Stan Bowman rolled up his sleeves and got to work early this offseason, making multiple trades and signings by the time July 1 came to an end.

He dealt Darnell Nurse to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Shakir Mukhamadullin and used some of the cap savings to sign defenceman Ryan Shea to a five-year deal. The move shored up Edmonton’s defensive core, which now contains six NHLers under contracts and two more RFAs with NHL experience.

As for the goalies, Bowman came out with a couple of quality pieces for cheap, trading a third-round pick for 24-year-old Devon Levi and signing veteran starter Frederik Andersen to a one-year $1 million contract.

The Oilers did a tidy job of shoring up their defence and goaltending on the first day of free agency, and they still have roughly $6 million in cap space remaining. The most likely piece for Edmonton to target at this point is a winger. They might leave cap room for a big trade later this summer or during the season, but if Edmonton does target someone in free agency, who might be worth their while?

This one is a long shot, I’ll fully admit, but if the Oilers want to add a legit top-six forward in free agency, Patrick Kane is the most established one left on the market. At 37 years old, the future Hall-of-Fame still has game left. He registered 57 points in 67 games with the Detroit Red Wings last season and finished second on the team in five-on-five points per hour with 2.03.

While he can’t quite move like he used to, Kane is still one of the NHL’s best playmakers.

I have doubts that Kane would be willing to sign in Edmonton — it’s more likely he will finish his career with his hometown Buffalo Sabres. But if he wants to go Cup chasing alongside Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, he should still have enough left in the tank to be a legitimate needle mover for the Oilers.

AFP Analytics projected Kane to sign a one-year contract with a $3.265 million cap hit.

Injuries derailed Anthony Mantha’s prime years, but in 2025-26, he played 81 games for the first time in his career and was extremely effective.

Mantha produced 2.83 points per hour at five-on-five, ranking ninth in the NHL among forwards with at least 20 games played, sandwiched between Macklin Celebrini and Mason Marchment.

Now, obviously, playing a third-line role afforded him far easier matchups than premier forwards like Celebrini, but his production was still undeniably impressive.

Mantha could be an interesting fit on an Oiler team that’s had some of the worst finishing in the league over the past few seasons. Mantha is a sharp-shooting forward who’s scored on 13.8 per cent of his shots over his NHL career, and over 20 per cent in each of his last two seasons.

The concern here for the Oilers would be his playoff performance. He was a ghost last season for the Penguins, producing just one assist in six games, with a team-worst 40.7 per cent expected goal share. In 20 career playoff games, he has just seven points.

AFP Analytics projected Mantha to sign a four-year contract with a $6.354 million cap hit.

At the time of writing, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta has reported that Claude Giroux will be signing with the Ottawa Citizen pushed back on that claim, stating that while the Flyers are in the mix, Giroux hasn’t decided on where he wants to play next season.

If Giroux is still undecided, the Oilers would be a great fit. Like Kane, Giroux is an aging former superstar who doesn’t quite have the same legs that he used to. But while he can’t transport the puck very well anymore, he still scored 49 points last season. The savvy veteran still possesses some useful tools that would help the Oilers.

Giroux is a faceoff specialist, having won an NHL-best 63.7 per cent of his draws last season. The right-handed shooter would give the Oilers an entirely new dimension on draws. That faceoff ability propelled him to the top half of the league in penalty killing impact, according to JFresh, who lists him better than 52 per cent of forwards in that regard.

There are some limits to his game, but if the Oilers are looking to add an experienced veteran with a high defensive IQ and elite faceoff ability, he could be a nice option on a one-year deal.

AFP Analytics projected Giroux to sign a one-year contract with a $2.496 million cap hit.

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