Oilers sign Vasily Podkolzin to three-year contract extension

It is a little bit of a pay bump for Podkolzin, who is heading into the final season of his two-year contract that he signed with the Vancouver Canucks in April 2024. That deal has a cap hit of $1 million.

Podkolzin came to the Oilers last August, when he was acquired in a trade that sent a fourth-round pick to the Canucks just a few months after signing his latest contract. He was brought to Edmonton not long after the Oilers lost forward Dylan Holloway to the St. Louis Blues.

While Podkolzin might not have brought the same type of offensive firepower that Holloway has, he proved to be a solid player in Edmonton’s top 12. In 82 games, the most he’s played in a single NHL season, the Moscow native scored eight goals and 16 assists for 24 points, totaling 48 minutes in penalties. He also posted three goals and seven assists for 10 points in the postseason, as the Oilers made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, only to lose to the Florida Panthers for the second year in a row.

It was the 24-year-old’s first full season in the NHL since his rookie season with the Canucks in 2021-22, having split the previous two seasons with Vancouver and its American Hockey League affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.

Across four seasons, Podkolzin has appeared in 219 NHL regular-season games, scoring 26 goals and 33 assists for 59 points.

Podkolzin was the only restricted free agent the Oilers had to worry about next season, in terms of players currently on their main roster. The team has several unrestricted free agents to worry about, including captain Connor McDavid, who is still without an extension.