Edmonton Oilers News

Home

Quizzes

Newsletter

Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

6 Players Edmonton Oilers Should Target in Free Agency

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Rupert McDonald | Last updated Jun 30, 2025 9:35 AM ET

The Edmonton Oilers won’t have a ton of cap room to work with, but they are going to do their best to improve their roster once free agency begins on July 1. They are doing their best to open up some cap space, and were able to do so last week after trading Evander Kane to the Vancouver Canucks. They are also working on moving Viktor Arvidsson and his $4 million cap hit out, which would give them more room to work with.

The Oilers will have some money to spend once free agency begins, though they will need to be strategic in how they spend it. Whether they go for some forward depth, a scoring winger, an upgrade on the blue line, or help in the crease remains to be seen, though there are players who could help in each area. Here’s a look at six players they should be targeting once free agency gets underway.

Brock Boeser

If the Oilers want to put all their eggs in one basket and not just add a scoring winger they’ve been searching for, but a very good one, they should strongly consider Brock Boeser. It isn’t as far-fetched as it may seem, as the two sides have been linked over the past week.

Boeser would command a relatively lucrative deal, but may be willing to take a discount to join a Cup contender in the Oilers. He would give Leon Draisaitl the scoring winger he’s been longing for, as he’s coming off of a 25-goal, 50-point season in what was considered a down year. Bringing him in would ensure the Oilers are an offensive juggernaut in 2025-26.

Nick Bjugstad

One free agent that isn’t getting a ton of attention but should receive interest from several teams is Nick Bjugstad. The 32-year-old is familiar with the Oilers organization and vice versa, as he was acquired by them at the 2023 Trade Deadline and wound up logging 27 games in an Oilers sweater split between the regular season and playoffs.

Bjugstad is competent in the faceoff dot and can kill penalties. That would be a massive bonus for the Oilers who struggled immensely on the penalty kill throughout both the regular season and playoffs. He’s also sound defensively and has a proven track record of being able to help with secondary scoring as well. He is projected to sign a two-year deal worth roughly $2.3 million, making him a solid target for the Oilers.

Jake Allen

Many Oilers fans want to see this team improve their goaltending ahead of the 2025-26 season, though doing so may not be an easy task. There aren’t many strong goalies available in free agency, with the top name being Jake Allen. The 34-year-old may not be an upgrade over Stuart Skinner, but would be a better option than Calvin Pickard.

Jake Allen, New Jersey Devils (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The question comes down to how much money Allen is searching for. If he wants a crack at being a starter as he was earlier in his career, the Oilers may be his best option. That said, he’s projected to sign a two-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $3.5 million. If that is indeed what he’s searching for, signing him may not make a lot of sense for the Oilers. If he’s willing to take less, however, he would be a reasonable gamble.

Klim Kostin

There has been chatter recently suggesting the Oilers may be looking to reunite with Klim Kostin. The 26-year-old had his career revived by the Oilers in 2022-23, but has struggled to remain an impactful NHLer in stints with the Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks since. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) after not receiving a qualifying offer from the Sharks.

Kostin is by no means a gamebreaker, but proved with the Oilers that he can be an impactful player on the fourth line. He brings physicality, toughness, and has a very powerful shot which gives him the ability to provide some secondary scoring. He’s projected to sign for just $775,000, which would make him a reasonable target.

Tanner Jeannot

One of the issues the Oilers have had in each of their two Cup Final matches versus the Florida Panthers is that they lack the toughness to compete against arguably the nastiest team in the NHL. On top of that, they lost arguably their toughest forward in Kane following his trade to the Canucks.

Tanner Jeannot would certainly make up for that loss and perhaps provide even more physicality and intimidation than Kane was able to. Fans shouldn’t expect to see him score 24 goals as he did in 2021-22, but he would provide some intangibles which the Oilers are currently lacking. Should he go for the two-year deal with an AAV of $1.5 million as projected, he would be a solid addition.

Jeff Petry

If the Oilers are to make any upgrades on the blue line, it would likely come on the right side. They have Mattias Ekholm, Darnell Nurse, Brett Kulak, and Jake Walman under contract for the 2025-26 campaign, which suggests they won’t be adding to the left side in any fashion. The right side, however, is more bleak, with Evan Bouchard being the only surefire option.

Jeff Petry skating in a game for the Detroit Red Wings. (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

Petry is no longer the player he was in his prime, but would be a solid bottom-pairing defenceman who could, at times, provide top-four minutes. With Troy Stecher and Ty Emberson being the only other right-shot defencemen the Oilers have under contract, giving the smooth-skating Petry the one-year, $1 million deal he’s projected to land would make sense.

Oilers Not Far Off Their Goal

Though there seem to be many critics bashing the Oilers’ chances of ever winning the Stanley Cup, this team isn’t nearly as far off as some seem to suggest. They came just one and two games short of winning the past two seasons, and will once again be a strong team in 2025-26. Should they make the proper tweaks in free agency, they could finally get their shot to hoist the Cup next year.