Looking at the players that Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman has acquired since being placed at the helm, Jake Walman is one of if not the top name.
Bowman acquired him at the 2025 NHL trade deadline, trading Carl Berglund and a conditional first round pick in 2026 for the left-shot defenceman. After just 15 regular season games with the Oil and an albeit strong Stanley Cup finals run, the GM awarded him with a seven-year contract extension worth $7 million annual average value, the biggest payday of his career.
It was a massive contract for a player that has become an impactful top-four defenceman in the NHL and looked to be one for the Oilers as they tried to return for another Stanley Cup Finals appearance. However, just under a year later, it has not worked out as many would have hoped for both Walman as a layer and the Oilers as a team.
The 30 year old defender struggled to find a steady place in the lineup and despite showing promising chemistry with now former Oiler Darnell Nurse, Walman struggled mightily in his first full season in Edmonton. The whole team did and now as his new big contract kicks in, the Oilers need him to turn things around and be part of the solution.
Through 53 games, Walman scored 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) which are not bad numbers on the surface but his play and production do not justify his major increase in cap allocation.
How Walman can turn it around
Although it is tough to project exactly how Oilers new bench boss Mike Babcock will roll out his lines. It appears most likely that Walman will find himself on the left side of the second pairing along with veteran right-handed defenceman Connor Murphy. Murphy, 33, recently inked a five-year extension himself worth $4.1 million per season.
If this pairing takes shape, it will allow the Oilers to run a combination of an offensive puck moving defenceman in Walman with a steady defensive defenceman in Murphy. As a grouping, they should work off each other and Murphy could help to allow Walman to play his game and unlock his potential.
Walman is a creative puck mover who when he is on top of his game, he is able to play with confidence and create offence. This is something that is utilized properly, could help to drive offence for the Oilers' depth lines.
Walman has had his two best seasons while playing alongside defensively minded, right-shot defencemen with the Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks, respectively.
In 2023-24 with the Red Wings, Walman played the majority of his time with Moritz Seider and was able to score 12 goals and nine assists for 21 points in 63 games. In 2024-25 as a member of the Sharks, Walman spent the majority of the year playing alongside former Oilers defenceman, Cody Ceci and he put together a career best performance, scoring 32 points (six goals, 26 assists) in 50 games.
If he can recreate some of this magic playing beside Murphy, he could have the best season of his career. If he does, it would surely help the Oilers in a big way.
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