With the 2026-27 National Hockey League regular season only two weeks away, the free agent pool is getting pretty shallow. Most teams have filled the empty slots in their lineups, and the "hot" free agents, whose skills were in the highest demand, have either landed with their old clubs, or signed a contract somewhere new.
But there are still a couple gems to be uncovered, and while the Edmonton Oilers don't have quite as much cap space available as they did immediately following the Darnell Nurse trade, general manager Stan Bowman could still make a little splash ahead of training camp.
Chris Kreider is, as of this week, without a NHL deal. At 35 years of age, he will surely find that teams aren't willing to pay him at his previous rate, coming off a 7x$6.5 million deal, but if he wants to play NHL hockey for a year, or a few years more, he will have to accept either a significant pay reduction, or a bonus laden deal.
Still an offensive producer
Kreider is worth kicking tires on, because he managed 22 goals last season, while only averaging 12:40 minutes of icetime per game. Eight of those goals were on the powerplay, which he'd be unlikely to crack in Edmonton, although his 6'3" frame could certainly fill in atop the goal crease if Zach Hyman ever needs to rest or recover. But 14 even strength goals from a twelve-minute-a-night player would be something most NHL teams would be happy to add.
Playing down the lineup of whatever NHL team he lands with could be beneficial to Kreider as well. In real dollars, he gave up about $4 million when he and the Anaheim Ducks mutually agreed to part ways. Reduced minutes could allow him to recoup those lost dollars, while bolstering the bottom six of the franchise that picks him up.
Kreider's NHL Edge statistics show that, while he isn't amongst the league's fastest skaters, he was able to keep up with younger linemates Leo Carlsson and Beckett Sennecke last year, and even if he does lose a step, his ability to shoot the puck should mean that his offense doesn't completely dry up. Kreider's career shooting percentage is an incredible 15.1%, an exact match to Connor McDavid's. Bowman would have to find a way to make the money make sense, but the Oilers would undoubtedly be a better team with Kreider on board.
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