The 2026 offseason has not started out the greatest for Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman.
Between rumours leaking that the club had asked to speak with former Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy and were withheld permission. This leaking forced them to fire now former head coach Kris Knoblauch days later. To the backlash surrounding the hiring of Mike Babcock. To Bowman’s inaction in recent weeks while the other GMs around him were taking part in an arms race to battle for Stanley Cup contention.
It was not a great start to the offseason for Bowman and fans were reasonably worried. This carried into day one of free agency when depth pieces, including former Toronto Maple Leafs winger Matias Maccelli was signed by the New York Islanders to a one-year contract at a reasonable cap hit.
Oilers make two homerun trades
Then, things changed. Traction picked up and the Oilers acquired star prospect goaltender, 24 year old Devon Levi along with a 2028 seventh round pick for a third round pick in 2028. It is the definition of a low-risk/high-reward move.
They then announced their biggest piece of business, trading longtime Oilers’ defenceman Darnell Nurse to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zack Sharp. The Oilers did not have to retain, something that was not only a big win but a grand slam homerun, freeing up tons of cap space, allowing Bowman to go to work.
Both trades, from an Oilers perspective are big wins and accomplish different but similar goals. They allowed the Oilers to get deeper and the Nurse trade adds some cap flexibility.
Bowman adds depth in free agency
Onto the free agent market, Bowman signed defenceman Ryan Shea after a breakout season with the Pittsburgh Penguins to a modest five-year contract worth $4 million annual average value. He is a strong puckmoving defenceman capable of killing penalties and playing bottom pair minutes.
The Oilers also signed two forwards with NHL implications in 29 year old Mathieu Joseph and re-signed 29 year old Kasperi Kapanen. Joseph signed for one-year carrying a $1 million cap hit and is a competent defensively oriented bottom-six winger. Kapanen, who signed for one-year worth $2.6 million is a known commodity and had some good chemistry in a shutdown role alongside Jason Dickinson who recently re-signed with the Oilers.
The Oilers also re-signed Max Jones for one-year worth $850,000, he was a great depth option down the stretch for the club.
Then to cap it all off, the Oilers signed veteran netminder and 2026 Stanley Cup champion 36 year old Frederik Andersen to a one-year deal worth $1 million. This adds a solid veteran goalie to insulate the young Levi and struggling Tristan Jarry.
Entering day two of free agency, the Oilers currently have an estimated $7.5 million in cap space remaining, allowing them plenty of flexibility for the rest of the summer and possibly heading into next season. This is excellent work by Bowman to turn around his projection this summer.
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