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Stauffer: Oilers could have extensions done for McDavid, Walman, Ekholm, Podkolzin, and Knoblauch within a month
Edmonton Oilers Connor McDavid Mattias Ekholm
Photo credit: © Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
Zach Laing
Jul 29, 2025, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 25, 2025, 20:20 EDT
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Those waiting for news surrounding the Edmonton Oilers could be in for an eventful next calendar month.
While the team has accomplished their off-season, making a slew of moves that included signing Andrew Mangiapane and Curtis Lazar, trading for Isaac Howard, and clearing out cap space, they’re reportedly ready to take care of some other important business items.
And according to Bob Stauffer, the team could have extensions done for a number of players in Connor McDavid, Jake Walman, Mattias Ekholm, and Vasily Podkolzin — as well as head coach Kris Knoblauch — within the next month.
“Let’s say by August the 28th, which is a Thursday, a month from today, I could foresee a scenario where extensions are done on Podzkolzin, Walman, Ekholm, and McDavid,” he said on Monday’s edition of OilersNow. “So I’m not moving off it.
“(Frank) Seravalli and myself both said 100 percent that Connor would re-sign. All along, nothing was happening before Leon’s wedding. I could see some traction occurring after that. Oh, and a potential extension for Kris Knoblauch as well. Those ones. I would say that (Brett) Kulak will probably have a decision to make.”
Stauffer’s comments mark the first time there’s been talk of McDavid’s impending extension since around the end of the playoffs, and the first time for all the other players.
McDavid’s deal is undoubtedly the most important of the bunch, and one that will surely make him the highest-paid player in the National Hockey League. It’s a title that will be held by his teammate Leon Draisaitl this upcoming season, as his eight-year, $14-million AAV deal kicks into effect.
There’s been much speculation about what McDavid’s deal will look like, projected by Evolving Hockey to be an eight-year deal carrying a $15.39-million cap hit — but let’s be real: that contract is likely to be a blank cheque. What will be imperative for the Oilers and McDavid is coming to an agreement on a number that not only will get McDavid the money he’s rightly deserved, but one that allows the Oilers to continue to build around the face of their franchise.
When it comes to Podzkolzin, Walman, and Ekholm, it’s intriguing to hear their name mentioned as players who could get extensions this summer. While all are set to enter the season on the final years of contract that would all see them be free agents, the Oilers clearly don’t have the desire to allow any to get close.
Ekholm is entering the final year of a four-year deal paying him $6.25-million annually, though the Nashville Predators are paying $250,000 of that, retaining money in the deal that brought him to Edmonton in February 2023.
Walman is entering the final year of a three-year deal paying him $3.4 million, while Podkolzin — the only pending restricted free agent of the group — will earn $1 million this year in the final year of a two-year deal. Ekholm, 35, is projected by Evolving Hockey to sign a three-year deal carrying a $6.86 million cap hit, Walman, 29, a three-year deal carrying a $4.91 million cap hit, and Podkolzin, 24, a two-year deal carrying a $2.17 million cap hit. A new deal for Kulak, 31, meanwhile, is projected to be a four-year, $3.96 million deal.
An extension for Knoblauch, meanwhile, is something Oilers general manager Stan Bowman noted in late June that they wanted to get done.
“I think Kris has done a fantastic job,” said Bowman at the time. “For sure we want to get something done with him. I think the fact that he’s got another year, you know, we’ve got other stuff we’re going to sort through here, but I do expect to get to that in time.”
Of all the deals, the two I would expect to come this summer are those for McDavid and Knoblauch, two key cogs in the machine that’s helped the Oilers get to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals.
While I expected all to be in the extension conversation, especially Walman, given his age, it’s clear the Oilers place great value on all the aforementioned players.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.

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