There have been a few big missteps for Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman since taking over at the helm. One of the biggest being the acquisition and re-signing of forward Trent Frederic from the Boston Bruins.
The Oilers acquired him ahead of the 2026 trade deadline in a three-way trade with the Bruins and the New Jersey Devils. The Oilers dealt a second round pick, fourth round pick, along with prospects Shane LaChance and Max Wanner. It is undoubtedly a high price to pay for a player such as Frederic along with depth piece Max Jones and prospect Petr Hauser. They also had to pay for the Devils to retain $1.725 million of Frederic's contract.
However, it was clear that the Oilers coveted the physicality and secondary offensive push that Frederic could provide. As a member of the Bruins, Frederic notched a career high 18 goals and 22 assists for 40 points through 82 games in 2023-24. That is why after just one regular season games and 22 playoff games, Bowman took a chance and re-signed Frederic for a max term eight-year contract, carrying a $3.85 million annual average value.
Since being acquired by the Oilers, he has played a combined 75 regular season games, scoring just four goals and three assists for seven points. It is clear that things have not worked out for either side so far and it needs to change and fast with Frederic having seven years left on his current contract.
How Frederic can find success with the Oilers
One of the issues with Frederic's play so far has been his usage. He averaged just 11:02 of time on ice last season and was stuck mainly on the fourth line. His best season in Boston, Frederic averaged 13:45 of TOI, which is closer to third line or middle-six minutes. This usage is much more conducive to offensive success just by nature of playing more minutes.
There is also the roles that these two types of usage brings with fourth lines typically being tasked with defensive situations and with the hopes of taking fewer risks and trying to keep the puck out of their net, not so much putting it in the other goal. In a third line role, players are typically given much more freedom to produce offence.
This is also true when looking at Frederic's most common linemates through naturalstattrick.com. During his career best 2023-24 season, Frederic played primarily alongside Morgan Geekie, Charlie Coyle, and James Van Riemsdyk. In contrast, this past season with the Oilers in 2025-26, his three most common linemates were: Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark, and Curtis Lazar.
If OIlers new head coach Mike Babcock wants to try and get the most out of Frederic, he will need to show patience and try him up the Oilers lineup. Allowing him to play inside the Oilers top-nine and playing his power forward style could be a big boost for the club. It could help him unlock his potential like it did with fan favourite Vasily Podkolzin, who had a career best season playing alongside star Leon Draisaitl.
A buyout would be too costly for the Oilers to pursue so for all involved, finding some middle ground is the best case scenario. Although he may never hit his previous career high, Frederic shows enough ability to be a productive winger, scoring at or above 30 points.
Add us as a preferred source on Google