Happy deadline day, everybody! As I do every year for the NHL’s annual swap ‘n shop, I’m back with the 2025 edition of the Live Blog to keep you up to date on all things Edmonton Oilers and the trade deadline as a whole. Instead of doing anything remotely productive today, I’ll be parking myself in front of my laptop to bring you all of the Oilers-related news that may or may not happen until the final buzzer sounds at 1 PM MT.
Are you ready? Are you fired up? Are you nervous that we’re going to spend the entire day waiting around for nothing to happen? Of course, you are.
Every year when I sit down to write the trade deadline live blog, I can’t help but think back about how much has changed in the way we track and consume news on a day like this. I’m thinking of days in my early 20s when I used to take the day off work just to park myself in front of the TV, get locked in on TSN, and wait for any scrap of information about the Edmonton Oilers that would come through the broadcast. From the moment I woke up until the deadline clock hit zero, that was the only way to get the latest updates.
I’ve talked about this every year I’ve written this post, but the one deadline that still sticks with me is 2007. That was the day Ryan Smyth was traded to the New York Islanders only mere moments after Eklund went on Sportsnet saying he had signed a long-term extension. It was a gut punch. A defining trade deadline moment that left a mark, and one that always reminds me to be wary of the news and rumours we hear on days like today.
Because of heartbreak like the day when Smytty got moved—when emotions ran high and the need for real-time updates was never more important—this live blog exists as a place for all of us to share our thoughts and reactions to the news. Whether you’re at work, in class, or just looking for a place to follow along, I’ve got you covered. Every Oilers update, every move from around the NHL, all in one spot so you don’t have to chase the news.
Let’s get to it…

THE TRADING POST

Digging through Edmonton’s contracts over at PuckPedia, the Oilers have a handful of expiring contracts and questionable deals that they could consider moving provided that Stan Bowman wants to go that route. That said, they’re right in the middle of a playoffs push so I can’t see them sending too much out, but I’m also a big subscriber of the whole ‘what the hell do I know’ lifestyle when it comes to this team and stranger things have certainly happened.
After today’s trade deadline, the Oilers have 20 games left in their schedule. While that may seem like a lot of time, these remaining games are going to rip by in a flash, meaning the Oilers can’t waste time in trying to get everyone on the same page. Will that dictate how many moves Bowman is willing to make? Does he even have the option to move given how many no-move/no-trade clauses have been handed out? I don’t know the answer to those questions, but I do have a list of guys who could hear their name popping up in the rumour mill.

UFAs & RFAs

Jeff Skinner (UFA) – Even though Jeff Skinner will be a free agent when July rolls back around, there’s no way he’s getting traded ahead of the deadline because of the full NMC that Jeff Jackson gave him. Can’t see it happening tbh.
Corey Perry (UFA) – Corey Perry has been productive in his time with the Oilers, and given how there aren’t many players in the bottom six that can say the same, the likelihood of the former Hart Trophy winner being dealt is next to zero.
Connor Brown (UFA) – Connor Brown has been very quiet after having a reasonably strong start to his season, and while I highly doubt he’d get moved by the 1 PM deadline, I could see how it might happen given his low cap hit. Who knows how much Stan Bowman wants to upgrade the bottom-six, but Connor Brown is one of those guys who could get upgraded with some creativity.
Kasperi Kapanen (UFA) – If the Oilers would probably waive Kapenen if they needed the roster space, but at only $1 million on an expiring deal, I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets thrown into something for some dollars-and-cents cap relief.
John Klingberg (UFA) – As much as it seems unlikely that the Oilers would move on from John Klingberg so soon after signing him to a one-year deal, I can’t help but think he could be traded simply for the cap savings. Even though his contract isn’t all that much in the grand scheme of things, you could easily make the argument that the team needs an upgrade to their top-four, which could make him a potential “sell for beans” candidate. Doubtful, but we’ll see.
Evan Bouchard (RFA) – He’s not getting traded, so there’s not even much point in speculating about what it would look like. Never happening.
Ty Emberson (RFA) – While I wouldn’t say trading Ty Emberson is never going to happen, I highly doubt moving him is even on the GM’s radar. There’s a better chance that he’d get re-signed today before Bowman would ever trade him.
Derek Ryan (UFA) – It’s highly unlikely that DR moves given that he’s one of the few right-handed centremen this team has, everybody loves him, and he’s currently hanging out in Bakersfield, but stranger things have happened.

DRAFT PICKS

2025 Draft Picks – As of this morning, the Oilers have their 3rd, 6th and 7th round picks available for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, assuming that this year’s first will go to Philly as part of the Sam O’Reilly trade. Given that anyone drafted in June would be years away from helping the Oilers compete, my preference would be for the team to spend those bullets, but we’ll have to wait and see if Stan Bowman also subscribes to that logic.

UNDER CONTRACT

Evander Kane (one more year at $5.125m) – A few of the insiders have already mentioned that the Oilers are kicking tires on moving Evander Kane, likely to provide cap certainty since we don’t know if/when he’ll come back this season. That said, I don’t know how much interest there would be in a guy who has yet to play this season, of if any of the teams on his 16-team trade list would want him. There’s little doubt that Kane is one of the premiere power forwards in the league when he’s at his best, but the big question is whether it’s reasonable to expect him to get back there.
Viktor Arvidsson (one more year at $4m) – Before Elliotte Friedman broke the news that Jeff Jackson gave Viktor Arvidsson a no-move clause on his contract, I was wondering if Stan Bowman would move on from the struggling winner in the hopes of finding an upgrade. That idea doesn’t seem likely anymore given that Arvidsson is in full control of his destiny here.

RUMOURS

Since I’ll be kicking it at Nation HQ all day with nothing else to do but blog, I’ll be spending the day cruising the Internet and social media for Oilers news so that you don’t have to do it yourself. If I find any rumours or interesting tidbits about what Stan Bowman might be up to today, I’ll throw them in here so everything is in one spot. If you’re not on Twitter/X, this section will be the spot to watch for anything noteworthy from the insiders, beat guys, or otherwise.

THE UPDATES

Don’t care about my nonsense and want to skip right to the updates? You can find those here, friend.
  • 8:00 am MT – Rise and Shine, Nation. It’s deadline day and that means we’ve got a full day of staring at our screen ahead of us, as we hope Stan Bowman and his staff can make a move or two to improve the Oilers’ roster for the stretch drive.
  • 8:45 am MT – How much do we think the Oilers are going to do today? They don’t have much cap room, but I also don’t really know how this works.
  • 9:19 am MT – Dylan Cozens is out for the Sabres, and my endless fascination with that franchise continues. What are the Sabres doing? I don’t think they know.
  • 9:48 am MT – Bob Stauffer is also teasing that the Oilers are chasing a top-six forward. Please, Gord, let this happen. PLEASE!
  • 9:54 am MT – Bob edited his tweet to emphasize that a top-six trade is a longshot.
  • 10:10 am MT – According to Frank Seravalli, the Canucks are closing in on a Brock Boeser trade. Once again, the Oilers have broken a Pacific Division opponent in the second round of the playoffs.
  • 10:31 am MT – Looks like Rantanen will be going to Dallas, with the reported extension being eight years around $12 million AAV. Still not done, but it’s looking likely to happen.
  • 10:38 am MT – Luke Schenn is going to Winnipeg, per Darren Dreger.
  • 11:23 am MT – Looks like the Rantanen deal is done for two firsts, Stankoven, and some smaller pieces.
  • 11:47 am MT – Tack on a pair of third round picks onto the haul for Rantanen. All of a sudden, the Hurricanes’ return is looking pretty solid.
  • 12:06 pm MT – Last hour until the deadline, but remember that trades can still trickle in after the buzzer. Haven’t heard much about what the Oilers are up to over the last couple of hours, so we’ll see if Stan Bowman can work some magic.
  • 12:27 pm MT – Frank Seravalli just talked about how Edmonton might be able to make a Brad Marchand trade. OMGOMGOMGOMG.
  • 1:02 pm MT – Marchand going to Florida. The dream is dead. Whomp whomp.
  • 1:03 pm MT – Reports out that the Oilers are done. Sad panda.