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Oilers trade tree: How Mathieu Joseph and Max Jones are connected

Photo credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

By Ryley Delaney

Jul 15, 2026, 00:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 15, 2026, 00:19 EDT

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Two Edmonton Oilers projected to be in their bottom six next season were involved in the same trade tree.

Well, kind of. One of those players, Max Jones, was traded to the Oilers before the 2025 trade deadline. As for the other player, Mathieu Joseph, he found his way to the Oilers by signing a one-year deal early in free agency.

Joseph was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2015, and won the Stanley Cup with them in 2020-21, scoring 12 goals and 19 points in 56 games. Before the 2022 trade deadline, he was shipped off to the Ottawa Senators, a team which he’d spend parts of three seasons.

The first trade of the trade tree came on July 2nd, 2024. In a cap dump, the Senators sent Joseph and a 2025 third-round pick to the St. Louis Blues for future considerations. Joseph has no more ramifications on this trade tree, as he scored four goals and 14 points in 60 games with the Blues in 2024-25, then another two goals and 11 points in 39 games with them this past season before being released.

But the pick the Blues acquired was eventually traded. On August 13th, the Blues sent it as well as their 2026 second-round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 2025 second and a 2026 fifth. That 2025 second originally belonged to the Blues, as it was packaged to the Penguins alongside Kevin Hayes in a cap dump.

That same day, the Blues gave offer sheets to Edmonton Oilers players Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. The Oilers elected not to match either contract, and the 2025 second was given to them in compensation a week later.

Despite losing two promising young players, the Oilers were still in the midst of back-to-back Stanley Cup Final runs. Looking to add some bottom-six depth, the Oilers included the Blues’ 2025 second in a package sent to the Boston Bruins for Trent Frederic and Jones.

This was a trade tree that really only heavily impacted two teams, the Blues and Oilers. After the trade, Jones had very little impact for the Blues, but acquiring the pick in the cap dump allowed them to acquire their own second. That second allowed them to give Broberg an offer sheet, giving them a young defenceman in desperate need of playing time.

On the other hand, it hampered the Oilers, taking away, at the very least, a valuable trade asset. Instead, they received a measly second-round pick, which turned into two bottom-six players, one of whom managed to play just one regular season game following the trade while also making very little impact in the postseason.

Jones was noticeable when in the lineup, both following the trade and last season, but he missed out on the latest playoff run due to injury. In the end, a plethora of injuries sunk the Oilers, but after a strong off-season, perhaps the 2026-27 season is the year the Oilers bring the Cup back to Canada.

Other Oilers trade trees…

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on X at @Ryley__Delaney.

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