June 18, 2025 | 6:08pm ET
TheFourthPeriod.com

OILERS HAVE WORK AHEAD OF THEM

Evander Kane, forward

The Edmonton Oilers fell short of winning the Stanley Cup for the second straight season, this time losing to the Florida Panthers in six games.

With their season now over, the focus quickly shifts to next season and what moves GM Stan Bowman plans on making to improve his club for the 2025-26 campaign.

It has been widely speculated that the Oilers are expected to reach a contract extension with forward Trent Frederic, whom they acquired prior to the trade deadline this season.

Though the goal seems to be getting a deal done, TFP’s David Pagnotta reported negotiations were tabled for after the Stanley Cup Final.

According to Pagnotta, negotiations will resume later this week and both short-term and long-term deals were discussed prior to the playoffs, though an eight-year deal in the vicinity of $28 million to $30 million is expected.

Pagnotta also reported on Wednesday that the Oilers are expected to explore trade options involving forwards Evander Kane and Viktor Arvidsson.

Kane owns a 16-team trade list as part of his contract, while Arvidsson has a full no-movement clause but is open to waiving it for the right environment. Moving one or both players would create additional cap space for Bowman to play with.

The Oilers have $13 million in salary cap space going into next season, but with a big contract coming for star defenceman Evan Bouchard, Bowman will need to be creative in how he navigates his roster – moving Kane and/or Arvidsson would help.

In addition to Frederic, forwards Connor Brown, Jeff Skinner, Kasperi Kapanen and Corey Perry, and defenceman John Klingberg, are also eligible to become unrestricted free agents July 1.