Entering into the 2026-27 NHL season, there were a few players on the Edmonton Oilers roster who needed their to turn their play around. Arguably none were as important as defenceman Jake Walman.
Before last season, Walman signed a massive seven-year, $49 million contract extension that saw him set to earn $7 million per season. This was a big investment on a player who had played such a short time in an Oilers uniform and it did not help that he would struggle mightily last year, suffering through injuries and some stretches of poor play.
Fast forward one year and entering the first year of his new contract, Walman needed to have a bounce back season and so far, that has not happened.
Walman has struggled early on
It is no secret that under the early reign of Mike Babcock, he does not appear to be a huge fan of Walman. The 30 year old veteran of over 300 NHL games has played just four out of seven games so far this season. Although mainly due to an injury, which is something that in and of itself is concerning. But when he has played, it has not been great.
When he has been in the lineup, Walman has averaged just 14:47 of time on ice, with a minus-3 plus/minus rating. He has played on pairings primarily alongside defencemen Ty Emberson and Connor Murphy, to admittedly poor results with a 35.7% and 41.7% expected goals according to Moneypuck.com, respectively.
Looking at his advanced numbers individual, paint a slightly more optimistic picture. Using evolving-hockey.com's expected goals model, Walman has shown some genuine promise with his results early. He ranks third amongst Oilers defenders, behind just Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard in terms of corsi for percentage (50.98%) and fenwick for percentage (51.62%).
He ranks fourth in expected goals percentage at 42.53% and fifth in goals for percentage at just 19.5%. This indicates that he is likely undergoing some form of bad puck luck and some poor puck management, since he ranks dead last amongst Oilers defenceman in expected goals against per 60, showing he has been giving up quality chances against at a high rate.
How can he improve?
It is possible that his numbers and overall play would improve over time if he is given the right opportunity. If given a chance, the numbers could correct themselves and especially with his shot attempt numbers being positive, typically xG and actual goals metrics follow suit.
However, it is likely not that simple, especially with this being now the second straight season that Walman has struggled with the Oilers. One thing that does likely need to change are his defensive partners, especially with the poor results his pairings have had, Babcock may have to further move him around the lineup.
Walman brings plenty of interesting qualities and has proven himself to be a capable middle pairing puck moving defenceman, something that could benefit the Oilers. General manager Stan Bowman moving out longtime Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse this past summer was supposed to create an opportunity for Walman to receive a bigger role, something that he will have to earn moving forwards.
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