Oilers, Trent Frederic focusing on long-term extension

The Oilers and pending UFA winger Trent Frederic have had preliminary discussions on a max-term eight-year contract extension for the bottom-six forward, Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal said Wednesday. Conversations on an extension began earlier this month but were tabled during the Stanley Cup Final. Those talks will resume this week after last night’s loss, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period writes, adding “there’s a pathway to a deal.”

Even with a likely low price point per season, that level of commitment would be jarring for a player of Frederic’s skill set. We’ve seen longer-term deals being handed out to bottom-six wingers with some scoring upside and a physical edge in recent years. William Carrier, Logan O’Connor, Mathieu Olivier, and Miles Wood have all landed long-term extensions or free agent commitments in the post-COVID era, and Frederic certainly fits that profile.

None of those players received the maximum available term, though, and they were all coming off breakout or otherwise strong platform years. That’s not the case with Frederic. Injuries limited him to 58 regular-season games, including just one with Edmonton after they acquired him from the Bruins in a three-team deal before the trade deadline. When dressed, he logged an 8-7–15 scoring line and a -16 rating, a career-low. While he didn’t see a decline in deployment from his strong 2022-23 and 2023-24 showings in Boston, he produced just 0.26 points per game after averaging 0.40 over the prior three years.

The Oilers are of the belief that’s enough of a track record to secure a long-term commitment and, likely, a role as a third-line winger for the foreseeable future. He did have back-to-back seasons of 17 and 18 goals and a career-high 40 points with the Bruins not too long ago. Two years of that level of production isn’t a huge track record, but an affordable price point could be an appealing proposition for the Oilers to have him secured in case he reaches that output again.

It would also be a worthy bet on Frederic’s part to land some long-term financial security throughout his prime, something that’s not usually attainable for players routinely averaging between 11 and 13 minutes per game. He saw 11:24 of ice time for the Oilers in the playoffs, recording a 1-3–4 scoring line in 22 games and ranking fourth on the team with 85 hits.

While the Oilers’ stars obviously did the heavy lifting, a few depth forwards had decent possession impacts in the playoffs. Frederic wasn’t one of them. His 45.2% share of shot attempts at even strength was second-worst on the club among players who played all 22 playoff games, ahead of only Adam Henrique’s 44.7%. He also saw no special-teams deployment.

It’s likely they view Frederic as a younger, more stable, and more affordable long-term replacement for higher-priced veterans like Viktor Arvidsson and Evander Kane, both of whom could be moved this summer to free up cap space following injury-plagued regular seasons of their own. Still, it’s fair to question what purpose an eight-year commitment, which would take Frederic through his age-35 season, serves that a five-to-six-year deal doesn’t. The likelihood of Frederic still being in the NHL, and potentially even providing some positive value near the end as the salary cap rises, is exponentially higher with the latter option.