Aside from goaltending, adding some depth on the wings is a significant need for the Edmonton Oilers this off-season.
For what feels like the hundredth off-season, the Oilers should be looking for a top-six left winger to play alongside Leon Draisaitl. Jeff Skinner didn’t pan out, and while Vasily Podkolzin played well with Draisaitl, he’s not a true top-six forward. Perhaps there’s a left-wing in the market that can play alongside the German centre.
On the right side, it seems as if the Oilers have a good chance to re-sign Connor Brown or Corey Perry, while top prospect Matthew Savoie is also an option. That said, finding a more established right-winger may not be a bad idea for the Oilers, especially if they can’t keep both Perry and Brown in the fold. 
But that’s not the only problem, as they’ll need to look for a few bottom-six wingers. Assuming the soon-to-be-signed Trent Frederic is their third-line centre for the foreseeable future, they’ll need at least one left wing, and perhaps a right winger for the bottom six if Brown and/or Perry’s deals don’t get done.

Nikolaj Ehlers (LW)

It feels like Danish left-winger Nikolaj Ehlers would be a perfect fit to play alongside Draisaitl. Last season with the Winnipeg Jets, the team he’s played his entire career with, Ehlers scored 24 goals and 63 points. It’s the eighth time in his career he’s hit the 20-goal mark and the fourth time he’s hit the 60-point mark. In the postseason, he scored five goals and seven points in eight games.
Ehlers is a fast skater who has consistently produced throughout his career. The problem is, AFPAnalytics projects the 29-year-old to earn a six-year deal with an annual cap hit of just over $8.1 million. That may be a little too pricey for the Oilers, even though he’s well worth the price.

Andrei Kuzmenko (LW)

The Oilers got a first-hand look at Andrei Kuzmenko in the first round of the Stanley Cup Finals, as he scored three goals and six points in six games. After joining the Los Angeles Kings before the trade deadline, Kuzmenko scored five goals and 17 points in 22 games, this is what I like to call the “Kuzmenko Bump”.
In his first NHL season back in 2022-23 with the Vancouver Canucks, Kuzmenko scored 39 goals and 74 points. However, he started the 2023-24 season scoring just eight goals and 21 points in 43 games, and was shipped to Calgary on Jan. 31, 2024.
With the non-competitive Calgary Flames, Kuzmenko scored 14 goals and 25 points in 29 games, outpacing Elias Lindholm, who the Canucks paid a pretty price for. Once again, Kuzmenko struggled in his second season with the team, scoring four goals and 15 points in 37 games, but he started to get hot before being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Kuzmenko’s tenure with the Flyers was short-lived, playing just seven games. They received the Kuzmenko Bump, as the Russian left-winger scored two goals and five points.
All of this is to say Kuzmenko is rather inconsistent, but he’s never played with a centre like Draisaitl. AFPAnalytics projects the 29-year-old to earn a three-year deal worth a tick under $4.5 million.
That said, I don’t see a fit because he’s a rather slow player who can struggle defensively at times.

Brock Boeser (RW)

Moving to the right side for another former Canuck who is slow, Brock Boeser is one of the best mid-tier snipers in the league. Drafted 23rd overall in the 2015 draft, a player who the Oilers could’ve picked if they didn’t trade for Griffin Reinhart, Boeser has 204 goals and 434 points in 554 games.
In 2023-24, Boeser scored a career-high 40 goals and 73 points, surpassing his 29-goal season in 2017-18 and his 56-point season in 2018-19. Despite having a wicked shot, Boeser has only scored 30 or more goals once and has only hit the 60-point mark once in his career. It’s a similar production to Ehlers, but on the right side.
Boeser’s play dropped to his career standard in 2024-25, as he scored 25 goals and 50 points in 75 games and was a -25. He’s not a fast skater, his defence is below average, and the 28-year-old is expected to earn a tick under $8.5 million annually for six years, according to AFPAnalytics. It’s not a great option.

Patrick Kane (RW)

Although Patrick Kane is 36 years old and has had hip resurfacing surgery, he’s still been a productive player since returning from the surgery. Last season with the Detroit Red Wings, the right-winger scored 21 goals and 59 points. While his per-game pace is down from the 2023-24 season when he scored 20 goals and 47 points in 50 games, he’s still an extremely talented player.
Kane was once one of the fastest players in the league, but thanks to age and hip resurfacing surgery, he’s become an average skater. It’s worth noting that of the numerous players who have received hip resurfacing surgery, he’s really the only player who hasn’t struggled to stay healthy. The jury is still out on John Klingberg.
Per AFPAnalytics, Kane is projected to earn a one-year deal worth just under $3.5 million. It’d be fun to see him play alongside Leon Draisaitl.

Andrew Mangiapane (LW)

Moving to wing targets for the bottom six, Andrew Mangiapane is a third-line left winger the Oilers have been linked to this off-season by The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta.
The big outlier season in Mangiapane’s career was during the Flames’ fluke season in 2021-22, as he potted 35 goals and 55 points in 82 games. Aside from that, he has been able to produce 14-18 goals a season in his career.
Last season with the Washington Capitals, the 29-year-old scored 14 goals and 28 points, the same number of goals he had in 2023-24, but with 12 fewer points, as Mangiapane had 40 points in three consecutive seasons.
Mangiapane has above-average speed and is a consistent producer, even with the outlier of a season in 2021-22. He’s projected to earn a deal a little under $3.9 million per AFPAnalytics, which is a little bit too pricey for a third-liner.

Tanner Jeannot (LW)

Tanner Jeannot is best known for his 24-goal, 41-point season with 130 penalty minutes in his rookie year with the Nashville Predators. He featured an unsustainable 19.4% shooting percentage that season.
The Tampa Bay Lightning paid a heavy price for the left winger, and he repaid them with eight goals and 18 points in 75 games in 2022-23 and 2023-24. He was traded to the Los Angeles Kings at the 2024 draft, where he scored seven goals and 13 points in 67 games, along with 89 penalty minutes.
Jeannot is a solid skater and is incredibly physical. AFPAnalytics predicts he’ll earn a two-year deal with a cap hit just over $1.4 million. He’s never going to produce like he did in his rookie season, but if the Oilers get him for the fourth line and Jeannot scores 10 goals, I think it’s worth it.

Klim Kostin (RW)

I don’t know an Edmonton Oiler fan who isn’t a fan of Klim Kostin. They acquired him from the St. Louis Blues before the 2022-23 season, with the bottom-six forward scoring 11 goals and 21 points in 57 games. He added three goals and five points in 12 postseason games.
It looked as if he wasn’t going to re-sign with the Oilers, so they shipped him to the Detroit Red Wings during the 2023 draft. With the Original Six team, he scored just three goals and four points in 33 games, being traded to the San Jose Sharks before the deadline. In 19 games after the 2024 deadline, Kostin scored five goals and 10 points.
The right-winger only played 35 games this past season, scoring one goal and seven points in 35 games. He’s a solid skater who is physical. Not just that, he’s found success in the Oilers’ organization, even if his production was unsustainable (19.6% shooting percentage).
That said, he makes sense as a fourth-line option as AFPAnalytics projects he’ll be available for a league minimum, one-year deal. Why not see if he can recapture the magic?

Anthony Mantha (RW)

One player the Oilers should take a chance on is right-winger Anthony Mantha. In the past, he’s had three separate 20-goal seasons, including in 2023-24, where he scored 23 goals and 44 points, his best totals since the 2018-19 season.
Unfortunately, Mantha was injured early in the 2024-25 season, needing surgery to repair his ACL. Before the injury, he had scored four goals and seven points in 13 games for the Calgary Flames.
He’s a big forward, standing at 6’5”, 234 lbs. In 2023-24, he was a solid skater, but it’s unknown how well he’ll play once he returns. According to AFPAnalytics, Mantha is projected to earn a one-year, league minimum “show-me” deal. If he can return to health, it’s a good, low-risk, high-reward type of signing.
It worked out well for the Oilers when they signed Connor Brown after the same injury. It took a while to score his first goal post-surgery, but Brown was one of the Oilers’ best bottom-six players this past season.

Continue Reading…

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.