Oilers eyeing another 8-year deal for a d-man, insider speculates. Good idea?
This in from Edmonton Oilers insider Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now, his speculation — and I want to stress this was speculation — that the Edmonton Oilers might be eyeing an eight-year contract extension for d-man Jake Walman, 29.
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Said Stauffer, after first talking about a possible contract extension this summer for Mattias Ekholm: 'There is something that the Oilers can do that nobody else can do, and it maybe might relates more to a guy like Jake Walman. But they could offer an eight-year contract extension, and we have shorter terms coming to the next CBA, which takes place next summer.'
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Stauffer asked Oilers GM Stan Bowman about the possibility of extensions for Ekholm and Walman.
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Said Bowman: 'We've had a couple of preliminary conversations with the agents. And I think that's one of the things that will happen over the next probably six weeks… to see if it's something that lines up well for them and for us. And I'm pretty hopeful that we can do that.'
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Bowman continued: 'When you identify players that you like, that you think there's a future for, and they can help your team, not only in the coming year, but in the years beyond that, then I think it makes sense to try to get something done. So that's going to be something that we do over the next month, month and a half leading into training camp.'
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My take
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1. Jake Walman cost their Oilers a first-round pick in this coming draft. He was well worth the price based only on his play in the 2025 playoffs. He was a solid, tough, two-way d-man in a Top 4 role, most often paired with John Klingberg.
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Walman showed a nasty streak and a wicked shot. He moved the puck smart and true. He got it quickly to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, right on their sticks in full stride. He stood up for his teammates. He was a significant addition to the Oilers.
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For all that, a new eight-year deal for him seems like a stretch, given Walman's age and the aging and performance curves of NHL d-men, who fall off fast in their mid-30s.
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Of course, as mentioned, this eight-year deal notion was just speculation on Stauffer's part but I bet he's not mentioning it if he hasn't heard it from a reliable Oilers source. Even then that doesn't mean it's happening. It means it's a possibility. Maybe it's something meant to stretch out and lower the annual cap hit so that Walman is affordable for the Oilers. But giving a 30 year-old d-man a big-money eight-year deal is a stretch in the NHL, at least if you're expecting that player to perform as a Top 4 d-man for the majority of that deal.
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