2024–2025 Edmonton Oilers player grade: Jake Walman

Walman’s strengths in 2024–25

Considering how little Walman played with the Oilers in the regular season, his postseason performance was also taken into account.

The 2024–25 season was a bit of a breakout season for Walman. It was his best season offensively, and he had a fantastic playoff run. It seems as though Edmonton has helped bring out the best in Walman, even though he played fantastically in San Jose for the first three quarters of the season—especially considering how bad that team was last year. The trade to Edmonton allowed Walman to rise to the occasion. He did not disappoint.

A key strength for Walman last season was his offensive abilities. He put up 32 points in 50 games with a weak Sharks team, which is extremely impressive. The move to Edmonton gave Walman a chance to play with more highly skilled players. In his first game with the Oilers, he made a sweet pass to send Zach Hyman on a breakaway. Hyman scored easily and helped make Walman’s debut a special one. Walman finished the regular season with eight points in just 15 games with the Oilers. He continued his offensive production in the playoffs, specifically in the third round and Stanley Cup Final. Walman posted eight points through those two rounds (11 games).

Another strength for Walman was his physicality. He posted the most hits of his career in a single season with 57. This was ten more than his previous career high of 47. The defenceman continued to play physically in the playoffs, where he recorded 37 hits in only 22 games. Walman seems to have a bit of a personality on the ice. He consistently was seen chirping in the playoffs, specifically against the Florida Panthers. This is an additional benefit as the Oilers lack some grit in their lineup, especially with Evander Kane and Corey Perry gone.

Jake Walman’s weaknesses

Walman has had some weaknesses in his game. This previous year, he had the most giveaways in his career. In 65 games, the defenceman had 80 giveaways and only 27 takeaways. His time with the Oilers saw 17 giveaways in 15 regular season games, along with 20 in 22 playoff games. This stat may not be the most accurate to critique a player on, since he was on an awful team for most of the year. However, the giveaway rate with the Oilers is a bit of a concern, considering he played bottom-four minutes.

One of the key bad moments for Walman with the Oilers was when Brad Marchand walked around him to score a highlight reel goal in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. The veteran forward pulled off a crazy windmill deke to embarrass Walman on the play. This moment stands out because it is what put the series out of reach for the Oilers. That goal secured the victory for the Panthers, who went on to win in Game 6.

Jake Walman’s player grade

Looking at his overall performance with the Oilers specifically, a grade of B+ seems to be right. Walman was a fantastic addition in Edmonton; however, his role diminished a bit since he came to such a strong team.

Walman was the main defenceman in San Jose, so coming to Edmonton gave him less of an individual opportunity. The best part of this for the Oilers is that Walman is on a great contract. He is signed for one more year at $3.4M. They are eligible to sign him to an extension this offseason.

Expectations for 2025–26

Walman is a difficult player to predict for the 2025–2026 season. Considering the fact that he will get a full season in Oil Country, fans can expect him to have his best season yet.

Walman will most likely quarterback the second power play unit and get some time on the penalty kill. If he can have a healthy season, a point prediction for him could fall between the 40–50 range. A 10-goal, 30-assist campaign would be amazing for the Oilers. If an injury falls upon Evan Bouchard or Mattias Ekholm, Walman would be heavily relied upon again.

Do you think Jake Walman has his best NHL season as a full-time Oiler?