The Edmonton Oilers are only a few weeks away from training camp but that doesn’t mean the off-season is over just yet.
Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff appeared on Oilers Now on Monday and was asked about what the team’s next steps will be after opting not to match the offer sheets that Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway signed with the St. Louis Blues. He noted that the Oilers are a prime destination for players left on the free-agent market and that the team also has some other options on the table that they’re exploring.
“The Oilers are in a different position because of what they’ve built and because they advanced to the Stanley Cup Final that players want to play there. So the Oilers have options and they’re pusuing those options — but, I’ve got to tell you, there are other things that Edmonton is looking at, including a potential trade that could shake things up a little bit more than the PTO route. [A trade that] wouldn’t have to wait until training camp.
I think there are seven different scenarios that Stan Bowman and his staff are probably looking at. It might just be as simple as a one-year, league-minimum contract. It might be a PTO. But I think they’re willing to consider other options now that they have some flexibility to do something.”
The Oilers traded Cody Ceci to the San Jose Sharks seemingly to open the salary cap room needed to match either one or both of the offer sheets but ultimately opted to have flexibility instead. According to Puck Pedia, the Oilers have roughly $950k in cap room to add one more player to their active roster without even having to place Evander Kane on the Long-Term Injured Reserve.
Last week, Seravalli reported that Edmonton was “pursuing the market for right-shot defencemen,” including former Oilers Tyson Barrie and Justin Schultz. If the Oilers are going to make a trade ahead of training camp, it would likely be to bolster their blueline. Emberson should be able to fill Ceci’s role on the third defensive pairing but the Oilers need another defender for the top-four.

Other Edmonton Oilers Notes…

  • Veteran forward Sam Gagner told Jim Matheson of The Edmonton Journal that he plans to keep playing next season and that he has professional tryout offers. “I feel really good, so we will see what happens in the next month or so. I have some PTO offers and hopefully, I can get a contract. But we’ll see where it goes,” Gagner said. Now 35 years old, the sixth-overall pick from the 2007 NHL Draft scored five goals and 10 points over 28 regular-season games for the Oilers last season but didn’t appear in any playoff games.
  • Matheson also reported that American Hockey League goaltending coach Sylvain Rodrigue has joined the Florida Panthers organization. Rodrigue coached in the QMJHL and Europe before joining the Oilers as a goaltending consultant in 2014-15. During his time with the Bakersfield Condors, Rodrigue coached Stuart Skinner, who has developed into a starting goaltender for the Oilers. Rodrigue’s son, Olivier Rodrigue, posted save percentages of .912 and .916 with the Condors in 2022-23 and 2023-24.