The 2025 NHL Draft was a bit of a let down in many ways. Which is actually fairly impressive, considering how little hype there was for it amongst Edmonton Oilers fans. Some of us probably forgot there was even a draft going on in amongst the plethora of trade rumours making the rounds online over the weekend.
Nevertheless, the Oilers exited the weekend with two more picks than expected, one from the Evander Kane trade and another in a swap with the Nashville Predators. Next year’s fifth for this year’s fifth.
After the second day of the draft wrapped up yesterday afternoon, Oilers General Manager Stan Bowman gave his thoughts on a variety of topics related to the team, put together in a tweet thread from Athletic reporter Daniel Nugent-Bowman. Let’s take a look at what Bowman had to say.
Edmonton Oilers coaching
Wants to extend Knoblauch, who’s entering the last year of his deal
Kris Knoblauch has been one of the most successful coaches in Oilers history, and even in NHL history given this is his first NHL head coaching job. Nearly two seasons behind the bench as he boasts a 94–47–10 record to go along with two Stanley Cup Final appearances. Easily the best coach since Craig MacTavish, and arguments can be made that he is the best coach since Glen Sather.
On that note, it might be time for Knoblauch to be able to pick his own staff. Something that Bowman alluded to being a possibility this offseason.
All assistant coaches contracts are up; an announcement will be made about their statuses next week
The Oilers bench might look slightly different next season with rumours that Glen Gulutzan might be moving back to Dallas, for starters. Mark Stuart showed promise with the penalty kill, but then it regressed this year. Still, he stands as having gotten the best from that unit out of any penalty kill assistant. And it is always a question if Paul Coffey was even still wanting to be on the bench at all.
Pending free agents
There are some key players entering or nearing free agency on the team right now, starting with defender Evan Bouchard. His next contract is a mystery as a variety of different structures have been rumoured over the past week. Something Bowman more or less confirmed here.
Open to different term options on pending RFA Evan Bouchard
Ideally and traditionally, the team would lock up the player long-term at this point. But, due to the substantial projected increase in the salary cap over the coming years, the team and player may be able to agree to take a shorter deal with a lower AAV now to cash in in a few years and make it a future problem.
Have had talks with pending UFAs forwards Brown, Perry, Kapanen, even D Klingberg
All options are on the table to bring players back. We know Connor Brown will be testing free agency, but is not opposed to returning to Edmonton. It seems likely the Oilers will sign Corey Perry and Kasperi Kapanen. John Klingberg is an unexpected addition to this list, but he may still have a fit if the team needs a cheaper depth defender.
Will probably have conversations with Ekholm, Walman, and Kulak about extensions later in the summer; all are entering the last year of their contracts
It is never a bad thing to start these conversations early to gauge where players are at and hopefully get some things off of the to-do list ahead of time. Mattias Ekholm has been one of the biggest parts of the growth of this roster, and it would be amazing to keep him around, although it is easy to see his role on the team shrinking in the immediate future.
Jake Walman has been an incredible fit in the roster and should be re-signed, hopefully swapping cap hits with Ekholm. Brett Kulak has shown himself to be one of the most reliable and versatile depth defenders in the league, Cup Final struggles aside. All three should remain in Edmonton.
Remains eager to have contract talks with McDavid, who’s eligible for a extension this offseason
And of course, the biggest one of them all. Connor McDavid’s extension. Ideally, this would get done very early, akin to Leon Draisaitl’s last offseason. Then we have nothing to worry and speculate about through the offseason. But it does seem likely that McDavid and his side will want to see what Bowman does with the roster this summer before committing. There are clearly holes that need to be filled.
Anticipated roster changes this offseason
How about we get the biggest and most glaring quote out of the way first?
Doesn’t feel it’s imperative to upgrade goaltending; he’s still evaluating the position
An upgrade in net is generally assumed to be the biggest and most important thing for the Oilers to address this offseason. Two consecutive years, Edmonton has dealt with goalie drama in the playoffs. The lack of a clear number one goalie, or a goalie who is even consistent enough to play four playoff rounds, has caused the team far too much turmoil to be left alone.
Two of the biggest options on the market have been taken off, in John Gibson and Joel Hofer. Are we now seeing the beginning of the team and media glazing over the problem to tell us it is all okay for the third consecutive season?
It would be a “great idea” to get another scoring winger but “fit” is a concern
An upgrade on wing in the top-six is need number two. And admittedly, it is nice to see the team actually considering the target’s fit with the roster. Last summer took a quantity over quality approach to filling roster holes, and it appears Bowman wants to be a bit more methodical in finding the right player.
Draisaitl desperately needs a more talented scoring winger to truly capitalize on how good he can be. We’ve already seen some names, like Nikolaj Ehlers, Brock Boeser, and Andrew Mangiapane, tossed around. The options are there. But the cap space will make it tricky to find the perfect fit.
On that note, however:
We’re not opposed to bringing in a big-name player. But I would say we’re not looking at it like we have to do that.
So the Oilers aren’t likely to be big-game fishing this offseason, but if the opportunity arose, they’d go for it. Depending exactly what Bowman means by this could be a touch off-putting. It would be easy to read into this quote that the organization is aiming to fill the holes with more depth players or reclamation projects in the hopes they step their game up.
But it is also just a realistic statement that the Oilers do not have the cap space to be in the market for the top free agents while still properly addressing all of the roster holes.
“No deadline” on trading Arvidsson; talking to teams
It is a massive missed opportunity to not have dealt Viktor Arvidsson at the draft. There were rumblings of interested teams looking for top-nine forwards who would have given up a first-round pick in return for one. But, patience may be key here as the front office properly evaluates these options. It is not necessary to have had a pick in this draft, and there may be value in waiting for teams to line up in the hopes of a bidding war, as well as working with the player. Arvidsson does have a full no movement clause to work with, after all.
Bowman also noted that he is excited about David Tomasek, a recent free agent signing, Matthew Savoie, the team’s top prospect, is poised to make a big jump next season after a stellar season in the AHL, and pending RFA Noah Philp could be brought back and used in a depth role, ideally the fourth line centre role he maybe should have been in through last season.
Overall, this interview gives us a general sense of what we might be expecting for this offseason. There will be changes, but the gravity of said changes may not be as significant as we would have expected or hoped.
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