the AHL. Instead, he’ll be in Italy, competing for Germany.
The Oilers won two of their five games with Samanski in the lineup, and Samanski managed to register his first two NHL points, both of which were assists.
1/26/26: The Edmonton Oilers have swapped forward prospects on the NHL roster. Winger Isaac Howard has been assigned to the minors and, in his place, Edmonton has awarded forward Josh Samanski with the first call-up of his career. Samanski is in his first AHL season after joining the Oilers as an undrafted free-agent this summer. He spent the last four seasons in the DEL, Germany’s top league.
Samanski has been a quick revelation down the Oilers’ depth chart. He ranks fourth on the Bakersfield Condors in scoring with seven goals and 28 points in 39 games. He is also tied for third on the offense in plus-minus with a plus-eight. After a standout start to his career in Germany, Samanski is proving his responsible, two-way presence can stick on North American ice.
Samanski was born in Germany and emerged as a star youth player in the Jungadler Mannheim program. He scored 106 points in 36 games of his age-14 season, while playing on Mannheim’s U16 club. After that breakout, Samanski and family moved to Canada, where he was able to pursue one year of youth hockey and one year in the OHL.
After that, Samanski returned to Germany and made a quick splash in the DEL-2. He scored 22 points in 41 games as a 17-year-old rookie. That performance, and four points in seven DEL-2 games to start the next year, earned Samanski a spot on the Straubing Tigers’ DEL roster in 2021-22. He only scored eight points in 42 games as a rookie, but has seen his scoring rise in every season since. He climbed all the way to 14 goals and 40 points in 52 games last season, while serving as one of Straubing’s alternate captains.
Samanski made a return to North America to test his chance in an NHL depth chart this summer. In the midst of his rise to prominence in the AHL, he was also named to Team Germany’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics. The 23 year old will have to try and put that tournament in the back of his mind for the short term, with his NHL debut set for Monday night. He will step onto the third-line wing previously occupied by Howard.
Meanwhile, Howard will return to the minors having recorded two assists in 11 games on his latest recall. He is now up to five points and a minus-six in 28 NHL games this season. He’s struggled to emerge at the NHL level but has proven to be a conduit of offense for the Condors. His 23 points in 16 games leads the team in points-per-game while his plus-12 leads in plus-minus. Howard will be an exciting addition to the AHL lineup, where he’ll look to rediscover a scoring touch before his next call-up to Edmonton.
Oilers Interested In Artemi Panarin As Rental
In his update, Pagnotta suggested that the Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks remain interested in acquiring Panarin with an extension. In contrast, the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, and Edmonton Oilers view him only as a rental. Additionally, Pagnotta mentioned that unless something changes relatively soon, the Anaheim Ducks, Detroit Red Wings, Utah Mammoth, and Washington Capitals are no longer in the running.
Oilers To Reassign Calvin Pickard
Feb. 2: Pickard cleared waivers, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Feb. 1: The Edmonton Oilers announced today that netminder Calvin Pickard has been placed on waivers, presumably for the purposes of reassignment to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.
Taking the move at face value, it appears Pickard has lost his place in the Oilers’ crease as a result of the emergence of Connor Ingram. Ingram made his first appearance with the Oilers in late December and, since joining their NHL roster, has posted a .901 save percentage and a 2.55 goals-against average. Those numbers are a significant step up from what Pickard was offering the Oilers this season, as the veteran has just an .871 save percentage across 16 games. Among goalies with 10 or more games played this season, Pickard’s .871 save percentage ranks inside the bottom ten.
But while Pickard’s 2025-26 season has been a struggle, it’s still somewhat surprising to see him land on waivers. He was a reliable backup for the club in each of the last two seasons, even appearing in a total of 13 playoff contests across the team’s back-to-back runs to the Stanley Cup Final. Pickard managed a 7-1 record in last season’s playoffs.
With the Oilers, like most teams, unlikely to have much of an appetite to carry three healthy goalies on their active roster, Pickard was the odd man out of Edmonton’s goalie picture. Mid-season trade acquisition Tristan Jarry has struggled mightily since arriving in Edmonton, but seeing as the Oilers have $5.375MM committed to Jarry for an additional two years after this one, it’s understandable that they’d want to give Jarry the priority to keep his NHL roster spot over Pickard.
As for whether Pickard might end up claimed, it seems entirely dependent on how much stock rival teams will place in his performance this season, weighed against his play over the past two years. There does not appear to be an abundance of avenues for goaltending-needy teams to find upgrades. Because of how reliable Pickard was in 2023-24 and 2024-25, he likely stands a strong chance of being claimed.
Oilers Sign Atro Leppanen To Two-Way Extension
The Oilers announced they’ve signed defenseman Atro Leppänen to a two-way extension. The deal carries an $850K NHL salary for 2026-27 with a $360K minors salary and a $400K guarantee, per PuckPedia. He would have become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Leppänen, 27, landed in North America for the first time last April when Edmonton inked him to a one-year entry-level deal. While he didn’t win a spot on the Oilers’ roster in training camp, the veteran of 10 professional seasons in Europe accepted an assignment to AHL Bakersfield.
The 6’0″ lefty has been a revelation for Edmonton’s minor-league defense corps, which lacks much puck-moving ability. Despite only playing in 28 of Bakersfield’s 43 contests, he leads their defense in scoring with 20 points (three goals, 17 assists) – although his -5 rating is tied for the worst among Bakersfield rearguards.
It’s largely what was expected out of Leppänen after the previously unheralded Finn exploded for 21 goals and 63 points in 60 games for Liiga’s Sport last season, just his second year in Finland’s top flight after spending most of his pro career in lower-level domestic leagues. Two-way play wasn’t his strong suit in Europe, either.
He’d only ever grade out as a power-play specialist if he lands a recall, but it’s evident he’s happy with the fit in the Oilers’ system and lands a nice AHL pay raise to stick around, up from the minimal $85K he’s making as an entry-level player.
Evening Notes: Abols, Igram, Love
The Philadelphia Flyers could soon receive bad news about a scary-looking injury. Center Rodrigo Abols needed helped off the ice after his right-foot went into the boards awkwardly during Saturday’s game against the New York Rangers. Head coach Rick Tocchet provided little update after the game, except to say that the injury was “not good” per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Abols was on Latvia’s official roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics, set to begin in roughly one month. He has represented Latvia at Olympic events in 2017, 2022, and 2025, with 13 points in 13 games in total. A long-term injury would leave Latvia, and the Flyers, without an important bit of depth.
The Flyers have deployed Abols in a fourth-line role in his second season with the club. He has recorded 10 points, 22 penalty minutes, and a minus-one in 41 games. Each of those marks are up from the five points, four penalty minutes, and minus-10 that Abols recorded in the first 22 games of his NHL career last season. He should have a spot carved out at the bottom of Philadelphia’s lineup on the other side of this injury, so long as he returns before hitting unrestricted free agency this summer.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- The Edmonton Oilers have found a small bit of reliability in net. Goaltender Connor Ingram is expected to stick with the team even after he regains waiver eligibility per Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. The team is expected to carry three goaltenders – Ingram, Tristan Jarry, and Calvin Pickard – through the Olympic break. Ingram has recorded four wins and a .907 save percentage in his first eight games with Edmonton. The performance is a major improvement over the four wins and .856 save percentage he recorded in 11 AHL games to start the year – while this resurgence is wholely a nice rebound for Ingram after losing the Utah Hockey Club’s starting role last season. He seems to have found a new role in Edmonton, where he could earn a heap of starts with strong play. Ingram is currently the only Oilers goaltender with a save percentage above .900.
- The KHL’s Shanghai Dragons have hired Mitch Love as their next head coach after Gerard Gallant stepped down last week per Sergey Demidov of RG. Coach Mike Kelly – a former Florida Panthers coach who served as interim head coach in Gallant’s absence – will stay with the team as an assistant coach. Love was hired as an assistant coach by the Washington Capitals this summer but was placed on team-imposed leave before coaching in his first game. The leave was spurred by an NHL investigation into Love, ultimately revealed to be looking into allegations of domestic abuse against Love. The Capitals fired Love after that investigation. Love will now try to lift up a Dragons club that ranks third-to-last in the KHL’s Western Conference. Shanghai is led by former North American pros Spencer Foo, Austin Wagner, Alexander Burmistrov, and Kevin Labanc.
Leon Draisaitl To Take Brief Leave Of Absence
The Oilers will be without one of their superstars for the next few games. The team announced that center Leon Draisaitl will be stepping away from the team to attend to a family illness back home in Germany. He is currently expected to rejoin the team at some point next week.
Once again, the 30-year-old is among not only Edmonton’s top scorers but the rest of the league as well. Draisaitl has 25 goals and 42 assists in 48 games so far this season, putting him second on the team in scoring behind Connor McDavid (who is tied with Nathan MacKinnon for the league lead with 82). Meanwhile, his 67 points are fifth overall, behind those two along with Macklin Celebrini and Nikita Kucherov.
In his absence, the Oilers will have to decide if they want to move Ryan Nugent-Hopkins back down the middle and take him off McDavid’s line. Alternatively, Jack Roslovic could move up to the second line to take Draisaitl’s spot. Meanwhile, his absence should pave the way for Andrew Mangiapane to return to the lineup; the speculated trade candidate has been a frequent healthy scratch as of late.
Edmonton is currently carrying a full 23-player roster. Draisaitl is eligible to be moved to non-roster status if needed which would allow them to recall a replacement player from AHL Bakersfield. However, with only $270K in LTIR room at the moment per PuckPedia, other moves would need to be made in order for them to be able to afford to bring someone else up.