Hockey is all about comings and goings, so after the sad handshake line in Florida last June, and the subsequent loving hugs for his Edmonton Oilers buddies, it was going, going, gone for Connor Brown.
Much like another valuable role player Warren Foegele the year before in late June after the Panthers ended the Oilers’ first Stanley Cup dream in south Florida. They couldn’t afford the valuable Foegele in free agency and he left for rival Los Angeles, and it was the same story with the energy winger Brown, who went to New Jersey.
The Oilers liked both players but didn’t have the money in free agency, spending it on Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson in 2024 and then Andrew Mangiapane and Trent Frederic last July 1. Mangiapane is being shopped with no takers yet and Frederic hasn’t found his footing, at all. In hindsight, always 20-20, regrettable moves, letting Brown and Foegele walk, economics aside.
The Oilers never really entertained bringing Foegele back, even after a career-best 20 goals and 41 points. There weren’t substantive negotiations. They had other fish to fry, like re-upping UFA Adam Henrique.
In Brown’s case, the Oilers were looking for a top-six winger and hoped that might be Mangiapane, and signed him for two years last July. Plus, they likely weren’t going four years on Brown like the Devils did. The dollars were fine ($3 million AAV), the term, not so much, for Brown, who turned 32 last week.
Brown has nine goals and 17 points with Jersey halfway through the season after he put up 30 points (13 goals) in Oilers regular season last year and nine more points in their 2025 playoff run. He wouldn’t flat-out say he knew his Oilers days were over at the final whistle after the Panthers put the Oilers out in Game 6 of the Final. But, this is a man who could read balance sheets as much as tea leaves with the opening of free-agency a few days later.
“Bouch (Evan Bouchard) and Drai (Leon Draisaitl) had new deals (kicking in) and I kind of understood the business side of things,” said Brown, who was a playoff hero with his linemate and penalty-killing sidekick Mattias Janmark.
“Sometimes it’s tough (saying goodbye to players) when you have success but that’s the way it works. Some guys get squeezed out. I’m just grateful for my time in Edmonton. No hard feelings, at all,” said Brown, who spent two seasons here.
“It’s such a storied franchise, with so many great players who’ve come through this organization. Real honour to wear the Oiler sweater.
“Playing in front of these fans (again) will be fun, they’re really passionate. We developed a bit of a bond. It wasn’t exactly a straight line when I came here (as a free-agent from Washington). Bit of a slow start here and picked it up with good playoff runs with some success in the spring” said Brown, who isn’t exaggerating about the fan love.
They gave him a standing ovation and littered the ice with ball-caps after he went 72 games without a goal—his time in Washington, then here—so overjoyed were they that he finally scored one after struggling, coming off major knee surgery.
“I’m playing against a lot of old buddies tonight. These are ones you have circled.”
Brown was the ultimate third-line winger every NHL team needs, especially in the playoffs, when the top two lines are often equalled out by the opposition’s best shooters five-on-five, and you’re searching for offence elsewhere.
New Jersey Devils right wing Connor Brown (16) looks to pass the puck around Carolina Hurricanes left wing Eric Robinson (50) in the second period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Newark, N.J.
So, while the Oilers have a third-line right now that’s energetic and full of promise, it’s still very much a wait and see over the long haul. Jack Roslovic has been in the middle for rookies Ike Howard and Matt Savoie but Roslovic’s history suggests he’s better on the wing. And the two kids remain a work in progress..
They do miss Brown’s infectious play, getting in on the forecheck, his speed, his ability to get the bench up with a strong shift. Jersey was looking for the same thing in free agency and Devils’ coach Sheldon Keefe was likely pumping Brown’s tires after coaching him in the AHL for Toronto’s farm club when he was with Marlies before moving up to the Maple Leafs. Keefe, who also coached Zach Hyman in the minors, liked Brown’s work-rate, also his ability lead in his own way.
“He’s been outstanding for us, so important, the role he plays, his ability to move up and down the line-up,” said Keefe. “Probably his personality and his leadership skills have been the biggest asset for us. He’s scored big goals and done all that but his experience and leadership…I coached him in the American League before he got to the NHL and those traits were very apparent as a young player.
“Now he’s got that much more experience, especially here in Edmonton, being on the verge of the Stanley Cup. It’s been great to him, particularly with the up-and-down season he’s had. He’s been a constant, lots of responsibility and he brings a little extra juice,” said Keefe.
Curtis Lazar hits 600 games
While Brown was saying hello to his former Oiler teammates Tuesday, Curtis Lazar was doing the same with his Devils’ buddies after playing there last season. And it comes on the night Lazar is playing his 600thNHL game.
“I’m glad it didn’t come on the same night as Nuge’s 1,000th,” he laughed.
Like this was Nugent-Hopkins night and nobody else’s.
Nugent-Hopkins got a silver stick for hitting 1,000.
What does the valuable role-player, fourth-line centre Lazar get for 600?
“A wooden stick,” a media fellow joked?
“A Sherwood?”
The Edmonton Oilers’ Curtis Lazar (20) celebrates his goal against the Nashville Predators during second period NHL action at Rogers Place, in Edmonton Tuesday Jan. 6, 2026.
All kidding aside, any time you get 600 NHL games, this is an achievement. Lazar is doing a bang-up job as a strong, hard-working centre, on the PK, in the face-off circle. He’s been a solid NHLer for a long time.
And when he plays, the Oilers win.
“It’s nice having Curtis in our line-up and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that our record is better when he’s in.” said Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch. “We’ve always been confident on what we’re going to get from Curtis and when he came out of the line-up a few times it was more about giving other guys opportunity.
“He helps on the penalty-kill and he takes a lot of defensive zone face-offs and that reduces the workload for guys like McDavid and Draisaitl who don’t have to start in the defensive zone as often. They can start in the offensive zone where they are more dangerous, putting them to their strengths.”
This ‘n that
Oilers winger Kasperi Kapanen, who has a lower-body injury after catching a rut and falling hard into the boards Sunday against St. Louis, skated Tuesday morning. He’s out at least a week, according to Knoblauch. His unavailability and with the Oilers carrying three goalies on their roster and squeezed cap room, it meant Oilers went with 11 forwards with Alec Regula dressing as a seventh D.
Jersey defenceman Luke Hughes, who hurt his shoulder in Calgary, is “out for some time” but has remained with the team on their road trip.
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