After the recent roster purge to end last week, the Edmonton Oilers made further moves throughout the weekend in preparation to be compliant with their opening day roster. All 32 NHL clubs were forced to be cap and roster compliant by the 5:00 PM EST time zone on September 28th for the 2026-27 season.
Now that this has passed, we know what the Oilers opening day roster will look like and there are plenty of interesting storylines to take from that.
Oilers cut multiple prospects
One of the final moves was made on Monday when the Oilers announced they had loaned 24 year old centre Josh Samanski to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. Samanski finished last year on the Oilers roster and looked like he was blossoming into a permanent fixture down the middle.
When asked about him being sent down and how he can work his way back, Oilers head coach Mike Babcock said this about Samanski; "Well, just get down there and get to work. So, the simple thing is, you've got to figure out who you're going to be in the National Hockey League, and then when you go down the AHL, they put you in a totally different role." Following that with "But you have to become an elite face-off guy, elite penalty killer, a great two-way defensive center to play here because that's going to be your job in the American league."
There were also players like the fifth ranked Oilers prospect in our 2026-27 rankings; forward Connor Clattenburg who impressed at camp but was still sent down to the Oilers' AHL affiliate for further development. He likely will not be gone long though according to the Oilers bench boss who sent this message following his demotion; "He's a part of the future for sure. When is he going to be ready? I don't know that, but go back, work on your game."
Then, 10th ranked Oilers prospect, forward Quinn Hutson who looked poised to battle for a full-time role with the Oilers and was even named by Oilers general manager Stan Bowman as a prospect to watch heading into training camp.
Filling out a 23-man roster, especially for a team as competitive as the Oilers can sometimes seem like a game of musical chairs. Although the team sent down a number of significant players, there are a few who stayed up that worked their way onto the roster.
Oilers who impressed and won a job at camp
A late addition to the Oilers was a free agent signing, 27 year old forward Alex Formenton who spent the previous few seasons playing in Switzerland at the top National League. He is a speedy winger who has played with the Ottawa Senators and proved he can be a secondary scoring, defensively responsible, two-way forward. He was able to win a job and looks to play in a bottom-six role for the Oilers this season.
As well, 28 year old Max Jones appears to have won a job out of camp and looks to start the season on the Oilers roster. He has played over 300 NHL games but has been used sparingly as more of a depth piece spending significant time in the press box and has moved around between the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, and Oilers organizations.
Arguably most surprising is forward Owen Michaels who we included as an honourable mention in our prospect rankings. He was signed by the Oilers as a college free agent from Western Michigan University. He is billed as a defensively responsible two-way specialist with Babcock saying “He wins faceoffs, he tracks, he’s in the right spot. He was the captain of a team that won a national championship. He must know how to play.”
The Oilers still have multiple players out with injuries so expect some more roster moves as they get back to full strength. But, as of right now, the Oilers current roster is how they will look entering the 2026-27 season.
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