Alec Regula

The Oilers announced this morning that they’ve activated defenseman Alec Regula from injured reserve. They’ve had an open roster spot for quite some time, so no corresponding move is required.

Regula hasn’t played in over three weeks due to an undisclosed injury. He sustained it in just his second appearance of the season and initially avoided IR, but landed there on Oct. 19 when Edmonton needed the roster flexibility. There’s something of a logjam of depth defenders in Edmonton, and while Regula was out, his name began to pop up in trade speculation as the Oilers look to ditch some money. Now that he’s healthy, there’s a greater chance of a move occurring.

The timing of the injury couldn’t have been worse for Regula, who had the chance to establish himself as an NHL regular for the first time in his career. The 25-year-old was a promising two-way prospect just a couple of years ago, but injuries have decimated his development. He missed all of 2024-25 due to a knee injury. He attempted a return midseason, during which he was claimed off waivers by the Oilers from the Bruins, but never got into a game. His showings in the Oilers’ first two games of this season were his first NHL games in nearly three years.

Edmonton is Regula’s fourth stop. He was initially drafted by the Red Wings in 2018 but was traded to the Blackhawks for Brendan Perlini a year later. He spent the majority of his development in the Chicago organization before being dealt to the Bruins in 2023 in the Nick Foligno/Taylor Hall deal. He suited up alongside Darnell Nurse on the Oilers’ second pairing in his Edmonton debut, a job he’s now lost to Jake Walman. The righty had a -1 rating while averaging 15:54 per game, but the duo did post promising under-the-hood numbers in a limited sample with a 57.1 CF% and 72.7 xGF%.

With Walman locking down that top-four job as expected, Regula might be sitting in the press box for a while now that he’s healthy. They’ve gotten solid play out of their third pairing of Brett Kulak and Ty Emberson, which has appeared in all 14 games so far this season. That makes it hard to envision the Oilers benching one of them just for the sake of getting Regula back in unless it’s to boost his value in anticipation of a trade.

The Oilers announced they’ve moved defenseman Alec Regula to injured reserve to open up a roster spot. It’s unclear what they plan on doing with it just yet, although it could be a corresponding IR activation for winger Mattias Janmark, who head coach Kris Knoblauch said could be back in the lineup for today’s game against the Red Wings earlier this week.

Regula has already missed three games due to an undisclosed injury. Since he’s been out of the lineup for more than a week, he’s eligible to come off IR at any time with no minimum absence. The 25-year-old skated in the Oilers’ first two games of the year after missing all of 2024-25 due to a knee injury. He started the year in the Bruins organization, and Boston waived him in early December once their doctors cleared him to return. Edmonton claimed him off the wire, but after bringing him in, determined he wasn’t ready for game action, and he remained on the non-roster list for the balance of the campaign.

That means Regula’s showings earlier this month were his first pro hockey action in well over a year and his first NHL games since November 2022 with the Blackhawks. He spent all of 2023-24 on assignment to Boston’s AHL affiliate in Providence after they acquired him from Chicago over the preceding offseason in the Nick Foligno/Taylor Hall trade.

A third-round pick by the Red Wings back in 2018, Regula’s exceptional two-way numbers in the juniors and minors have long made him an under-the-radar candidate to break out into a top-four role in the NHL if given the chance. Injuries have obviously held that breakout up. Including his pair of showings this season, Regula has 24 NHL appearances to his name. He’s registered one goal with a -6 rating and has averaged 16:49 of ice time per game. His possession numbers have checked in as fine but unimpressive, logging a 43.8 CF% at even strength with a -2.1% relative impact.

Early on, though, it looked like Regula might be a fit alongside Darnell Nurse on Edmonton’s second pairing. He got a look there to begin the year with Jake Walman starting out on IR, and the duo controlled a team-high 72.7% of expected goals before Regula’s injury, according to MoneyPuck.

For now, his absence continues. It isn’t expected to be much longer, as Knoblauch initially anticipated Regula to be able to suit up this weekend. He shouldn’t last more than a few days on IR, but it’ll be interesting to see whether he can avoid waivers when Walman eventually returns to health and the Oilers need a roster spot for him.

The Oilers announced they’ve signed defenseman Alec Regula to a two-year, two-way extension. He’ll make $775K annually if he’s on the NHL roster. His minor league salary wasn’t disclosed.

Regula, 24, missed the entire 2024-25 season due to a knee injury he sustained during training camp with the Bruins. Boston gave him medical clearance to play in December and placed him on waivers to assign him to the AHL, but Edmonton submitted a claim. Upon arrival in Alberta, the Oilers’ medical staff held a different opinion from the Bruins’. Regula occasionally practiced with the club but has remained on the non-roster list since being claimed.

While he was set to be a restricted free agent this summer, he gets some early stability as he looks to get his development back on track following his lost season. The 2018 third-round pick of the Red Wings is now on his fourth organization, but he’s played well in the minors, just not well enough at the right time to get an extended NHL look. He has a 16-61–77 scoring line in 163 AHL games with a +42 rating, including a league-leading +36 rating with AHL Providence last season.

A 6’4″, 212-lb right-shot defender, he should be an intriguing candidate to watch for an opening-night job in Edmonton in the fall. While most of their current defense corps are signed through next season, aside from top pending RFA Evan Bouchard, he could be a cheap, more defensively responsible replacement for pending UFA John Klingberg on the right side. He’ll compete with names like Josh Brown, Cam Dineen, and Troy Stecher for a depth role out of the gate.

Regula will be 26 when his extension expires, technically making him an RFA upon expiry. If he fails to log 80 NHL games by that time, though (he only has 22 career appearances), he’ll qualify for Group VI unrestricted free agency.