Oilers sign former first-round pick to three-year extension

The Edmonton Oilers and Vasily Podkolzin will avoid restricted free agency next summer. The club announced it has signed him to a three-year extension carrying an AAV of $2.95M for a total value of $8.85M. The deal breaks down into a $1M signing bonus and $1.95M base salary each season, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports.

Back in April 2024, Podkolzin had agreed to a two-year, $2M deal with the Canucks that looked to keep the former top-10 pick in Vancouver for another couple of years. He never played a game for the club on that contract, though. After the Oilers lost winger Dylan Holloway to an offer sheet four months later, they moved to recoup some forward depth and acquire Podkolzin from the ’Nucks in exchange for a fourth-round pick. That was a buy-low price for the 2019 draft choice, who had two years of term and four years of team control remaining. He was set to have arbitration rights next summer, but instead will walk to unrestricted free agency in 2029 with this extension.

Vasily Podkolzin reestablished himself with Oilers

In Edmonton, Podkolzin reestablished himself as an NHL regular after spending his final few seasons in Vancouver watching his playing time dwindle. He skated in all 82 games for the first time, supplying an 8-16–24 scoring line with a +1 rating while averaging a career-high 13:13 per game. He spent a good portion of the year up in the top six as a checking presence on Leon Draisaitl’s line, although he more routinely moved to bottom-six duties when the postseason rolled around. The 6’1″, 190-lb Russian led the club with 211 hits in the regular season and finished second among Edmonton forwards with 53 blocks.

Podkolzin, now 24, no longer has the offensive ceiling Vancouver hoped for when they selected him 10th overall six years ago. He’s nonetheless solidified himself as a reasonably valuable middle-six checking presence, although his point production still leaves much to be desired given how much time he saw along Draisaitl at even strength last year. He did score 14 goals in 79 games in his rookie campaign with Vancouver back in 2021-22, though. If he can rediscover that shooting touch, his nearly $3M cap hit over the next few years should be more palatable as the cap continues to rise. If not, that’s a bit of a gamble the Oilers are taking on a type of talent that could be easily replaceable for a lower salary on the free agent market.

The Oilers now have nearly $62M in salary commitments to just 12 players for their 2026-27 active roster. That leaves them with over $42M in space to fill up to 11 jobs — a relatively reasonable target, but a number that will also drop quickly if they manage to extend franchise center Connor McDavid in the near future.