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2026 IIHF World Championship Day 14: Finland beats Canada

Ryley Delaney — Sat, 30 May 2026 23:08:55 GMT

After going undefeated in their first eight games, Canada suffered their first defeat at the worst possible time.

The lone Edmonton Oilers player remaining in the tournament, Darnell Nurse, suited up for Canada in their game on Sunday afternoon. Playing the Finns in the semi-finals with a chance for gold on the line, Canada dropped a 4-2 decision, meaning they’ll play for the bronze medal on Sunday against Norway.

Let’s take a look at how Nurse and the Canadians performed.

Canada vs. Finland

Things didn’t start off great for the Canadians. Just three and a half minutes into the game, Patrik Puistola opened the scoring for the Finns. If Puistola’s name sounds familiar, the Oilers acquired him in the Jesse Puljujärvi trade back before the 2023 trade deadline. The two players will now play for the gold medal on the same team.

Anyway, the Canadians got back on the board just over eight minutes into the game, as Robert Thomas beat Justus Annunen to knot the game up at one. Former Oiler Dylan Holloway picked up an assist on Thomas’ goal, then scored a goal of his own about five and a half minutes into the first period.

The Canadians led 2-1 after 20 minutes, but the second period is where they lost the game. Just 48 seconds in, Aleksander Barkov scored to tie the game at two. Konsta Helenius scored the game winner with 8:32 to play in the middle frame, followed by Aatu Räty’s goal with about seven to play in the second period.

The officials review the play and rule it a good goal for Finland! 🇫🇮⚡🏒

The Finns now lead Canada 3–2 in the third! #MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/WoInTD3hHZ

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 30, 2026

Down two, Canada dominated the third period, outshooting the Finns 14-2, but were unable to beat Annunen once in what was a 4-2 defeat. Their tournament isn’t over, but it was a disappointing tournament nonetheless.

Nurse had a tough game, playing just under 19 minutes and finishing with four shots on goal, but finishing as a -2 on the day. For the tournament, Nurse has six assists in nine games, and is an even 0 in terms of +/-.

Other notes…

With the loss, Canada now hasn’t won a gold medal at the World Championships since 2023, their 28th gold medal at the tournament. In fact, they haven’t even won a medal since 2023, as they lost the bronze medal game to Sweden in 2024 and were bounced by Denmark in the quarter-finals last tournament.

While they can’t win the gold, they can win their first medal since 2023 as they’ll play Norway for bronze. That game has a start time of 7:30 AM MT on Sunday and is the penultimate game of the tournament, as Switzerland and Finland will battle for the gold at 12:20 PM MT.

Past recaps

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

Random Thoughts: Evan Bouchard’s injury, the Connor McDavid jersey auction, and Kelly McCrimmon

baggedmilk — Sat, 30 May 2026 19:30:03 GMT

The Conference Finals are over, the world’s worst Stanley Cup Final matchup is set, but that doesn’t stop me from thinking about the Edmonton Oilers. On this week’s edition of Random Thoughts, I dove into Evan Bouchard’s injury at the World Championships, a wild Connor McDavid jersey auction, and offered my take on Kelly McCrimmon’s faux outrage about the Bruce Cassidy situation.

THOUGHTS TO EVAN BOUCHARD

After seeing Evan Bouchard get injured at the Worlds yesterday, there were a bunch of Oilers fans who rightfully wondered whether it’s even worth allowing your stars to participate in a tournament like that. I know it’s a bigger thing in Europe, but over here, there aren’t many folks who get locked in. But the thing about Evan Bouchard playing at the Worlds is that every Team Canada at-bat matters for a guy like Bouch when he was left off the Olympic roster back in February. I’m not suggesting he went over there for some kind of revenge tour, but I do think participating at the Worlds gives him a chance to build his resume and remind Hockey Canada what he can do. Before getting his bell rung, Bouchard amassed six points in eight games, showed elite puck movement, and acted as a weapon on Canada’s back end regardless of what situation was playing out. Whether the decision-makers needed the reminder that he’s pretty damned good or not, Bouchard was putting together the kind of tournament that should only help his case the next time Olympic conversations start up again.

And seeing Bouchard have some success over there was exactly what makes the way it ended so annoying. Not only was the hit a scary and reckless one, but he took one of the most electric players to watch out of the tournament and could have seriously hurt him. Bouchard was doing his thing, and then Ryan Lindgren catches him high with a dirty hit that was as devastating as it was needless. And when you mix this hit in with the the report after the playoffs that Bouchard may have been dealing with a concussion during Round 1 against Anaheim, and it’s easy to get a little twitchy about another head injury for one of the Oilers’ most important players. The good news is that Stan Bowman said Bouchard is doing well, and there’s a full summer before training camp, so hopefully this ends up being nothing more than a crappy ending to what was shaping up to be a strong tournament. Still, for a guy trying to keep building his national-team case, that’s a brutal way to get punted from the story.

THE CONNOR McDAVID JERSEY AUCTION

When the Oilers are out of the playoffs, and there’s nothing going on, you get the time and space to have your attention taken over by random things. For me, part of that extra time has been consumed by the wild Connor McDavid game-worn jersey auction that’s been happening over the last little while. And what did I learn? Sometimes sports memorabilia exists in a completely different economy than the one the rest of us live in, and this Connor jersey auction is a prime example. At Nation HQ, we’d been keeping an eye on this thing for a minute, and now that it’s finally closed, the unsigned jersey McDavid wore in Game 5 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final against the Panthers went for $52,500 USD ($~72400 CAD). Insanity. Fifty-two Gs for a jersey Connor wore once, was washed, and is not even autographed. I get that it’s McDavid, a jersey from the Cup Final, has the patch, the letter of authenticity, and all the other little details that make collectors swoon, but even knowing all of that, my brain keeps bouncing between “cool piece of Oilers history” and “that is an insane amount of money to spend on a shirt.”

Meanwhile, this auction was going on with the price climbing into used-truck territory, and I was probably doing something important like scouring flyers to see if my beloved Casa Di Mama frozen pizzas are finally back under six bucks. That absurdity is the part that makes me laugh. Somewhere out there, there was a small handful of rich dudes in a financial knife fight over Connor McDavid’s laundry, and we’re over here wondering how the hell it now costs $80 to fill up our cars instead of the $45-50 it was not so long ago. There are just parties happening out there that none of us will get invited to, you know? And that’s not me disrespecting the winner, either. If you’ve got that vastly overpriced McDavid jersey money, then why wouldn’t you go and swing that bank account around on wildly overpriced merch from a losing season? I just hope that thing goes into some kind of bulletproof display case or something, because for $52,500, I’d be nervous about even letting my own shadow touch it. Either way, enjoy the expensive shirt, sir. I’m sure there’s some businessy dark arts that make all this make sense.

KELLY McCRIMMON’S FAUX OUTRAGE

Speaking of NHL business that makes me laugh, Kelly McCrimmon being annoyed about the Bruce Cassidy situation becoming a story is very funny to me. A couple of days ago, McCrimmon went on OverDrive and said, “It’s only news because Edmonton leaked it,” which is one of those lines that made me roll my eyes out of my head and think, sure, sure, Kelly. Accusing the Oilers of leaking the Cassidy situation is definitely the issue here. It’s not that the Golden Knights are holding a fired coach hostage while he wants to go work somewhere else. It’s not that Cassidy is clearly annoyed by the situation, even going on Spittin Chiclets to talk about how bummed out he is. It’s not that the whole thing looks stupid because a guy you fired can’t go look for another job. Nope. The real crime for Kelly McCrimmon is that he keeps getting asked about it.

What makes this whole thing ridiculous to me is that McCrimmon is pretending he doesn’t want to talk about Bruce Cassidy, all while booking himself on some of the biggest radio shows in the country to talk about the thing he’s annoyed people are talking about. “Don’t ask me about Bruce Cassidy, but sure, I’ll take the appearance fee for your 15-minute hit.” Buddy, you can’t complain about the fire you started while standing there with a can of gas and a Zippo. Don’t blame the Oilers. Stop with the “we’re just focused on the playoffs nonsense.” If this story was actually supposed to go away, hopping on national radio to explain how unfair it is that people keep talking about Cassidy when you’re actively discussing taking interviews feels like an interesting choice. I get that McCrimmon works for the Golden Knights, and his job is to protect their interests, but let’s not dress this thing up like Vegas is being dragged into the town square against its will. Cassidy wants to coach, but Vegas still controls the contract, yet McCrimmon is mad that everyone in the interviews he’s accepting keeps asking him how this makes sense.

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Trent Frederic’s worst-case season: Oilers 2025-26 player review

Lane Golden — Sat, 30 May 2026 16:00:37 GMT

Welcome to Oilersnation’s annual player review series, where we dive into the Edmonton Oilers season player by player. We’ll look back at the season that was, what kind of impact each player had, and what we could see from them next season. You can read about the analytics behind my analysis here.

Less than a year after signing an eight-year extension with the Edmonton Oilers, Trent Frederic is quickly cementing himself as one of the biggest blunders of the McDavid era.

The Oilers originally traded for him along with Max Jones at the 2025 trade deadline for a second and a fourth-round pick. Frederic was on the IR at the time of the deal due to a high-ankle sprain, but Edmonton believed he could return and help them in the playoffs.

When he got back in the lineup, Frederic didn’t have the same jump. He didn’t have the same finish. He didn’t bring momentum-changing physicality. He looked like a shell of his former self.

Frederic’s disjointed game reflected on the scoresheet, where he produced just one goal and four points in 22 playoff games. Despite the disappointment, Stan Bowman committed to a max-term deal worth an AAV of $3.85 million.

It was Frederic’s unique combination of speed and size that drove up his market value and allowed him to negotiate a long-term deal without a discount on the cap hit. He even got trade protection in the deal: a no-movement clause that turns into a modified no-trade in 2029-30. The Oilers made a risky investment in Frederic, and so far, they’re feeling buyer’s remorse.

His offensive struggles carried over from the playoffs into the 2025-26 season. He notched seven points in 74 games — by far his lowest-scoring campaign in five years. The opposition had a field day in his minutes, outscoring Edmonton 32-16.

This is truly the worst-case scenario for the Oilers. They’re tied to Frederic for seven more seasons with an untradeable contract. Through nearly 100 games with the club, there have been no signs of the player they thought they’d acquired.

Can Frederic bounce back?

No matter how you look at it, Frederic’s tenure with the Oilers has been a nightmare so far. But does he have the potential to turn it around?

There was a time not too long ago when he was a fantastic five-on-five player. In both 2022-23 and 2023-24, he had around 2 points per hour, which would’ve made him one of the most productive forwards on the Oilers. There’s a good player in there, but what needs to happen for him to re-emerge?

Well, for one, Frederic needs to get healthy. High-ankle sprains are known to linger on athletes for many months, and that was no exception with him. His skating speed fell to the 27th percentile this season after being comfortably in the top half of the league during his time with the Bruins. He wasn’t able to get to pucks fast enough or close distance on the forecheck like he used to.

There were signs of improvement late in the season, with four of Frederic’s top five fastest speed bursts coming in the final month. Perhaps a long offseason to rest and get his lower body back into shape will help him regain some of that explosiveness.

Another reason for optimism is that Frederic’s finishing was uncharacteristically poor. His career average shooting percentage is 10.3 per cent, but last season it was 5.2 per cent. Even his linemates lacked finishing touch, as the Oilers collectively shot under six per cent in his minutes. If he can get closer to his typical shooting percentage, that alone should add a few extra goals to his totals next season.

And what about the coaching staff? The Oilers relieved Kris Knoblauch of his duties earlier this month. Could a new coach put Frederic in a position to succeed? All 96 of his games with the Oilers so far have come under Knoblauch, who hasn’t exactly gotten the most out of Edmonton’s big acquisitions the past few seasons. Look no further than Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner.

A lot needs to change for Frederic to become the player the Oilers thought they were getting for $3.85 million. At this point, I would take 10 goals and reliable fourth-line minutes if it means salvaging something positive out of this albatross contract. If he doesn’t improve, it’s going to be a long seven years.

Other player reviews…

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Should the Oilers re-sign Corey Perry in free agency?

Sean Panganiban — Sat, 30 May 2026 14:30:03 GMT

With a longer off-season than we’ve been used to over the last couple of years for the Edmonton Oilers, it gives us more time to explore lineup fits for the 2026–27 campaign, and a familiar, grizzled vet might be available once free agency opens.

Hockey insider Pierre LeBrun mentioned in a recent article in The Athletic that former Oilers forward Corey Perry told him last month, while the Tampa Bay Lightning were still in the playoffs, that he’s not quite ready to hang up the skates yet, saying, “I still want to continue to play.” LeBrun followed up with Perry’s agent last week and confirmed again that he still wants to play next season if there’s a fit somewhere that makes sense for him, and LeBrun also noted that a return to Tampa Bay is not likely.

Perry played in 119 regular-season games and 41 playoff games with the Oilers from 2023–2025, making an impact in his short time with the team. After the 2025 playoffs, Perry expressed his desire to re-sign in Edmonton, but eventually signed with the Los Angeles Kings on a one-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $2 million, along with up to an additional $2 million in performance bonuses, before being traded to Tampa Bay at the trade deadline.

Now Perry is set to become an unrestricted free agent once the 2025-26 season completes. The former Hart Trophy winner scored 17 goals in 72 regular-season games last season and still wants to play, which naturally raises the question of whether the “fit” is right in Edmonton, and if the Oilers should bring him back into the fold.

What could Perry add to the Oilers’ lineup?

Perry’s wheels have slowed over the years, but the 41-year-old could still bring a lot to the table.

To start, with his winning pedigree at every level — including a Stanley Cup and Olympic gold — he could bring veteran leadership that would take some of the load off Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, an element I feel the Oilers were missing in 2025-26.

Additionally, when players aren’t playing well, Perry could be the one to hold them accountable.

I think of last season when Draisaitl, after a 4-3 loss to the Calgary Flames in February, spoke out to hold people accountable, such as his former coach Kris Knoblauch and Tristan Jarry. It caused quite a stir, perhaps even a distraction, and that moment still gets talked about even with the season finished. Perry, with so many accolades in his hockey career, could handle those moments and let the superstars focus on their game.

An example of Perry holding players accountable that comes to mind was back in April 2024, also against the Flames. Perry was visibly upset with former Oilers winger Evander Kane, and the two had some heated words on the bench.

moments after the big scrum at the end of the second, corey perry remained pretty upset, slamming the bench door.

then, he has a cordial conversation with evander kane. pic.twitter.com/gHS8fE2YFO

— zach (@zjlaing) April 7, 2024

There was speculation that the heated moment was due to a lazy turnover by Kane, and Perry cleared the air afterward, talking about accountability, saying:

“Brothers fight. Just trying to bring out the best in everybody. We weren’t playing our best hockey, and just frustrations and emotions boiled over — that’s all.” He added, “That’s what makes a team work, right? That’s how you win. You hold everybody accountable. You push everybody’s buttons, you do whatever you have to do to get the best out of everybody.”

Next is the gamesmanship element Perry would add to the lineup, something he hasn’t lost since leaving Oil Country, with his Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper having recently talked about his competitive edge:

“It’s a gift,” said Cooper. “You can look at guys that are fighters in the league, and some guys know when to do it, and some guys don’t know when to do it. It’s really hard to explain, but his acumen and sense for the temperature of a game; it’s excellent. He knows what to say, when to say it, how to do it, and I think that’s how Corey Perry’s still playing at 41 years old.”

Throughout Perry’s career, he’s known the exact moments when to chirp and when to drop the gloves, to give his team a boost. The 41-year-old dropped the gloves five times last season, and hockeyfights.com shows that he lost four out of the five fights, meaning he likely knows he won’t win them, but he’ll take a few knuckle sandwiches to the face to rally the team.

Additionally, we saw that time and again when he was an Oilers player, he had fought nine times while wearing orange and blue silks. One instance that stands out the most is when the Oilers came out flat against the Winnipeg Jets in March 2024, and Perry fought the 6-foot-7, 234-pound behemoth in Logan Stanley, knowing he’d be taking the L on his hockeyfights.com stats, but still brought life to his team, as the Oilers went on to win 4-3 in OT.

And then, of course, there’s the goal-scoring touch Perry could bring to the Oilers roster.

Perry showed his ability to play up and down the lineup when he was with the Oilers, scoring 27 regular-season goals in 119 games, and stepping up huge in the 2024-25 playoffs, scoring 10 goals, second-most on the team. Moreover, his signature Oilers moment came in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2025, when he tied the game with 17 seconds left, recording the latest game-tying goal in Stanley Cup Final history.

COREY PERRY TIES THE GAME pic.twitter.com/vEy0OpcxZJ

— Oilersnation.com, Oily Since ‘07 (@OilersNation) June 7, 2025

In 2025-26 with the Kings and Lightning, he scored 17 goals, with 12 of them coming at five-on-five. Also, using his 50 games played with the Kings, according to Natural Stat Trick, his five-on-five numbers were all positive, including a 59.46 goals-for percentage, 51.49 scoring chances-for percentage, 55.17 high-danger chances-for percentage, and a 53.14 expected goals-for percentage, although 68% of his shifts started in the offensive zone.

Taking everything into account, should the Oilers sign Perry if he hits the open market?

As much as I want the Oilers to get younger, Perry brings so much to the table that Edmonton needs, and I’d be on board with bringing him back into the fold, but only if it’s on a one-year deal around the $2 million to $2.5 million per season range, maximum, with no performance bonuses.

The other question would be whether Perry would actually want to come back to Edmonton. By all accounts, it seemed like he enjoyed his time in Oil Country, and as he’s been to the Stanley Cup Final in five of the last six seasons, he recently spoke with The Athletic about the one particular playoff loss that lingered the most:

“In those years (trips to Cup Final), I’ve only had one game to win the Stanley Cup,” he said. “Game 7 in Florida. All the other ones, they were up 3-1 or 3-2. That one in Florida really stung. It stung a lot. It lit a little more fuel under me. There’s a goal at the end of this.”

That stinging feeling is likely still felt deep down, too, by his former Oilers teammates who remain from that 2023–24 team that went to the Stanley Cup Final. That said, perhaps Perry’s goal moving forward isn’t necessarily about cashing in on the biggest contract this time around, but could instead be about finishing what he started with his old Oilers teammates.

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Oilersnation Radio: How long can we avoid talking about the Oilers?

baggedmilk — Sat, 30 May 2026 02:00:09 GMT

It’s Friday afternoon, which means a fresh episode of Oilersnation Radio is ready to massage your eardrums with an hour of off-season Oilers talk. On today’s podcast, the fellas discussed the Oilers’ coaching situation, Evan Bouchard’s injury at Worlds, the Conference Finals, line combinations, and more.

We kicked off the Friday episode of ONR with a delicious debate about whether or not the boys have a problem with the Oilers allowing their players to participate in the World Championships, given what happened to Evan Bouchard yesterday against the USA. While it’s definitely unfortunate to see that Bouchard got injured, the boys made a good case for why he should have gone to this tournament, given his hopes of playing for the Canadian Olympic team.

Shifting gears, the boys looked at the latest news on the Oilers’ coaching search, including quotes from Kelly McCrimmon and Bruce Cassidy after they were asked about the situation. Despite Kelly McCrimmon saying the Oilers leaked the story and that they don’t want to talk about this any further, Vegas’ GM keeps booking himself for radio appearances where he invariably gets asked about it. Needless to say, this situation keeps getting weirder as more details become available.

Finally, we wrapped up the Friday episode of ONR with another round of Ask the Idiots, betting talk for our friends at bet365, and Hot and Cold Performers to look back on the week that was. With the conference finals nearly wrapped up, the guys spent the bulk of the podcast moving through a range of topics, most related to the Oilers’ needs for the off-season, some not, but that’s the way things go on the Friday episode of ONR.

Listen to the Friday episode of Oilersnation Radio below:

Subscribe to Oilersnation Radio for FREE on Soundcloud here, on Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcasts from!

Oilers trade tree: Mattias Ekholm trade fallout

Ryley Delaney — Fri, 29 May 2026 20:00:55 GMT

The Edmonton Oilers have only really “gone for it” at a trade deadline once in the Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl era.

They’ve made the playoffs every season since 2019-20, but often add depth pieces. In 2020, they acquired Andreas Athanasiou and Mike Green, then Dmitry Kulikov in 2021. The next season saw them add Brett Kulak and Derick Brassard, helping them make the Conference Finals for the first time since 2006.

Before the 2024 trade deadline, the Oilers added Adam Henrique, Sam Carrick, and Troy Stecher, going all the way to the Stanley Cup final. They made the finals again in 2025, adding Trent Frederic, Max Jones, and Jake Walman before the deadline. This past season didn’t pan out well, but it was at no fault of Jason Dickinson, Connor Murphy, and Colton Dach.

All those moves, except for the Athanasiou and Green trades, were solid. But the lone time the Oilers added a big name ahead of the trade deadline was in 2023.

On Feb. 28, 2023, the Oilers sent defenceman Tyson Barrie, prospect Reid Schaefer, a 2023 first-rounder, and a 2024 fourth-rounder to the Nashville Predators for Mattias Ekholm and a 2024 sixth-rounder.

Since acquiring Ekholm, the veteran left-shot defenceman has been a staple of their top pairing, mainly playing with Evan Bouchard. Following the trade, Ekholm scored four goals and 14 points in 21 games to end 2022-23, giving him nine goals and 32 points in 68 games. That postseason saw the Swedish product add a goal and seven points in 12 games.

He proceeded to have a career-best season in 2023-24, scoring a career-best 11 goals and 45 points in 79 games. Ekholm had already been to the Stanley Cup Finals before 2024, scoring a goal and 11 goals in 22 games in 2017. However, he scored a career-high five goals, with 10 points in 25 playoff games in 2024.

When healthy in 2024-25, Ekholm was the ever-steady defenceman the Oilers acquired. Over 65 games, he scored nine goals and 33 points in 65 games, but missed a large chunk of the second half of the regular season due to injury.

The left-shot defenceman didn’t return to the lineup until Game 5 of the Western Conference final, scoring a goal and six points in seven games, as the Oilers lost in six games to the Florida Panthers. It was pretty clear Ekholm was not 100 per cent healthy at that point, a contributing factor to their second consecutive finals loss.

Before the start of the 2025-26 season, Ekholm signed a three-year extension worth $4 million annually, meaning that at 36 years old, there’s a good chance he’ll retire as an Oiler. The veteran had a slow start to the season, but ended up scoring six goals and 41 points in 82 games. It was the third time in his career he hit the 40-point plateau. Then in the postseason, he added two assists as the Oilers were bounced in six by the Anaheim Ducks.

What makes this trade so good, on top of getting a key player like Ekholm, is what they gave up for him. With Bouchard’s emergence as a power-play quarterback, the Oilers had no use for Barrie, shipping him and his cap hit to the Predators.

He finished the season with three goals and 12 points in 24 games, then spent the 2023-24 season in and out of the lineup. Playing 41 games, Barrie scored a goal and 15 points, with an assist in a playoff game. After just 13 more NHL games, Barrie retired.

But Barrie being included in the trade, as well as the ensuing Jesse Puljujärvi trade was just to free up cap. Schaefer and the two picks were the notable assets the Predators received in return for Ekholm.

In his draft year, Schaefer scored 32 goals and 58 points in 66 games, with six goals and 21 points in 25 playoff games. He ended the 2022-23 season scoring 28 goals and 61 points in 55 games, with eight goals and 19 points in 19 playoffs games, helping the Western Hockey League’s Seattle Thunderbirds win the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

Schaefer’s first professional season in the American Hockey League was okay, scoring seven goals and 21 points in 63 games, with a goal and three points in 14 games. The Edmonton native missed most of the 2024-25 season, but made his NHL debut in 2025-26, scoring six goals and eight points in 47 games.

With the Oilers being eliminated in the second round of the 2023 playoffs, the first-rounder they gave up ended up being the 24th overall pick. The Predators used it to select left-shot defenceman Tanner Molendyk, who scored four goals and 23 points in 60 AHL games this past season.

As for the fourth that the Predators received from the Oilers, it was traded alongside Ryan McDonagh to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 2024 seventh (used to select Erik Pahlsson) and a 2025 second-round pick.

That second-round pick was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights, as the Predators moved down three spots to select netminder Jack Ivankovic, who had a .921 save percentage and 2.15 goals against average at Michigan in 2025-26. They also got a fourth-rounder, using it to select right-shot defenceman Alex Huang, who helped the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League’s Chicoutimi Saguenéens win their first Gilles-Courteau Trophy since the early 1990s.

On top of acquiring Ekholm, the Oilers acquired a 2024 sixth-rounder, using it to select right-shot Swedish defenceman Albin Sundin. Last season in the Swedish Hockey League, he scored four goals and nine points in 51 games as a 21-year-old. If he isn’t signed to an entry-level contract by Monday, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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Oilers look weak with no rebuttal to McCrimmon leak claims

Zach Laing — Fri, 29 May 2026 18:00:56 GMT

Make no mistake, the situation between the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights is nothing short of “he said, she said.”

Word leaked early this month that the Oilers, with Kris Knoblauch still under contract, wanted to speak with Bruce Cassidy, fired months earlier by the Golden Knights. Vegas wouldn’t play ball, still won’t play ball, and as is their right, don’t need to grant permission to the coach they still have under contract for all of next season.

When the Oilers officially ripped the band-aid off and fired Knoblauch days later, Oilers general manager Stan Bowman met with the media and declined to comment on what went down, as is his right. The Golden Knights were somewhat forced to comment during a press conference ahead of the Western Conference final, and their general manager, Kelly McCrimmon, came out with the “Bruce understands.”

But Bruce doesn’t seem to understand. Thursday morning, he was on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, where he talked about his desire to get back behind a bench, knowing two teams, the Oilers and L.A. Kings, wanted to speak with him.

Hours later, McCrimmon couldn’t stay quiet when asked for the latest during an appearance on TSN’s Overdrive show.

“It’s only news because Edmonton leaked it,” McCrimmon said. “This isn’t something that came out of our organization. We’ve been forced to respond to it, which we did prior to our series against the Avalanche…”

Sorry, what?

Where the news leaked from doesn’t matter in an overarching sense, but it’s hard to see what the Oilers would’ve gained from doing so, other than hoping to apply public pressure on the Vegas organization. And if they were the ones that leaked the news, wouldn’t it make sense for the team to be continuing to apply a full-court press on the matter? Wouldn’t they want to make as much noise, saying how unethical or wrong it is for Vegas to play these games — something they clearly aren’t bothered by?

So when Thursday’s Oilers Now guest lineup dropped, and the show was headlined by Bowman, it offered the organization a chance to do just that. But there were no questions, no comments, no queries, no conundrums, and no stink raised.

It makes the Oilers organization look weak.

They’ve decided to be cutthroat enough to fire Knoblauch before his three-year extension even kicked in, but they can’t do the same to try and increase the temperature, even with the NHL’s Coaches Association “closely monitoring” what they called a potentially “unprecedented” situation.

Edmonton’s decision to remain quiet on the matter could be something as simple as them not trying to stir the pot any further and potentially burn any chance they have at hiring Cassidy this summer, but what indications are there that Vegas even wants to play ball? They, at least for the time being, seem happy with the idea of paying Cassidy $4.5 million next year to not coach the Oilers. And now, they seem just as happy to take shots at an Oilers organization that has no bite back.

There’s no denying the feud between the Oilers and Golden Knights will grow from this. I won’t complain about that.

Either way, Bowman and the Oilers need to get going on other coaching options. Permission’s been received to speak with Craig Berube, an uninspiring option, and there’s a growing case for Peter Laviolette as another strong option beyond Cassidy.

They can’t get caught sitting, waiting, and wishing.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s managing editor, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.

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Oilers prospect Maxim Berezkin reportedly staying in the KHL

Michael Menzies — Fri, 29 May 2026 17:00:57 GMT

A new report on Friday morning says the Edmonton Oilers might not be getting a Russian prospect to come to North America after all.

Dark horse prospect Maxim Berezkin, 24, is fresh off his second Gagarin Cup in the KHL a week ago, and it’s been anticipated that the former fifth-round draft pick was going to sign a contract with the Oilers.

However, Daria Tuboltseva, reporter for Russian outlet Sport.ru, says that Berezkin has changed his mind and signed a two-year extension with Lokomotiv. At 10:41 A.M., Hockey News Hub on X says that Berezkin’s agent confirmed the deal. The dollar figure has not been released.

Per source, @EdmontonOilers prospect Maxim Berezkin has changed his mind after winning a second straight Gagarin Cup and has decided to stay in the KHL for two more years, signing an extension with Lokomotiv.

I think it's a mistake.

Berezkin is already 24. At some point,…

— Daria Tuboltseva (@DariaTuboltseva) May 29, 2026

Tuboltseva had the initial report a month ago, which said that Berezkin was likely to sign an NHL contract. Last week, local sources like Oilers Now host Bob Stauffer anticipated Berezkin was ready to make the jump to see if he was NHL calibre.

The Oilers were pressing to bring Berezkin over last off-season, as general manager Stan Bowman described the 6’4″, 212lbs forward as, “skilled, makes plays, comfortable with the puck, and you can never have too many of those guys.”

He will turn 25 in October.

Berezkin scored seven goals and 32 points in 64 games this season, a dip in production from his career highs in 2024-25. That appeared to be a breakout for the winger, who scored 15 goals and 42 points.

With Lokomotiv winning back-to-back championships, the former 2020 draft choice has scored timely goals, including the Game 7 double overtime series winner earlier this month against Avangard Omsk.

Seen by some as a possibility in the Oilers top-nine forward group, Berezkin was listed sixth in the Oilersnation Prospect Ranking last August.

Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and co-host of PreGaming and Oilersnation After Dark. He’s also been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years of news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, Menzies collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues. Follow him on X at Menzies_4.

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Matt Savoie inspires optimism: Oilers 2025-26 player review

Lane Golden — Fri, 29 May 2026 15:00:04 GMT

In the wake of a busy 2024 free agent frenzy, the Edmonton Oilers made a bold move, trading Ryan McLeod to the Buffalo Sabres for Matt Savoie.

McLeod had already proven himself in the NHL, while Savoie only had one NHL game under his belt. As a former ninth overall pick, it was Savoie’s long-term potential that intrigued the Oilers. In his first season in the organization, he produced 54 points in 66 AHL games and earned a four-game cup of coffee with the big club.

Over in Buffalo, McLeod broke out, setting career highs in goals, assists, and points, while earning his way into the Sabres’ top six. The pressure was on for Savoie to deliver in 2025-26.

His rookie season got off to a rocky start, especially on the scoresheet. Savoie had just two goals and five points in his first 23 games, and the Oilers were outscored 16-8 in his five-on-five minutes. It didn’t help that he was deployed in the bottom six among a struggling group of depth forwards. With that said, it’s not the first time Savoie has taken time to adjust to a jump up in competition.

In his first season in the AHL, Savoie only produced 12 points in his first 22 games. It took him a couple of months to find his way, but he produced nearly a point per game the rest of the season. Eventually, he got up to speed, and his talent took over.

Once again, Savoie gradually found his footing over the course of his first NHL season. After the Olympic break, Kris Knoblauch deployed him in the top-six, and he blossomed, producing at a 65-point pace over the final 24 games.

For a small player, Savoie had a knack for getting to the inside and generating shots in the inner slot. It was perhaps the most consistent aspect of his game all season. Even during his worst struggles in those first 23 games, Savoie ranked second on the team in individual expected goals. He just couldn’t finish. As Savoie’s confidence grew, so did his ability to beat NHL goalies, and his shooting percentage rose by nearly two per cent after the Olympic break. In the last game of the regular season, he exploded for a first-period hat trick.

Watching Savoie’s offensive game take flight elicited a collective sigh of relief among Oiler fans who watched McLeod achieve back-to-back 50-point seasons in Buffalo. Offence wasn’t all that he brought to the table, though — he played a feature role on the penalty kill all season long.

Savoie’s speed made him a disruptive penalty killer, occasionally leading to dangerous shorthanded rushes. He was the only player not named McDavid or Draisaitl to score for the Oilers shorthanded this season. Savoie led all Edmonton forwards in penalty kill time on ice, with nearly 90 minutes played.

In the playoffs, the momentum that Savoie built during the stretch run came to a halt. The top line had a tough start to the series, and he quickly found himself back down on the third line. In six playoff games, he produced just one assist.

As a small forward, there’s been a fair bit of skepticism about whether Savoie’s game can translate to the more rugged style of hockey in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

I do not share those concerns.

According to The Hockey PDOcast’s Dimitri Filipovich, Savoie ranked fourth on the Oilers in scoring chances in the playoffs and third in scoring chance contributions. It’s not as if he wasn’t generating anything — he just didn’t finish at the same clip. Compare that to McLeod, who has five consecutive rough playoff runs under his belt, and the concern meter is firmly on the low end for Savoie.

He eventually broke through against AHL competition. He eventually broke through against NHL competition. He has it in him to find a way to break through against playoff competition.

And the team will need him to.

As Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman age out, Savoie is the face of the youth movement on Edmonton’s forward group. He’s one of the keys to extending the Oilers’ championship window.

Other player reviews…

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Oilers trade targets: Distressed NHL assets to buy low on

Tyler Yaremchuk — Fri, 29 May 2026 13:00:15 GMT

We are fully in speculation season in the NHL.

It’s too early for any significant moves to actually happen, and outside of a few players re-signing with their current clubs, we probably won’t see any real significant moves until after the Stanley Cup final concludes.

So, for now, all we have are bits and pieces of reporting and rumours to quench our thirst for hockey talk. Wednesday, Bob Stauffer, as he’s known to do, sent out a tweet that got the Edmonton Oilers fanbase buzzing a bit:

FWIW.
Not sure how the @EdmontonOilers make it happen.
But.
IMO.
The Oilers need to target a legit top-6 FWD via trade.
Possibly a distressed asset on another team.

— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) May 27, 2026

So who are some players who fit that description? Let’s take a look:

Jordan Kyrou

There are many reasons why Jordan Kyrou would be a perfect fit with the Oilers. He’s a 28-year-old who has already scored 30+ goals three different times in his career, has pretty strong defensive metrics, and has the foot speed to keep up with the Oilers’ big guns.

On paper, it’s a perfect match.

He’s signed for five more years with a cap hit of $8.125 million so even though the Oilers are tight to the cap, they could find a way to squeeze him in.

Is Kyrou a distressed asset, though? I’m not sure that’s a fair way to describe him.

His production fell this season, scoring just 18 goals, but I think it’s easy to look at his track record and see that this past season was likely just an anomaly.

With the free agent market being as weak as it is, even if Kyrou’s value isn’t at its peak, the Blues will likely still be seeking a pretty big haul for Kyrou, and since he has so much term left, they don’t have to trade him this summer.

Kyrou does have a full no-trade clause, so if Kyrou is only interested in joining the Oilers and a small list of other teams, that could help drive down the cost a bit.

It’s still hard to see the Oilers having the assets to win a bidding war for Kyrou. They might have to look for a player who’s trade value is a bit lower, but of course that comes with some risk.

Jake DeBrusk

DeBrusk certainly fits the description of a distressed asset. He’s been very productive during his two seasons in Vancouver, scoring 28 and 23 goals, respectively, but with five years remaining on his deal and a rebuild looming for the Canucks, the word is that he’d welcome a change of scenery, and the team seems motivated to make that happen.

It just hasn’t really been a clean fit.

The word out of Vancouver is that they aren’t interested in just giving DeBrusk away, though.

He’s scored 20+ goals in four of the last five seasons, and he’s only 29 years old. There are plenty of reasons to believe that he should be a consistent 20+ goal scorer for the remainder of his contract.

My only concern with DeBrusk is that a lot of his production in Vancouver has come on the power play. In 2024-25, 50 per cent of his goals came on the power play, and that number actually rose up to 83% last season. He likely wouldn’t get prime power play time in Edmonton, and I think the Oilers should be targeting players who are strong 5v5 scorers.

In Boston, DeBrusk was a strong even-strength scorer. In his final three seasons with the Bruins, he scored 20+ even-strength goals twice.

If the Oilers think that DeBrusk can bounce back to that level by playing with either McDavid or Draisaitl, then they should make a call to Vancouver.

DeBrusk currently holds a full no-movement clause, and considering he’s an Edmonton native, there is a world where the Oilers are on a short list of teams he’d be willing to go to. That could help with the acquisition cost.

Personally, I wouldn’t give up a prime asset like Ike Howard or a first-round pick for DeBrusk, but if Vancouver is desperate and would potentially take a B-level asset for him, then I’d be intrigued.

Considering the Canucks have a bunch of cap space, I’d also be curious if they’d be willing to take back a bad contract in the deal if the Oilers overpay a touch.

Matvei Michkov

I’m including Michkov because he is certainly a distressed asset who is a top-six winger, and Oilers fans were bringing his name up quite a bit online, but this one just isn’t going to happen.

Other fan bases can dream, but all the reports I’ve read suggest that the Flyers have close to no interest in moving the 21-year-old Russian, and honestly, if they were to do it, I just don’t see a world where they do it for future assets. They’d be putting him in a package to land a superstar.

Would it be great if the Oilers could land a forward who has scored a total of 46 goals during his first two seasons in the league and appears to be the kind of natural sniper that could become a 40+ goal guy? Yes, but this one just isn’t happening.

Mason McTavish

Why would the Anaheim Ducks move on from a young player less than a year after signing him to a long-term extension?

I asked insider David Pagnotta, and he said, “I think it’s a combination of seeing what’s out there and also to try and fill some other holes.”

What I read from that is that while the Ducks are open to moving him, they will only do it in a deal that improves the team for next season.

That doesn’t really look like the kind of deal that the Oilers can do. If they add a top-six piece, it’s probably going to be in a deal where they are moving out futures and not one where they are moving out key pieces from their current team.

I really like McTavish as a player, and he’s the kind of piece that should entice the Oilers. I’m not sure if there is a fit here just based on what the Ducks could want back.

Kent Johnson

In 2024-25, Johnson popped off and scored 24 goals and added 33 assists in just 68 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was his third season in the league, and while it hadn’t been smooth sailing so far in the NHL, it appeared as though the fifth overall pick from 2021 had finally found his game.

That all came crashing down this past season.

He was healthy scratched multiple times and scored just seven goals in 76 games. His time on ice per game also fell by over four minutes.

Blue Jackets head coach Rick Bowness was adamant at the end of the season that he wanted to change the culture in Columbus, and while it hasn’t been confirmed, I wonder if a player like Johnson could be on the move as they attempt to do that.

He might not be a bona fide, established top-six player like the others on this list, but the fact that he is just one year removed from being a 50+ point player and he’s only 23 years old should pique the Oilers’ interest.

He’s also very cost-effective with one year remaining on a deal that carries a cap hit of just $1.8m. He also has two more years of RFA eligibility after that.

Will the Blue Jackets simply give him away? No, but I don’t think they’re going to get a first-round pick for him.

The Oilers got Vasily Podkolzin for a fourth-round pick when he was just five years removed from being a top-ten pick in the draft. Johnson is now five years removed from his draft year.

This is the kind of gamble that I would love to see the Oilers take. Plenty of upside, and the cost shouldn’t be out of this world.

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