Oilers Sign Shakir Mukhamadullin To Two-Year Contract

The Oilers have taken care of one of their arbitration-eligible restricted free agents one day before the filing deadline.  Agent Dan Milstein of Gold Star announced (Twitter link) that Edmonton has signed Shakir Mukhamadullin to a two-year, $3.5MM contract ($1.75MM AAV).  PuckPedia adds (Twitter link) that the blueliner will receive $1.55MM in salary this coming season plus a $200K signing bonus with a $1.75MM salary in 2027-28, an amount that will also serve as his qualifying offer at that time.

The 24-year-old is joining his third NHL team already.  A first-round pick by the Devils back in 2020, he never wound up playing a game for them as three years later, he was a key part of the trade that saw New Jersey add Timo Meier from San Jose.  Back on Wednesday, Mukhamadullin was then the key part of the return in the trade that saw Darnell Nurse get moved to the Sharks.

Last season, Mukhamadullin played in 50 games with the Sharks, picking up five goals and seven assists along with 63 blocked shots while averaging 17:09 per contest of playing time.  He also missed time with three separate upper-body injuries.  Still, that was the most single-season NHL action he had, as he came into 2025-26 with just 33 appearances at the top level.

As things stand, Mukhamadullin projects to have a similar role with Edmonton as he did with San Jose, that being one in more of a third-pairing or even reserve role at times.  Mattias Ekholm and Jake Walman return as the top-two left-shot options while Ryan Shea was quickly signed to a five-year deal following the Nurse trade and will slot in ahead of Mukhamadullin on the depth chart as well.  One of them could move over to their off-side to make room for Mukhamadullin or the young blueliner could get shifted to the right to see if that helps earn him more playing time.  The short-term nature of the deal – one that amounts to a second bridge contract – signals that both sides want to get a look at how he’ll fit in before working out a longer-term agreement.  Mukhamadullin will have one year of RFA eligibility remaining when this contract expires.

With this signing, the Oilers now have just under $6.5MM remaining in cap space for the upcoming season, per PuckPedia.  They still have to re-sign forward Colton Dach and defenseman Spencer Stastney, the latter being arbitration-eligible.