After their first-round playoff exit nearly a month ago, the Edmonton Oilers need to improve their roster for the 2026–27 season. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about that, and as a result, I’m expecting a very active offseason.

It begs the question of whether a blockbuster trade is on the horizon, and recently, Tyler Yaremchuk wrote a piece touching on exactly that for the Oilers. He mentioned that when considering a potential trade for St. Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou, who has multiple 70-point seasons under his belt, the conversation around the main piece going the other way would likely start with Matt Savoie. However, he followed that up by noting that Savoie should be very, very close to untouchable in that scenario.

And with that, it got me thinking — hypothetically, even if we took away no-trade and no-movement clauses, which current Oilers players would be considered untouchable in trade talks this offseason?

And because, as the saying goes, if Wayne Gretzky can get traded, anyone can. For this discussion, we’ll use “untouchable” to mean “nearly untouchable” in a trade sense. With that in mind, let’s dive into the Oilers’ current untouchable players below.

As Yaremchuk noted recently, Matt Savoie should be considered untouchable (or very close to it) in any trade talks.

Savoie had a solid rookie campaign in 2025–26, flashing that high offensive upside near the end of the season. He showed his defensive prowess in his rookie season, leading all forwards in minutes played on the penalty kill (132:13) and tying for second on the team in takeaways (32). He finished with 37 points (18 goals, 19 assists), which ranked seventh in rookie scoring overall, providing solid two-way play while still on his entry-level contract.

That said, Savoie has one more season left on his entry-level contract before becoming a restricted free agent after the 2026–27 season, and what adds to his near-untouchable status is the incredible point production he could provide next season while still on that cheap entry-level deal.

There’s a good chance Savoie will be stapled to McDavid’s side next season. The two showed excellent chemistry late in the regular season, combining for 3.74 goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five (the highest total among regular top-six forwards who played with the captain, per Natural Stat Trick). Because of that, Savoie could very well be flirting with the 60-point mark next season.

The Oilers gave up a good asset in the speedy Ryan McLeod, along with Ty Tullio, to acquire Savoie from the Buffalo Sabres in July 2024. Even though McLeod has developed into a 50-point player in Buffalo, the hope is that Savoie’s offensive ceiling is much higher and that offensive potential is another reason he belongs in the untouchable tier.

Connor McDavid’s name, of course, won’t be tied to any legitimate trade proposals this offseason, and despite him having a no-movement clause, the Oilers’ captain is viewed as the closest thing to untouchable.

Simply put, he’s still one of, if not the best player in the game, recently winning the Art Ross Trophy for the sixth time after putting up 138 points, the second-highest point total in his 11 NHL seasons. If the Oilers make any trades this offseason, the focus will be not only on building a Stanley Cup winner, but also on proving to McDavid that this team can contend long term.

That said, while attaching McDavid’s name to any legitimate trade proposals this offseason is asinine, should the Oilers have another early playoff exit in 2026–27, I hate to say it, but at this time next year, trade proposals with his name attached won’t feel nearly as far-fetched as they are now (insert grimacing face emoji).

Vasily Podkolzin’s salary in 2025-26 was $1 million, and the value the Oilers got from him at that cap hit was tremendous.

He led the team with 242 hits, which was good for 12th-best in the entire NHL, led the team in fights with six, and set a career-high in points with 37. He also brought valuable intangibles every night, including leadership, a “never say die” attitude, and making his linemates feel more safe and secure on the ice, knowing he had their backs.

That said, his three-year, $2.95 million-a-season contract begins in 2026–27, and even though it’s a $1.95 million-per-season increase from this year, that’s still incredible value for the Oilers if he continues to make an impact in various areas of the game. On top of that, his skills coach, Ned Lukacevic, recently outlined a potential plan for their offseason work, which could push Podkolzin’s point total into the 45–50-point range next season.

So with that, not only is Podkolzin untouchable in fights since he’s the one throwing the punches, he’s also pretty much off-limits in any trade talks.

Much like the case for McDavid, not much needs to be said about why Leon Draisaitl is untouchable, no-movement clause or not. The Oilers’ centreman has totalled 1,053 regular-season points in 855 regular-season games, and they have him locked in until 2032–33.

Draisaitl is a former Art Ross, Hart, and Rocket Richard Trophy winner and is a future Hall of Famer. Plain and simple, it would be ridiculous to include him in trade talks this offseason, even before considering his no-movement clause. My thoughts on the matter can be summed up in German: Draisaitl für immer behalten — which translates to “Keep Draisaitl Forever.”

When the Oilers were recently ousted by the Anaheim Ducks in the first round of the playoffs, I read comments from a small minority online suggesting the Oilers should trade Evan Bouchard, and for those who actually think that and weren’t just saying it in frustration at the time, well, you need to give your head a shake.

Does Bouchard make defensive mistakes? Yes.

Is Bouchard one of, if not the most dangerous offensive defencemen in the NHL? Also yes.

Both things can be true at the same time, and in my view, Bouchard also falls into the category of being untouchable for the Oilers, as his positives far outweigh his negatives, with his biggest strength being his elite point production from the blue line.

The 2025–26 campaign was Bouchard’s first season playing under his $10.5 million-a-season contract, and as the NHL’s fourth-highest-paid blueliner, he didn’t disappoint, registering 95 points and becoming only the 10th defenceman in NHL history to reach the 95-point plateau in a single season, while finishing 14 points ahead of the next closest defenceman, Zach Werenski.

NHL teams spend decades trying to find and draft a player like Bouchard. Players of his calibre don’t come around very often, which is another reason why I consider him untouchable.

Additionally, I’d like to put Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman on the untouchable list as well. However, while both are on great contracts for what they bring, the downside is that they’re both 33 years old and not getting any younger. No-movement and no-trade clauses aside, I can’t quite put them in the same untouchable tier as the five players mentioned above, but they’re pretty darn close.

All in all, outside of Savoie, McDavid, Podkolzin, Draisaitl and Bouchard, and again putting no-trade and no-movement clauses aside, nearly every other Oiler should be on the table if the right deal comes along to improve the team this offseason.

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