EDMONTON – Not everyone is coming back.
The Edmonton Oilers fell short of their ultimate goal this season: the Stanley Cup.
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This offseason presents a lot of possibilities for Stan Bowman and his team. In addition to the possibility of a Connor McDavid extension, the Oilers could bring back a bunch of players on expiring deals.
But will they?
Here is every Oilers player and prospect who has an expired deal.
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The Restricted Free Agents (RFA)
Evan Bouchard
Stats: 82 GP, 14 G, 53 A, 67 PTS, 26 Powerplay PTS, 23:28 TOI, 3:17 PP TOI, 235 SOG, 31 HITS, 108 BLKS
Playoffs: 22 GP, 7 G, 16 A, 23 PTS, 6 PP PTS, 26:12 TOI, 3:51 PP TOI, 70 SOG, 10 HITS, 33 BLKS
Evan Bouchard is an elite offensive defender who is coming around defensively. He is still very young and should earn himself a new deal in the neighborhood of $10 million. Not keeping him would be regrettable.
The Oilers’ Minor League RFA’s
Jacob Perreault
AHL Stats: 44 GP, 3 G, 11 A, 14 PTS, 0 PPG, 46 SOG
Jacob Perreault was brought into the organization to help replace the loss of Raphael Lavoie. While he fell short of that mark, I don’t see how the organization doesn’t at least offer him a one-year deal to make sure the Bakersfield Condors have enough bodies come opening night.
Noah Philp
NHL Stats: 15 GP, 0 G, 2 A, 2 PTS, 0 PP PTS, 9:05 TOI, 0 PP TOI, 17 SOG, 15 HITS, 7 BLKS
AHL Stats: 55 GP, 19 G, 16 A, 35 PTS, 1 Powerplay Goal, 134 SOG
This could be the year that Noah Philp cements himself as the Oilers' fourth-line center. It was impressive to see him play the way he did, especially considering that he didn’t play hockey at all last year. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that he signs a one or two-year deal.
Cameron Wright
AHL Stats: 60 GP, 13 G, 11 A, 24 PTS, 2 PPG, 133 SOG
Cameron Wright had a decent AHL season and will most likely earn a one-year AHL deal.
Olivier Rodrigue
NHL Stats: 2 GP, 0-1-0 W-L-OTL Record, 3.10 GAA, .862 SV%, 0 SO
AHL Stats: 41 GP, 18-16-8 Record, 3.12 GAA, .897 SV%, 1 SO
Is this the year that Olivier Rodrigue gets an actual opportunity to play more NHL games? Or will he go to a new organization that has more bandwidth for him to find his game in the NHL as a backup? I suspect that the signing of Samuel Jonsson earlier this calendar year spells the end of Rodrigue’s tenure with the Oilers.
We wait and see.
The Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Corey Perry
Stats: 81 GP, 19 G, 11 A, 30 PTS, 7 PP PTS, 11:56 TOI, 1:18 PP TOI, 99 SOG, 36 HITS, 26 BLKS
Playoffs: 22 GP, 10 G, 4 A, 14 PTS, 7 PP PTS, 15:16 TOI, 3:05 PP TOI, 41 SOG, 34 HITS, 3 BLKS
Corey Perry followed up a great regular season with a great playoff run. In the postseason, he was one of a few players who stepped up their game and contributed secondary scoring. As long as there is interest from the team’s side of things, a one-year deal is as good as done.
Jeff Skinner
Stats: 72 GP, 16 G, 13 A, 29 PTS, 2 PP PTS, 13:00 TOI, 1:13 PP TOI, 144 SOG, 45 HITS, 23 BLKS
Playoffs: 5 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 PTS, 0 PP PTS, 12:13 TOI, 0:34 PP TOI, 9 SOG, 11 HITS, 2 BLKS
Jeff Skinner finally got an opportunity to compete in the NHL playoffs. That experience will set him up for where he goes next – as most believe that his time as an Oiler has come to an end. But like most things, we will see what happens.
Connor Brown
Stats: 82 GP, 13 G, 17 A, 30 PTS, 0 PP PTS, 14:01 TOI, 0:11 PP TOI, 123 SOG, 19 HITS, 37 BLKS
Playoffs: 20 GP, 5 G, 4 A, 9 PTS, 0 PP PTS, 15:41 TOI, 0:04 PP TOI, 27 SOG, 18 HITS, 11 BLKS
Connor Brown is a great teammate and has become a vital piece for the Oilers. His value stems from his ability to forecheck and his commitment to penalty killing. A three-to-four-year extension would not be an unreasonable expectation.
Kasperi Kapanen
Stats: 67 GP, 6 G, 8 A, 14 PTS, 0 PP PTS, 11:55 TOI, 0:17 PP TOI, 66 SOG, 88 HITS, 14 BLKS
Playoffs: 12 GP, 3 G, 3 A, 6 PTS, 0 PP PTS, 13:28 TOI, 0 PP TOI, 26 SOG, 45 HITS, 5 BLKS
Kasperi Kapanen showed off his physicality during the 2025 playoff run. Head coach Kris Knoblauch is a big fan of his game, which makes a contract extension seem all but guaranteed.
Trent Frederic
Stats: 58 GP, 8 G, 7 A, 15 PTS, 3 PP PTS, 13:43 TOI, 0:51 PP TOI, 76 SOG, 154 HITS, 29 BLKS
Playoffs: 22 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 PTS, 0 PP PTS, 11:24 TOI, 0:01 PP TOI, 22 SOG, 86 HITS, 15 BLKS
Nothing has been officially announced yet, but Trent Frederic is (reportedly) on the verge of signing an eight-year extension with the Oilers. It might seem like a gamble term-wise, but as long as the AAV is below (or at) $4 million, it should pay off.
*Update: Frederic has signed an eight-year extension with the Oilers. More contract details here.
John Klingberg
Stats: 11 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 PTS, 0 PP PTS, 17:15 TOI, 0:13 PP TOI, 19 SOG, 5 HITS, 13 BLKS
Playoffs: 19 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 PTS, 1 PP PTS, 19:08 TOI, 0:33 PP TOI, 23 SOG, 26 HITS, 32 BLKS
John Klingberg needed 11 regular season games to shake off the rust. Once he did, he performed admirably in the playoffs. I doubt he returns to the Oilers, but he will find another NHL team willing to give him a shot after July 1st.
The Minor League UFA’s
Derek Ryan
NHL Stats: 36 GP, 1 G, 5 A, 6 PTS, 0 PP PTS, 9:21 TOI, 0 PP TOI, 20 SOG, 25 HITS, 21 BLKS
AHL Stats: 13 GP, 3 G, 5 A, 8 PTS, 0 PPG, 21 SOG
After being a mainstay in the Oilers’ lineup during the regular season in 2023-24, Derek Ryan only played about half of this past year. His time in the NHL may have come to an end, unless he is willing to sign a two-way one-year league minimum deal.
Lane Pederson
AHL Stats: 18 GP, 5 G, 7 A, 13 PTS, 3 PPG, 38 SOG
Lane Pederson was injured for most of the year, so he likely wants another crack at the can in the AHL to prove his worth. Both sides might like the idea of a one-year contract.
Drake Caggulia
AHL Stats: 62 GP, 24 G, 28 A, 52 PTS, 3 PPG, 154 SOG
Considering that Drake Caggiula has signed overseas, this ship has sailed.
Connor Carrick
AHL Stats: 63 GP, 18 G, 23 A, 41 PTS, 4 PPG, 200 SOG
Connor Carrick had a tremendous offensive season as a defender. He’s worth offering a one-year two-way deal at the very least.
Travis Dermott
NHL Stats: 19 GP, 0 PTS, 0 PP PTS, 12:16 TOI, 0:04 PP TOI, 8 SOG, 6 HITS, 16 BLKS
AHL Stats: 3 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 PT, 0 PPG, 5 SOG
The Oilers organization has a plethora of left-handed defenders. That makes a Travis Dermott return highly unlikely (but not impossible).
Philip Kemp
AHL Stats: 56 GP, 7 G, 5 A, 12 PTS, 0 PPG, 66 SOG
Defender Philip Kemp is a good candidate for a one-year AHL deal. He’s been a steady defender for the Condors, who could always use good players.
Ronald Attard
AHL Stats: 66 GP, 7 G, 10 A, 17 PTS, 1 PPG, 107 SOG
Ronald Attard is a Stan Bowman acquisition, which makes an extension seem like a slam-dunk. The fact that he’s a right-handed defender makes it even more likely.
Colin Delia
AHL Stats: 28 GP, 12-11-5 Record, 2.76 GAA, .906 SV%, 2 SO
I have a sneaking suspicion that Colin Delia will be offered a two-way deal over Rodrigue. He’s a veteran AHLer with NHL experience, making him the perfect third-string organizational goaltender. I would expect him to start a similar number of games for the Condors next season.
The Prospects
As far as these four prospects are concerned, it’s likely that they all pursue opportunities elsewhere. I believe that Bowman has selected the players he likes from the NCAA during his flurry of deals in early April. We will wait and see.
Oilers Have Three Prospects Knocking On The Door
Matthew Savoie, Noah Philp, and Jacob Perreault are all making names for themselves in the AHL.
Tomas Mazura
NCAA Stats: 17 GP, 1 G, 13 A, 14 PTS, 0 PPG, 32 SOG
Czechia Stats: 20 GP, 4 G, 8 A, 12 PTS, 1 PP PT, 13:21 TOI
Joel Maatta
NCAA Stats: 35 GP, 9 G, 18 A, 27 PTS, 4 PPG, 51 SOG
Matt Copponi
NCAA Stats: 40 GP, 6 G, 18 A, 24 PTS, 2 PPG, 66 SOG
AHL Stats: 3 GP, 0 G, 2 A, 2 PTS, 0 PPG, 5 SOG
Luca Munzenberger
NCAA Stats: 31 GP, 5 G, 7 A, 12 PTS, 0 PPG, 40 SOG
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