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The Edmonton Oilers look on from the bench in the final minutes of Game 6 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena. Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Have the Oilers actually improved this offseason?

Originally posted on Pro Hockey Rumors | By Josh Cybulski | Last updated Jul 31, 2025 4:51 PM ET

Few teams have experienced as much movement this offseason as the Edmonton Oilers. After two consecutive Stanley Cup Finals losses, it was expected that management would make some adjustments, but most fans probably hoped those changes would focus on the goaltending. That didn’t happen, and most of the team’s overhaul has taken place with the forwards, where many veterans left in free agency.

Edmonton did what it could to find suitable replacements, but it still feels like its forward group isn’t as strong as the one that skated off the ice after a Game 6 loss to the Florida Panthers in June.

The Oilers started their offseason by trading forward Evander Kane to the Vancouver Canucks for a fourth-round pick this year. The Oilers needed to clear cap space urgently and managed to do so before the start of free agency on July 1. Kane was expected to count $5.125M against the Oilers’ cap on the final year of his four-year deal and was considered expendable by management.

Kane isn’t the player he once was, but he could still skate, check and shoot, and he was effective in the first three rounds of the playoffs. Edmonton probably didn’t want to move Kane, but given its situation this summer, it didn’t have many options.

Nearly a week after the Kane trade, Edmonton made another move, sending Viktor Arvidsson to the Boston Bruins for a 2027 fifth-round draft pick. The deal cleared $4M in cap space for Edmonton and allowed them to re-sign top defenseman Evan Bouchard. Arvidsson never gained much traction with the Oilers, recording 15 goals and 12 assists in 67 games, but he was only a couple of years removed from posting 26 goals in a season with the Los Angeles Kings.

Trading away Arvidsson and the final season of his two-year contract probably won’t make a big difference for the Oilers. Still, like Kane, it was a case of Edmonton selling low on a forward with a mid-tier deal and hoping to find a replacement with a lower salary.

Arvidsson wasn’t the only Oilers player to find a new home on July 1; Connor Brown signed with the New Jersey Devils on a four-year, $12M deal, Corey Perry signed a one-year contract with Los Angeles and defenseman John Klingberg signed with San Jose. These moves certainly reduced the Oilers’ depth, but Edmonton did what it could to retain other potential UFAs on its roster while also finding buy-low options in free agency.

Edmonton secured Trent Frederic with an eight-year extension at $3.85M annually and also re-signed Kasperi Kapanen on a one-year deal worth $1.3M. Both Frederic and Kapanen are solid pros capable of playing in Edmonton’s bottom six, but their signings raise some concerns. The length of Frederic’s contract is excessive, especially for a player who scored eight goals and seven assists in 58 games last season. Meanwhile, Kapanen can go long stretches without producing, as he fluctuates offensively and offers limited defensive value. He’s not suited for the bottom six, but he’ll likely end up there because he’s not consistent enough for the top six.

On the same day as re-signing Kapanen, the Oilers also secured Bouchard with a four-year extension worth $42M. The deal utilized most of the savings from trading Kane and Arvidsson, but it resolved one of the Oilers’ most pressing tasks this summer. Although the salary is eye-popping at $10.5M per year, Bouchard has shown himself to be a top offensive defenseman in the NHL, even if he occasionally makes critical errors.

Once Edmonton had secured Bouchard, it had a clear idea of its available cap space for free agency. It proceeded to sign Andrew Mangiapane to a two-year deal and also added Curtis Lazar. Mangiapane’s contract was for two years at $7.2M and could prove valuable for Edmonton if the 29-year-old can regain his scoring touch. The undersized forward played 81 games last season for the Washington Capitals and had a disappointing year, posting just 14 goals and 14 assists. The Toronto native is three years removed from a 35-goal season and has been a reasonably consistent .5 PPG player throughout his career. He could be an option in the top six for the Oilers and possesses the skill set to fit that role.

Lazar, on the other hand, returns to Edmonton, a city where he played junior hockey in the WHL from 2011-14. Lazar has moved around the NHL during his 11-year career, now playing for his seventh team, the Oilers. Drafted 17th overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, he is primarily known as a solid penalty killer, capable of forechecking, but not producing much offense. He will effectively replace veteran Derek Ryan, who was not re-signed and remains a free agent. Lazar could see some time in the AHL this season, given that he is earning league minimum, and could very well be a 13th forward for the Oilers.

Finally, the Oilers’ last move of the summer was acquiring forward Isaac Howard from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forward Sam O’Reilly. Howard was a first-round pick of the Lightning in 2022 (31st overall). He was dominant last season in the NCAA, posting 26 goals and 26 assists in 37 games for Michigan State University. There is a lot of hope in Edmonton that Howard can jump into the top six and contribute, but there are no guarantees he will, and those expectations might be unrealistic, even though he is a talented prospect.

Considering the overall body of work so far this summer, the Oilers’ changes have been underwhelming. Losing Perry will no doubt hurt, as his net-front presence was crucial, especially in the playoffs, while Kane was a solid contributor in the first three rounds and helped Edmonton reach the Final. Overall, it filled some of the gaps created by player departures, but it does seem like Edmonton lost some toughness and key veterans this summer, which could put it in a tough spot if it faces the Panthers for the third straight year.

The biggest miss so far is probably that Edmonton hasn’t addressed its goaltending issues, and it likely won’t be able to do much about it. Stuart Skinner seems to be the main guy between the pipes again, with Calvin Pickard backing him up. If the Oilers want to make a big boost this season, that’s where they’d get the most value, but because of their limited cap space, any move will likely need to be a lateral one financially, which could be tricky to pull off during the season.

This article first appeared on Pro Hockey Rumors and was syndicated with permission.

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