The Edmonton Oilers have been undergoing a little bit of a youth movement ahead of the 2025-26 National Hockey League (NHL) season.
The club is set to start the campaign with multiple rookies in the lineup such as their No. 1 ranked prospect Matt Savoie and No. 2 ranked Ike Howard. The team could also see contributions from others throughout the season, notably Finnish defenceman Atro Leppanen -- who has impressed so far this preseason -- as well as forwards David Tomasek and Noah Philp.
There are even more players that could become call-up options as the season moves along but for now, these are the most likely players to start the year in some capacity with the organization in the NHL.
That is why it makes sense that the Oilers have been recently connected to former Chicago Blackhawks top prospect, Lukas Reichel. Both NHL insiders David Pagnotta and Jim Matheson have reported that the Oilers have interest in the German forward.
The Fourth Period: Re Lukas Reichel trade rumours: "The Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks are among the teams believed to have interest" (10/1)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) October 1, 2025
Reichel has long been linked to Oilers
Earlier this summer, while Reichel was home in Germany, he said he was convinced he was being traded to the Oilers saying ‘I heard from guys in Germany that I didn’t know knew hockey, they come up to me and say, ‘You’re going to go to Edmonton.’ I can’t do anything about it.’’
Originally drafted by the Blackhawks with their first round pick, 17th overall at the 2020 NHL Draft, Reichel has struggled to find his footing in the NHL.
The 23 year old has played 169 regular season games with the club, scoring 20 goals, 34 assists for 54 points. He has seen his average time on ice drop year-over-year, to a career worst 11:55 average last season.
Does he fit with the Oilers?
There is a level of familiarity between Reichel and Oilers general manager, Stan Bowman who was at the helm of the Blackhawks when they drafted him in 2020. He would have a good read on him as a player and may be more willing to advocate for him and give him a spot in the lineup than the current regime in the Windy City.
If the Oilers can give him a spot as an offensive secondary scorer, he may be able to find his confidence and realize the potential he was once believed to possess. He has shown some promise scoring 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 23 games in 2022-23.
He also shot at 11.1 percent last season and has a career average of 9.4 percent. This means that if put in a more consistent role, he may be able to produce at a higher rate than he has shown so far in his young career..
His trade value should be at it's lowest point, giving the Oilers very little risk in acquiring the young German forward. He is set to enter the final year of his two-year contract carrying a $1.2 million Annual Average Value (AAV) and will be a Restricted Free Agent (RFA) on July 1st (according to puckpedia.com).