First off: when we saw the dollar figures chucked round July 1, it quickly became clear the Oilers locked center Jason Dickinson and defenseman Connor Murphy in at reasonable AAVs. Murphy, for instance, is one of the best penalty-killing defensemen in the game and a better actual defender than Jacob Trouba, and Murphy re-signed for less than half what the San Jose Sharks paid for Trouba. We can’t officially count the Darnell Nurse trade as a “free-agency” move, but it indirectly helped. Not only did it net an asset with upside in big Shakir Mukhamadullin, but it freed up $9.25 million in cap space. A chunk of that went to underrated puck mover Ryan Shea, a solid UFA buy whose game is like a young Brett Kulak’s, and the Oil also re-upped their leading 2026 playoff goal scorer in Kasperi Kapanen. And hey, at least Freddie Andersen is a step in a new direction in net and can keep the crease warm until fellow new Oiler Devon Levi is ready. – Matt Larkin

The Oilers were top-heavy and needed to move the Darnell Nurse contract. The club also needed general manager Stan Bowman to address multiple needs with bona fide plug-and-play options. In adding goalies Frederik Andersen, Devon Levi, defensemen Ryan Shea and Shakir Mukhamadullin, along with forwards Kasperi Kapanen and Mathieu Joseph, Bowman delivered a focused and reasonable July 1. Not all decisions will work out, but there’s depth in these moves and even some cap room to address additional needs such as a scoring winger. — Allan Mitchell

The Oilers have tried just about everything to get a reliable goaltending tandem in place; Andersen is the latest veteran they are acquiring to make that happen. Jarry is hardly reliable given his record for the Oilers last season (9-6-2 with an .858 save percentage), and Levi didn’t appear in a single NHL game for the Sabres last season.

So, Edmonton is letting Andersen bet on himself; he’s earning just $1 million in salary with an additional $1.8 available in various bonuses for games played. It puts the onus on Andersen to get his time in the crease. There’s familiarity there too between Andersen and new Oilers coach Mike Babcock — some of Andersen’s most productive and consistent years were with Toronto when Babcock was behind the bench. Granted, that was from 2016 to 2019, but perhaps Babcock can pull the most out of Andersen again.

Either way, it’s a low-risk decision for Edmonton that puts a tested, experienced goalie in its mix who has a recent championship pedigree. Which is exactly what Edmonton is trying to achieve. – Kristen Shilton

Edmonton ridding itself of Darnell Nurse’s $9.25-million cap hit for the next four years without either retaining salary or taking back another bad contract seemed almost impossible. General manager Stan Bowman managed to get Nurse to extend the list of teams he would be willing to accept a trade to, then found a suitor in the San Jose Sharks to not just take on his full contract, but give up assets as well…

The Oilers then filled Nurse’s gap on the roster by taking a smart bet on Ryan Shea after his breakout campaign. The 29-year-old put up 35 points last season after barely playing in the NHL previously. Shea won his five-on-five minutes 77-55, averaged almost 19 minutes, and he had a 51.2% expected goals share. If he continues to play at that level, having Shea at $4 million will be an excellent value contract.

Edmonton also added a goalie coming off a Cup run. Frederik Andersen can’t give you 50-plus starts anymore, but his play throughout much of the playoffs showed he still has some game left. There weren’t many appealing goalie options in free agency, and Andersen is a low-risk move on a one-year contract.

The flexibility the Nurse move provides the Oilers is immense. Edmonton now has over $6 million in cap space, and that’s even with Shea’s contract, Andersen’s deal, and Kasperi Kapanen’s new pact.

Add in a fun bet on goaltender Devon Levi, and it was a positive day for the Oilers. – Kyle Cushman