Many moons ago, Lowetide coined the term “The Leftorium” when referring to the Edmonton Oilers blue line.

A decade ago, the Oilers had a plethora of left-shot defencemen who were competing for minutes: Andrej Sekera, Oscar Klefbom, Brandon Davidson, Andrew Ference, Darnell Nurse, Griffin Reinhart, Nikita Nikitin, and the list went on.

Heading into the 2026-27 season, the Oilers find themselves with a similar, but slightly different issue. They have eight defencemen on one-way contracts, all of whom are NHL players right now, and all of whom are waiver-eligible.

Mattias Ekholm, Evan Bouchard, Jake Walman, Connor Murphy, and Ryan Shea are all locks to be on the roster, and daily drivers of play for D.J. Smith’s defence. But the next group becomes muddied.

Ty Emberson likely has the inside track to being the third-pairing, right-shot defenceman given he’s entering his third year with the team and took a step forward last year, but the newly acquired Shakir Mukhamadullin and a returning Spencer Stastney will be knocking on the door.

Couple that with the Oilers running three goaltenders this season, and all of a sudden there’s a major logjam. Edmonton could carry all eight defencemen on their roster, but it would be at the behest of being without an extra forward. Running 11/7 is an option in a pinch, sure, but given the Oilers’ desire to lessen the load on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, one would have to imagine they’ll want to avoid that as much as possible.

Starting the season with all eight defencemen only punts the problem down the road, so one has to imagine it’s something the Oilers would want to deal with sooner, rather than later.

Emberson’s inside track to the 3RD spot is largely due to the fact he’s a right-shot defencemen. Mukhamadullin can play both sides, and did so for the Sharks last season, but getting guys on their proper side is best practice. It’s also hard to imagine the Oilers risking losing Mukhamadullin in any way, given he was the main piece coming back in the Darnell Nurse trade that cleared his full $9.25 million cap hit.

That leaves Stastney as the odd man out. Acquired by the Oilers for a third-round pick the same day the Stuart Skinner trade broke, Stastney showed he can succeed in a limited role for the team last season. Could the Oilers look to flip him in a trade for a top-nine winger? While they just signed him to a one-year, $1.525 million contract over the weekend, having that contract locked in might help entice another team to getting a deal done.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s managing editor and The Nation Network’s news director. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.

There’s a new chapter beginning at Derrick Dodge, and the momentum is real. Under new ownership, the dealership is bringing fresh energy, a renewed focus on customer experience, and a bold, forward-thinking approach to vehicle buying. This change marks the start of an exciting new era, built around transparency, trust, and putting customers first. To celebrate this transition, every vehicle purchase comes with a trip for two to Las Vegas. Whether you’re shopping for your next vehicle or simply curious about what’s changed, Derrick Dodge is moving forward with confidence, purpose, and a clear vision for the future.