Every playoff, there is a player who unexpectedly becomes a major contributor to a long playoff run. In Oil Country, that player is synonymous with Fernando Pisani, who became an Edmonton Oilers’ hero after his his 14-goal performance in the 2006 playoffs.
I tried to predict the most likely winners for the Oilers the last two years, with mixed results. In 2024, Connor Brown became a fan favourite with solid play, but six points in 19 games aren’t anywhere near Pisani’s production. Granted, of all the candidates, Warren Foegele led with eight points—again, not quite fitting with the theme of the award.
Last year, I didn’t nominate Corey Perry, whose 10 goals in 22 games fit the criteria. However, can you really say that a former Hart Trophy winner is an unheralded, unexpected player to perform in the playoffs? Vasily Podkolzin scoring 10 points in 22 games was solid, but perhaps Kasperi Kapanen scoring six points in just 12 games, including the overtime series winner over the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round, is the one who won it last year.
This season, there are a lot of new players who could play big roles for the team, such as Jack Roslovic and Matt Savoie. However, I don’t think too many people would consider them putting up points a huge surprise, at least not in the sense that Pisani’s performance was.
Here are the players I think who could be bigger offensive contributors than most think this postseason.
Josh Samanski
Josh Samanski has seen his role on the Oilers grow since playing his first NHL game on January 26, 2026, including even playing as the second-line centre for a spell during Leon Draisaitl’s injury absence.
While four points in 24 games, along with the fact that it appears he will be on the fourth line, it doesn’t appear to be a recipe for offensive success in the playoffs. The fourth line of Samanski, Colton Dach, and Trent Frederic have looked good together to end the season. They certainly give a “bash brothers” type of vibe that could easily result in some sustained depth scoring.
Granted, it appears that Samanski is not going to be in the lineup to start the playoffs, but he has been too good this year not to get a chance at some point.
Colton Dach
If I’m going to utilize the chemistry with his linemates to choose Josh Samanski, I kind of have to pick Colton Dach as well (I picked Frederic last year, so I will refrain from doing so again this year).
Dach has been productive since the Oilers acquired him at the trade deadline, scoring two goals and four points in just eight games.
While he hasn’t produced much in his short NHL career to date, Dach did show a bit of a scoring touch in the AHL, with 26 points in 33 games last year. In addition to the chemistry with Samanski and Frederic, the fact that those two are solid defensively should leave Dach with the ability to play a bit more of an offensive/forechecking role, which could subsequently result in some unexpected production.
Curtis Lazar
Curtis Lazar is currently practicing as the 13th forward going into the playoffs, so that’s not very conducive to being able to provide down-the-lineup production (although if he did do that from that position, it would be the definition of unexpected).
That being said, the coaching staff has shown confidence in Lazar, and you can certainly expect him to be the first man up in the event of a lineup change being needed.
Lazar has never lived up to his first-round pick status, as his career high was seven goals and 25 points in 71 games two years ago. This year, he has six points in 41 games for the Oilers, not exactly lighting it up.
But when he was a member of the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2011–12, Lazar did pull a Pisani. He went from 11th on the team in regular season scoring to leading the team in goals and tied for first in points in the playoffs on the way to a Western Hockey League championship. So maybe history will kind of repeat itself, just in the big leagues instead?
Darnell Nurse
I picked Brett Kulak as a defenceman last year, so I figure I might as well do the same again.
While a guy making $9.25M and playing over 20 minutes a game should not be considered someone to provide a surprise and unexpected large contribution, Nurse is the rare player who does, in fact, fit the criteria.
Nurse is by far one of the most criticized players on the team, and he’s coming off his worst offensive regular season performance of his career as a full-time defenceman.
Come playoff time, Nurse has not been much of an offensive contributor the last two years, scoring just six and eight points. Overall, he has just 29 points in 92 career playoff games.
Part of this is that, with Evan Bouchard, Jake Walman, and Mattias Ekholm, the focus for Nurse in the playoffs is on playing defence. That would be the case even more so this year, with him being paired with Connor Murphy on what is looking to be a much more defensive pairing for the team. That being said, playing with Murphy could actually be the reason Nurse sees an increased offensive performance this year, as having that guy who can properly cover Nurse could free him up to take some more offensive risks.
Is it likely? Probably not. But hey, Nurse has shown an offensive touch in the past (part of what landed him that massive contract), so it certainly is possible.
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