Reviewing the past five Edmonton Oilers trade deadlines

For all of us armchair GMs, the trade deadline is one of the most exciting times of the year. It is when we all congregate online to offer our thoughts and feelings on a team’s direction, who they should be acquiring, and who is on their trade bait board. This year’s deadline is turning into quite a consequential one for the Edmonton Oilers. A team that has been struggling this season to find any form of dominance. Star players, coaches, and managers are calling out the team’s performance.

This is the week big moves can be made, things to shake up the core of the team that clearly is not currently working. Smaller tweaks are more likely midseason than anything substantial, like the already finalized Connor Murphy and Jason Dickinson trades, but we can run wild with hypotheticals nonetheless.

The Oilers have had a general trend of adding a defender and a depth forward. Occasionally, they’ve usually made a move bigger than the one for Murphy, at least in more recent years. But usually these trades are just to shore up the depth. And if Stan Bowman himself is to be believed, the Oilers may be done already and not make any last-minute tweaks. As we head into this Friday’s deadline, let’s take a look back at the past five trade deadlines for the Edmonton Oilers.

2020–21 trade deadline

To Edmonton Oilers: Dmitry Kulikov

To New Jersey Devils: Conditional 2022 fourth-round draft pick

This was the only move made at the 2021 trade deadline, a small move for defensive depth. Dmitry Kulikov came in at a low cost, just a mid-round draft pick. But, he also left very little impact on the team, with two assists in 10 regular season games and no points in three playoff games while averaging around 17 minutes of ice time per game.

Kulikov left the organization that offseason.

2021–22 trade deadline

To Edmonton Oilers: Brett Kulak

To Montreal Canadiens: William Lagesson, Conditional 2022 second-round pick, 2024 seventh-round pick

and

To Edmonton Oilers: Derick Brassard

To Philadelphia Flyers: 2023 fourth-round pick

The Brett Kulak trade turned out to be a gem for the Oilers. Even though the second-round pick gave the Canadiens Lane Hutson, the chance that the Oilers would have drafted him with that pick is slim.

What the Oilers got out of this trade was one of the most stable and reliable defenders they’ve had in years. In Kulak’s entire tenure with the Oilers, from that trade to his departure earlier this season, he did not miss a single game. He was out there every single night making the right plays quietly and doing nearly everything right. He spent plenty of time as a top defender on the team and would seamlessly fit in when bumped up in the lineup.

Kulak spent three full seasons and parts of two others with the Oilers, being a major part of the two Stanley Cup Final teams before being traded earlier this season.

Brassard had an uneventful tenure with Edmonton. He recorded two goals and three points in 15 regular season games, and only saw the ice once in the playoffs before leaving that offseason.

2022–23 trade deadline

To Edmonton Oilers: Nick Bjugstad, Cam Dineen

To Arizona Coyotes: Michael Kesselring, 2023 third-round pick

and

To Edmonton Oilers: Mattias Ekholm, 2024 sixth-round pick

To Nashville Predators: Reid Schaefer, Tyson Barrie, 2023 first-round pick, 2024 fourth-round pick

and

To Edmonton Oilers: Patrik Puistola

To Carolina Hurricanes: Jesse Puljujarvi

The 2024 trade deadline featured what might be the best trade in franchise history. It started with a cap-clearing move, sending Jesse Puljujarvi to the Carolina Hurricanes for the rights to a prospect, Patrik Puistola, who never signed.

Then we got the blockbuster. Mattias Ekholm to Edmonton. The big move on defence that was predicted for months. The move to settle down the defence and find a stabilizing partner for Evan Bouchard. And so far, it has worked wonders.

Ekholm’s impact on the team and the development of Bouchard cannot be understated. He has been a warrior for the Oilers, playing exceptionally well in every situation for his first couple of seasons. Although a severe injury late last season derailed his impact through last spring’s playoff run, and he got off to a slow start this season as a result, Ekholm is still relied on heavily for this team. He is set to enter a three-year extension beginning next season to likely cap off his career.

The other move at this deadline was less impactful. What seemed a fine move at the time to bring in the standard forward depth we are used to seeing from this team’s deadlines turned into a massive disappointment as the prospect headed the other way turned into something the Oilers wish they had right now.

Nick Bjugstad was fine as an Oiler, with six points in 19 regular season games and three more goals in 12 playoff games, but he did not move the needle, nor did he stick around after that season. Cam Dineen has been a stalwart in the AHL since being acquired, with a four-game taste of NHL action late in the 2024–25 season. Michael Kesslering eventually developed into a solid two-way, NHL-level defender with good offensive instincts.

2023–24 trade deadline

To Edmonton Oilers: Adam Henrique, Sam Carrick, Ty Taylor, 2024 seventh-round pick

To Anaheim Ducks: 2024 first-round pick, Conditional 2025 fourth-round pick

To Tampa Bay Lightning: Conditional 2025 fourth-round pick

and

To Edmonton Oilers: Troy Stecher, 2024 seventh-round pick

To Arizona Coyotes: 2027 fourth-round pick

A quieter deadline than the previous season, but still one that helped shape the core of this team. Adam Henrique was targeted to provide veteran leadership and offence to the bottom-six. To add some depth to the penalty kill and an extra face-off option. Unfortunately, the Oilers got him as he began regressing, and being utilized in a low-opportunity role has not helped. Henrique was re-signed for an additional couple of seasons, but his underperformance has gotten him included in trade rumours to the point that he was asked about waiving his no-movement clause, which he declined to do.

Although Troy Stecher spent most of the season following this deadline injured, he was a reliable and underrated part of the defence for the following season. An often overlooked presence, he was stable and finally seemed to offer a partner to Darnell Nurse that quieted his game down. Stecher became the odd-man out earlier this season and was claimed on waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs

2024–25 trade deadline

To Edmonton Oilers: Trent Frederic, Petr Hauser, Max Jones

To Boston Bruins: Max Wanner, 2025 second-round pick, 2026 fourth-round pick

To New Jersey Devils: Shane Lachance

—

To Edmonton Oilers: Jake Walman

To San Jose Sharks: Carl Berglund, Conditional 2026 first-round pick

Last season’s deadline was a mixed bag of results. On one hand, the trade for Jake Walman was fantastic. He has shown to be an excellent addition, providing offensive depth from the blueline and reasonably reliable defensive play. He signed a lengthy extension after the season, though some red flags are already popping up with an injury-plagued season this year.

On the other hand was Trent Frederic. Although on paper, the player is exactly what the team needs from the middle-six forwards. He has done anything but pan out thus far. Expectations were tempered last season as he was injured and recovering from a high ankle sprain, a lingering injury that limited his abilities in the playoffs. But Bowman was quick to sign him to an absurd eight-year extension after the season.

This placed sky-high expectations on Frederic to live up to this deal, which he has most definitely not even come close to achieving in the first year. Three goals, four points, and a sprinkling of healthy scratches in 59 games of this contract. Most nights, he is entirely invisible on the ice. Not a great start when there are still seven years to go.