Three former Oilers minor-leaguers sign with new NHL clubs, two ink deals in Switzerland

A handful of minor-leaguers have left the Edmonton Oilers for new opportunities this off-season.

After free agency opened on July 1, forward Lane Pederson signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. Meanwhile, defencemen Phil Kemp and Ronald Attard landed deals with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche, respectively.

AHL veterans Drake Caggiula and Connor Carrick opted to take their talents overseas. Carrick signed a two-year deal with HC Lugano of the Swiss National League back in May, while Caggiula’s one-year contract with Lausanne HC was reported in June.

Among the five players mentioned, Kemp was the only one drafted by the Oilers. Selected in the seventh round in 2017 from Yale University, the right-handed defender spent five seasons with the Bakersfield Condors and appeared in one NHL game with Edmonton in 2023-24.

Attard, another right-handed defenceman, was acquired back in November from the Flyers in exchange for AHL defender Ben Gleason. The former third-round pick played 59 games with Bakersfield and picked up 17 points.

Pederson joined the Oilers as a free agent on a two-year contract a couple of years ago after not getting qualified as a restricted free agent. He scored 52 points in 66 games for the Condors in 2023-24 but was limited to just 12 points in 18 games in an injury-riddled 2024-25 campaign.

Caggiula signed a two-year contract in the summer of 2023 to join the Oilers for the second time in his career. He appeared in seven games with Edmonton in 2024-25, picking up one assist and getting into one fight. Carrick signed a one-year contract with the Oilers last July and didn’t play any games with the big-league club.

Departed Free Agents:

• F – Connor Brown (NJD)
• F – Corey Perry (LAK)
• F – Drake Caggiula (Europe)
• F – Lane Pederson (PHI)
• D – Ronald Attard (COL)
• D – Connor Carrick (Europe)
• D – Phil Kemp (PIT)
• D – John Klingberg (SJS) 

Re-Signed Free Agents:

• F – Trent Frederic (8 x $3.85M)
• F – Kasperi Kapanen (1 x $1.3M)
• F – Noah Philp (1 x $775,000) 
• D – Evan Bouchard (4 x $10.5M)

Unsigned Free Agents:

• F – Jacob Perreault (UFA – No QO)
• F – Jeff Skinner (UFA)
• F – Derek Ryan (UFA)
• F – Cameron Wright (UFA – No QO)
• D – Travis Dermott (UFA)
• G – Collin Delia (UFA)
• G – Olivier Rodrigue (UFA – No QO)