I’ll use it like the Christmas-themed Sears Wish Book. Remember those catalogues? The excitement of looking through that monstrosity at items your parents will never buy for you.

No, Michael, we are not buying you a racecar bed or a motorized Hummer ride-on car. Damn you, Santa.

Which of these festive players catches your eye? Which are on the Oilers’ X-mas shopping budget, and which ones are too pricey?

Of course, at the end, we’ll look at your stocking stuffer UFA netminders, which will be the first time in digital print that David Rittich will be compared to ugly socks. I digress.

Ryan O’Reilly

Age: 34
Cap hit: $4,500,000 through 2026-27

What I would do to have a player like Ryan O’Reilly on the Edmonton Oilers. Not only does he have the been-there-done-that factor, with a Conn Smythe Trophy to his name, but his GAF meter is always high.

Currently, O’Reilly is 6-7–13 in 22 games, and torched his own game. I take that as an attractive sign, not a warning. This is the type of self-accountability I could dream about in Oil Country.

Prying him out of Barry Trotz’s hands wouldn’t be easy — especially when the Oilers have likely inquired about goaltender Juuse Saros — but this is the season to dream about gifts.

O’Reilly can still play and, boy, could he help this hockey team.

Alex Tuch

Age: 29
Cap hit: $4,750,000, pending UFA (Five-team no-trade list)

This Wish List player has been connected to the Oilers via talking heads since the beginning of the season.

Alex Tuch has been a good soldier in Buffalo for five seasons, but the Sabres’ lack of, ya know, winning, is making the Sharks circle again in Bills Country.

His goal-scoring touch, 36, 22, and 36 goals in his last three seasons, makes him a dream top-six winger for an Oilers team that, without Jack Roslovic, would be ghastly on the wings. The cap hit is manageable, too.

What assets do Buffalo covet? That’s a good question.

That said, Tuch can play with the puck and with skill, which is in high demand in Edmonton.

Kiefer Sherwood

Age: 30
Cap hit: $1,500,000, pending UFA

Kiefer Sherwood is nails. Slick analysis, I know.

But the Vancouver Canucks memo that veterans are available makes Sherwood a popular trade call target for NHL teams.

In the “skill” era of today, players who skate in straight lines, finish their checks, and snipe goals are hard to come by. Sherwood seems to do that in spades.

Last year, the 30-year-old collected 19-21–40, and already has a dozen goals this campaign. Combined with a minuscule cap hit, Sherwood will command more than he’s worth from a pure production standpoint. But his honest work ethic and cheap contract only raise his trade value.

For a team that is employing 20-year-old Connor Clattenburg – and is providing life to a morose Frankenstein of a roster on Tuesday – Sherwood’s fit seems automatic, a role they were paying for Frederic or Mangiapane to fulfill.

Nov 16, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Detroit Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot (39) makes a save against New York Rangers center Noah Laba (42) during the first period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images

Stocking Stuffer UFA goalies

Cam Talbot 2.0 in Edmonton? The Oilers love a reunion throughout their history, and this one could make some sense, at least from an Edmonton perspective. I’m not sure why the Red Wings do it, though.

Detroit is desperately looking to make the playoffs and is one point back of the Atlantic Division lead.

His .893 save percentage isn’t sexy, but a 9-3 record is at $2.5 million. But colour me shocked if Detroit moves him.

The Hurricanes tend to employ a lot of goalies, having started four this season alone. Frederik Andersen is often injured and is 37, which is scary, and only played 50 games in the last two-and-a-half seasons.

Also, Brandon Bussi has been more than serviceable, with a 5-1 record, 2.67GAA, and a .897 save percentage.

Where does Pyotr Kochetkov fall in this mix? Shake one of these ornaments off the tree, and a stopgap solution could be found on the cheap.

Devin Cooley has made the rounds for his all-too-honest postgame press conferences, and because he’s doing well in Calgary.

“Nothing matters…nobody cares. We’re all going to die.” – Devin Cooley.

Those aren’t usually words said by a goalie in a postgame, rehashing what he tells himself to stay calm in tough moments of a game. That’s just so bizarre, I love it. Sign me up!

He’s won his last two starts for wins over Buffalo and Dallas and is making just $775,000. With that said, the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers aren’t exactly friendly, and we each want the other to fail and fail hard.

So what incentive do the Flames have to give the Oilers’ goaltending woes a hand? None…but would Craig Conroy turn down a decent-ish pick?

Who do you want under the tree?

Which one of these players catches your eye the most?

I will add that two weeks ago, I wrote a list of the Oilers’ top goaltending targets. Jordan Binnington, Juuse Saros, Ilya Sorokin, et al, are already understood as upgrades in my opinion, so feel free to Wish List for them as well.

In terms of skaters, I have a man crush on Ryan O’Reilly and pro players that are captain-level to bring into your team in pursuit of a Cup. (The ‘99 Dallas Stars had nine former captains on their team.) The last been-there-done-that guy the Oilers acquired was Corey Perry, and that turned out great. O’Reilly would help this team that lacks a consistent emotional heartbeat.

For goalies, Saros above all else for me, but that isn’t happening until after the season is done. The Oilers’ situation is so untenable that a move is probably gonna have to happen in the next couple of weeks.

Jordan Binnington is much better than what they’ve got (historically). They’re going to have to find out what Connor Ingram is…lord help us.

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