The Edmonton Oilers have notoriously been a top-heavy team, relying on the contributions from superstars such as Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard to keep their team afloat.
This season, the problems are no different and if anything have been exacerbated by the failures of moves made during the summer. The club is actively shopping forward Andrew Mangiapane, the big fish the Oilers signed in free agency and have already terminated the contract of big European free agent, David Tomasek.
Now, according to reports from TSN NHL insider Pierre LeBrun, the Oilers recently held their pro scouting meetings and plan to target a top-nine forward at the 2026 NHL trade deadline.
Oilers target top nine forward upgrade
As it sits while the team is fully healthy, the top-nine forward lines should look something like this:
Nugent-Hopkins - McDavid - Hyman
Podkolzin - Draisaitl - Kapanen
Howard - Roslovic - Savoie
There is some room for improvement, especially at the second line wing spot with Kasperi Kapanen spot and with Jack Roslovic being better suited on the wing, they could do well to find a true third-line centre. However, Kapanen has played well when he has been healthy and the third line with Roslovic between the rookies Isaac Howard and Matt Savoie has been somewhat of a revelation.
Still, every season matters with McDavid and Draisaitl aging, especially while McDavid is on a short term contract. The team cannot stand around and wait for things to work out, there needs to be urgency and a push to improve and maximize every single playoff run.
Who could be on their list?
It is most likely that the Oilers are looking for a third line centre and a winger of some kind, with likely preferences at either position. Given the Oilers' current cap situation, it is most likely they are only able to make one trade, especially with the new NHL CBA no longer allowing players to be double-retained in one transaction anymore.
There are plenty of trade bait boards that have similar names but the most likely names on the Oilers board are players on expiring contracts. This gives them plenty of cap flexibility moving forward, allowing the club to either choose to re-sign the player, like they did with Trent Frederic. The other option is that the player is on a short term contract but at a very reasonable cap number, like they did with Jake Walman.
Either way, general manager Stan Bowman has not shied away from making a bold move, already revamping the club's crease this season with multiple big moves last year too. The upcoming 2026 trade deadline should be no different.