3 Players the Oilers Should Consider Trading Before 2026-27 – The Hockey Writers –

We are officially in the dog days of August, and NHL news is few and far between. The season is just under two months away, and we are gaining clarity on what the Edmonton Oilers’ roster will look like. They made some great moves, including trading Darnell Nurse’s entire $9.25 million contract and adding a young defenceman in the process, while also signing free agent defenceman Ryan Shea. They also solidified their goaltending by acquiring Devon Levi from the Buffalo Sabres and signing free agent Frederik Andersen.

However, there are still moves to be made before the season. They have a lot of players vying for positions, and only so many spots to go around. Therefore, they might need to trade pieces to make room for newly acquired players. With that said, here are three players the Oilers should consider trading before we drop the puck on the 2026-27 season.

Mattias Janmark

Mattias Janmark has become a forgotten member of the forward group. He has not provided much offence since arriving in Edmonton. He has 17 goals in 260 games. However, he has only seven goals in his last 194 games. He had a measly one goal and eight points in 43 games last season, before an injury ultimately ended his campaign. The 33-year-old received season-ending surgery in early March after sustaining an injury on Feb. 25 against the Anaheim Ducks.

The Oilers have a logjam up front. They have 16 forwards who realistically have a shot at cracking the opening night roster, but only 12 will be playing. Janmark, Josh Samanski, Mathieu Joseph, Max Jones, Eduards Tralmaks, and Isaac Howard are likely competing for two roster spots. That could make Janmark expendable. He requires waivers, so the Oilers could look to trade him now and recoup a draft pick. Plus, if the Oilers hope to give Howard an extended look and gain much-needed NHL experience, they need to free up a roster spot.

Janmark can still fill a role for a team. He’s a speedy bottom-sixer who’s an established penalty killer, and teams need that. He also won’t break the bank, as he’s entering the final season of a three-year deal with a $1.45 million cap hit. He has a 10-team no-trade list. His time in Edmonton should be over, and the organization should be headed in another direction.

Isaac Howard

Hear me out. The Oilers should trade Howard only if a clear top-six forward is available. They have a lot of bottom-six options, but they’re still missing that one complementary top-six piece to help Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman. If they can move Kasperi Kapanen down the lineup and insert a legitimate top-six threat, the Oilers are a much deeper and better team.

However, the Oilers could also experiment with Howard in that role. But that would be a gamble because what if it doesn’t work out? He had two goals and five points in 29 games last season. This is the biggest season in franchise history, so there’s no place for uncertainty. If there’s a trade involving Howard that improves the team, they should take it. Therefore, the 22-year-old shouldn’t be untouchable.

Spencer Stastney

The Oilers should definitely trade a defenceman before this season. They currently have eight defencemen on the roster, and will likely keep seven. That means one will either get traded or waived. Spencer Stastney, Ty Emberson, and Shakir Mukhamadullin are competing for two spots, and they all require waivers. Emberson is the cheapest of the bunch, with a $1.3 million cap hit, plus he’s a right shot. Mukhamadullin is a left shot who can play both sides, and he just signed a two-year deal with a $1.75 million cap hit. The Oilers have Mattias Ekholm, Jake Walman, and Ryan Shea who are left shots, so keeping righties, or players who can play the right side, should be the priority. That should make Stastney Expendable.

Stastney was acquired from the Nashville Predators for a third-round pick after the Oilers traded Brett Kulak to the Pittsburgh Penguins in December. He’s a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) and has a $1.525 million cap hit. He was in and out of the lineup last season and was healthy scratched for Edmonton’s final 12 regular-season games and all six playoff games. He recorded two goals and 10 points in 66 games last season, averaging 16:02 per game.

The 26-year-old has a respectable salary, and someone would most likely claim him off waivers because teams need defencemen on reasonable contracts. If he gets waived and claimed, that’s another example of atrocious asset management from Edmonton’s front office. They traded a third-round pick for him, and to get nothing back less than a year later is unacceptable. Therefore, they should find a trade partner before training camp.

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