The Edmonton Oilers' GM faces a summer that could be franchise-defining: 9 Things
The Edmonton Oilers are about to enter a phase of the McDavid era that could end up franchise-defining.
They remain in a Stanley Cup window. Only this year McDavid is on the final year of his existing contract. And he, quite understandably, wants to win.
So, how does Stan Bowman make that happen?
Does he play 'small ball', and tweak the roster around the edges?
Or does he swing for the fences?
That and more in this edition of…
9. You may have noticed that I seldom report on rumors in this space. I have built a career in journalism based on facts I can back up. And I also understand that players have lives and families. They signed up to deal with the real stuff. But not the rest of it.
8. I sometimes worry about the Americanization of our game. At others, I think our game is doing just fine. 88 Canadians were drafted Friday/Saturday, the most of any nation by far. The U.S. was second at 50. Sweden finished third at 27.
7. Former Edmonton Oilers forward Marc Habscheid has returned from a short tour in Austria and has been hired as head man of the Red Deer Rebels. I have known Marc since he was in minor hockey. His Mom and Dad were some of the finest people you would ever meet. And the apple does not fall far from the tree.
6. I see Don Cherry at the age of 91 has signed off from his podcast for the final time. When just getting started in Sports broadcasting the very most common question I got was 'What is Don Cherry really like'. And I told them the truth: That he had treated this kid from Saskatchewan as well as you could possibly imagine. Happy retirement, Mr. Cherry.
5. In addition to the five young men who joined the Edmonton Oilers organization on Saturday via the NHL draft, a few other names have been added on over the past week. Matt Copponi inked a two-year AHL contract. The BU grad had two assists in three games for the Condors at the end of last season. Rhett Pitlick signed for two-years after 0-6-6 in 6 GP for Bakersfield. Rem Pitlick, a veteran of 132 NHL games, has a one-year deal. Solid organizational depth.
4. Trent Frederic will be an Edmonton Oiler for a very long time. His eight-year, $3.85m deal assures us of that. I am on record as believing Frederic can be an impact player here. I was fine with the money. I was shy of the eight-year term as his player type is more susceptible to injury. But I give Stan Bowman credit for structuring his no-move clauses the way he did toward the end of the contract. It significantly reduced the risk. The opportunity for Frederic with Evander Kane moving on is substantial…even critical.
3. If you live on the West Coast as I do the white-hot response around Vancouver to the Evander Kane trade was unavoidable. I get that Kane is not everyone's cup of tea and that is fine. But some people sure seem to want to judge the guy for way more than what he does on the ice. When healthy, Evander Kane was an impactful and productive Edmonton Oiler. I get the business reasons why the Oilers had to move him along. But Kane and his unique set of skills will not be easy to replace. And he was terrific in the Edmonton community. More on the Canucks in a minute…
2. Stan Bowman alluded on Saturday to the Oilers' coaching staff going forward. It sounds very much like an extension will be in the works for Kris Knoblauch which he richly deserves. He is 94-47-10 in the regular season since arriving, 29-18 in the post-season. I do not think it would be ideal to have an entirely new assistant coaching staff. But I hope for Glen Gulutzan's sake that he gets the Head Coaching job in Dallas. Mark Stuart is a smart guy but his PK units had a rough year. I do not know how much longer the legendary Paul Coffey wants to do this and maybe a more modern communicator would be a fresh change. And does the assessment of Edmonton's goaltending include Dustin Schwartz?
1.As Stan Bowman goes about re-shaping the roster for another run toward the Stanley Cup Finals, two names from Vancouver pop up a lot in the on-line chatter: Brock Boeser and Thatcher Demko. The Canucks have not been able to get Boeser signed on a new deal and so he is soon to become a UFA. And he has since been linked to multiple teams including Edmonton. Hard not to imagine him alongside Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl. I would have no trouble with the fit or the expected $8m+ contract. But other suitors have the required cap space. And I think the Wild would go after the Minnesota boy aggressively. Maybe he is a long-shot for Edmonton.
Then there is Demko. He is in the final year of a five-year, $5m deal. The Canucks have been trying to extend him but that too has been elusive. If Vancouver cannot sign him, it seems likely they would move him. Now, I have a lot of respect for Demko. When healthy he is a Top ten NHL goalie. And he has also been linked to Edmonton. Would the American puck stopper prefer a U.S. market like Philadelphia or San Jose over a winner? How major of a concern is Demko's brittleness the past couple seasons? And just like with Boeser, there is a big cap consideration.
On one hand, the Oilers are close…really close. If one takes the emotion out of the equation, there are just a few nips and tucks away from getting over the top. Either of these players would be major facelift. And an expensive one at that. And look: I think the reality of either of them choosing Edmonton is relatively remote. But the possibilities at the very least help pose an important question:
Does Stan Bowman have the ammunition to go big game hunting in this way? And even if he does, would either one of these trophies be the one that will eventually lead to the other, 'bigger' one?
Now on Bluesky @kurtleavins.bsky.social. Also, find me on Threads @kleavins, Twitter @KurtLeavins, Instagram at LeavinsOnHockey, and Mastodon at KurtLeavins@mstdn.social. This article is not AI generated.
LEAVINS: Oilers elect Tommy Lefreneiere as first pick of 2025 NHL Draft
STAPLES: The Oilers add size and skill with a German-born prospect
LEAVINS: Edmonton Oilers draft rock-solid D-man in the third round
STAPLES: The Oilers get a new goalie…but maybe not THE goalie
LEAVINS: Oilers nab late-round prospect with NHL bloodlines
Bruce McCurdy, 1955-2025.
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Whether they're intent on managing expectations locally, or more actively recalibrating their short-term goals in light of their options and the sky high prices in free agency and on the trade market, that's the balance the Canucks are attempting to judiciously weigh as the clock ticks down toward July 1. Every time I ask my industry contacts about pending unrestricted free agent Pius Suter and what his market value could look like, the number gets a little bit higher. It's like the opposite of Jose Canseco's 40 time. What was $3.2 million ('he could double his salary') at the deadline, rather quickly became '$4 million or more' after Suter's 'ka-ching' goal-scoring run late in the season. Now, over the past two weeks, the conversation has morphed from 'maybe $4.5 million with term,' climbing all the way to between $4.5 million and $5 million, which is the figure an executive on Sunday evening suggested that Suter could realistically land on the open market. And that was before the new Morgan Geekie comparable. Advertisement Clearly, the market has broken heavily in Suter's favour. Not only have centres continued to demand a significant premium on the trade market and at the draft table, but most of the older pivots with name-brand value — Matt Duchene, Claude Giroux, John Tavares, Brock Nelson and Sam Bennett — have already extended with their teams. Outside of Mikael Granlund, Suter is probably the most credible top-six centre option still unsigned as July 1 approaches. It's also worth noting that Suter scored more goals this season (25) than Granlund did (22). The Canucks have remained in contact with Suter's camp throughout this process, but the two sides haven't been grinding away to find common ground. Given Vancouver's inability to land a significant centre upgrade on the trade market during draft weekend, however, Monday is shaping up to be a key day in determining whether or not Suter will ultimately make it to market this week. For the Canucks, it's last call on Suter, and I wouldn't be surprised if Vancouver took one final run at retaining the versatile, productive forward, with an understanding that he's surely gone if he makes it to market on Tuesday. The Canucks have always been big fans of Suter as a player and person. He's earned a significant raise and is coming off a career year. The conversation really centres on that. Was it just a career year, a one-off, or a new level of performance that Suter is likely to be able to sustain? How the Canucks ultimately decide to answer that question will determine their willingness to meet Suter's price at the 11th hour. If I were to handicap this one, it seems more likely than not that Suter will go to market. The door remains open just a crack, however, and I do get the sense that Vancouver will engage Suter's camp one last time on Monday before the door shuts for good. Advertisement By 2 p.m. PT, the Canucks will have to tender qualifying offers to their 10 pending restricted free agents to maintain their right of first refusal. We've already reported that goaltender Nikita Tolopilo will receive a qualifying offer, and there's a variety of higher-profile restricted players like Aatu Räty, Max Sasson and Arshdeep Bains who are obvious tap-ins to be qualified before the deadline. However, there are a couple of organizational depth players that the Canucks have wrestled with whether or not to qualify ahead of the deadline. I think we can take that as an indication that at least some of the 10 pending RFAs won't be qualified. Players who aren't qualified will become UFAs when the market opens on Tuesday. There's a tricky balance that the Canucks are going to try to maintain in the days ahead. This is a club that wants to improve short term, of course, they're the Canucks. I have begun to get the sense, though, in talking through offseason planning with team sources, that there's also an increasing internal recognition that this team is in transition. A realization that, perhaps, exercising some patience may be required. That recognition is in obvious tension with the fact that there is a lot of pressure, both in the Vancouver market and structurally on the Canucks, to find a way to take a big swing and connect on landing a difference-maker to improve this team. To excite this market. To convince Quinn Hughes to stay. But the Canucks want to be mindful of not doing something just to do something. Especially if that 'something' costs them an amount or an asset that they would view as reckless. Based on what team sources told The Athletic on Sunday, there appear to be moves that the Canucks could make to improve this team short-term. However, the most worthwhile among those options could cost them a key asset like their 2026 first-round pick, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Tom Willander or defender Elias Pettersson. Advertisement That's not a price that Vancouver has been willing to pay. I even get the sense that it's a price the Canucks are unlikely to be willing to pay, period, unless the return is genuinely transformative. We'll have to see if the significant pressure and desire to improve wins out over the rational plan to be disciplined. For what it's worth, the Canucks do expect the trade market to shake loose somewhat in the days and weeks ahead, especially as some teams move money around to facilitate major acquisitions. That won't necessarily apply to every team, but management appears to be keeping close tabs on these types of situations in case a scenario presents itself, one that would permit the Canucks to land a short-term, contributing player at a more manageable acquisition price. In the event, which has been more probable than not for weeks, that both Suter and Brock Boeser walk as unrestricted free agents on Tuesday, I'm hearing that the Canucks will be shopping for a centre when the market opens. The Canucks would need to send cap commitments out the door to really get into the bidding on Granlund. While I believe that Vancouver would have some interest in the player, all things being equal, breaking the bank to add him doesn't seem to be an especially probable outcome. Even with a player like Jack Roslovic, a slick-skating, right-handed forward who can play centre and who the Canucks have kicked the tires on in the past, I expect that the market will price out their interest. The Canucks, it seems, are prepared to roll with Filip Chytil and Räty as top-nine centres to open next season, but I'd also look for the team to be linked to names like Radek Faksa. Even assuming Vancouver is able to stay disciplined and focus on the long view, the Canucks will still look to strengthen down the middle this week. They just may be looking somewhat further down their lineup than they had hoped to. (Photo of Pius Suter: Simon Fearn / Imagn Images)
