We are officially in the dog days of the 2026 offseason. Both news and rumours are sparse and especially with Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman possessing just shy of $5 million in cap space that he seems more than happy to sit on, there is nothing happening.
That was until this past weekend when we were graced with two interesting stories regarding two former Oilers players. It was announced that Patrick O'Sullivan and Noah Philp have made major moves in their careers, independent of each other.
O'Sullivan promoted with Maple Leafs
It was announced this weekend that the Toronto Maple Leafs, under new management with John Chayka and Hockey Hall of Famer, Mats Sundin at the helm, have promoted O'Sullivan to director of NHL development.
Patrick O’Sullivan has been named Director of NHL Development.
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) August 9, 2026
The former Oilers forward spent 92 games with Edmonton during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons, scoring 13 goals and 27 assists for 40 points. O'Sullivan's tenure with the Oilers came to an end after the 2009-10 season when he was placed on waivers before being dealt to the Phoenix Coyotes who bought out his contract immediately after. In total, O'Sullivan played 334 NHL games scoring 58 goals and 103 assists for 161 points, playing with the Los Angeles Kings, Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild, and Coyotes.
The 41 year old former NHL forward has spent the previous three seasons with the Maple Leafs as a development coach, now receiving the promotion after his work with the club. Leafs beat reporter David Alter gave credit to O'Sullivan for his work with Leafs veteran and former captain John Tavares. In addition to his work with Tavares, Max Domi has praised him and he has worked extensively with Auston Matthews on his game.
His promotion sounds deserved and it is nice to see a former Oiler succeeding in his current role, even if it is with a Canadian rival.
Philp announces retirement
The 27 year old Philp announced for the second time in his young career that he has chosen to retire from professional hockey. This news came as a shock considering he just inked a new contract with Swedish Hockey League (SHL) club, HV71 in June.
After going undrafted and playing in the WHL with the Kootenay Ice and Seattle Thunderbirds, Philp decided to take his talents to the Canadian USports level, with the University of Alberta. After two seasons, he joined the Edmonton Oilers, playing with their American Hockey League affiliate the Bakersfield Condors for 2022-23. The following season he stepped away from the game, taking a full season off before joining the club once again in 2024, where he gets his first taste of NHL action, playing 15 games with the Oilers.
Lats season, he made the Oilers roster out of camp playing another 15 games as a depth centre and before being placed on waivers where he was picked off by the eventual Stanley Cup champion, Carolina Hurricanes. He played two games with the Hurricanes but spent most of the season back in the AHL with the Chicago Wolves playing 29 games, scoring eight goals and nine assists for 17 points.
ℹ️ Noah Philp bryter sitt kontrakt med HV71 och avslutar hockeykarriären.
— HV71 (@HV71) August 7, 2026
🗨️ "Jag ber verkligen om ursäkt till HV71 och samtliga involverade kring tajmingen av mitt beslut, men jag har dock beslutat mig för att sluta spela hockey. Min motivation för hockeyn är inte där fullt ut… pic.twitter.com/L2xUhhRjqx
Now, Philp has chosen to retire saying "I have decided to stop playing hockey. My motivation for hockey is not fully there, and I'd rather be completely honest than not be fully invested in playing,".
He retires having played 32 NHL games and 159 AHL games. We wish him the best of luck going forward.
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