June 20, 2025 | 8:30pm ET
TheFourthPeriod.com
OILERS CONTINUE TALKS WITH BROWN, FREDERIC
Connor Brown, forward
As the Edmonton Oilers look to regroup for next season and tinker with their roster ahead of the 2025-26 campaign following losses in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, changes to the lineup are expected. How many moves GM Stan Bowman makes, though, is up in the air.
The Oilers will be looking to move out forwards Evander Kane and Viktor Arvidsson, as both enter the final year of their contracts. Beyond that, questions over some of the team’s pending free agents remain.
Edmonton is close to finalizing an eight-year extension with winger Trent Frederic, who played with an ankle injury throughout the playoffs.
“I’m not really thrilled with exactly how I played through the playoffs, but it’s hard to look back,” Frederic told reporters earlier this week. “I have a lot of stuff to work on and I’m excited about that.”
According to TFP’s David Pagnotta, there is still some fine tuning to do on his next contract, but an announcement is expected to be made in the coming days, likely next week. Frederic’s new deal is expected to hover around $3.75 million, per year.
In addition to Frederic, the Oilers are also trying to get forwards Corey Perry and Connor Brown signed to new deals, as well as restricted free agent defenceman Evan Bouchard – though the club’s pending unrestricted free agents currently take priority.
“I just want to win. Hopefully it’s here, and hopefully we can figure something out and get something done,” Perry said on Thursday. “This is a good team and there are some good things ahead.”
Brown, who played with a fractured toe during the Stanley Cup Final, hopes to stay in Edmonton and contract talks between Bowman and his agent, Judd Moldaver, who also represents Oilers captain Connor McDavid, are expected to pick up in the next few days and the Oilers should have a clearer picture on the direction o Brown’s future some time next week.
The Oilers currently have just over $13.162 million in cap space to play with, and they are trying to create an additional $9.125 million by trading Kane and Arvidsson.
Bouchard is expected to command over $10 million, per year, on a long-term extension and that will eat up a significant portion of the club’s cap space.
“I love being here, I want to be here,” Bouchard said. “We’ll see where talks go in the next few days when I get home.”