Record<\/p>\n
28-22-8, 2nd in the Pacific (74.9% playoff probability<\/a>, per MoneyPuck)<\/p>\n Deadline Status<\/p>\n Buyer<\/p>\n Deadline Cap Space<\/p>\n $2.88MM on deadline day, 0\/3 retention slots used, 46\/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia<\/a>.<\/p>\n Upcoming Draft Picks<\/p>\n 2026: EDM 2nd, EDM 3rd, EDM 6th, EDM 7th Trade Chips<\/p>\n With limited draft capital and salary cap limitations, Edmonton will primarily look at moving out roster players to iron out their group. The most obvious candidate is Andrew Mangiapane<\/a>, who has been subject of rumors all year, most recently linked to<\/a> Ottawa as well as Anaheim, Detroit, and Winnipeg. With just 12 points in 49 games, the usually dependable secondary scorer has not been a fit with the Oil, and it seems all but guaranteed he\u2019ll be moved before March 6. The only issue besides his struggles; the 29-year-old is signed through next year at $3.6MM and has trade protection, although he\u2019d surely welcome a fresh start.\u00a0<\/p>\n Elsewhere it\u2019s not as clear. Mattias Janmark<\/a>, a key role player over the past several seasons, has just one goal all year. The veteran\u2019s possession metrics have steadily declined, currently at a 39.4% corsi for in all situations, a career-low at age 33. Similar to Mangiapane though, he\u2019s signed through 2026-27, coming in at a $1.45MM cap hit. Janmark\u2019s value would likely be limited to a 1-1 player swap for another comparable bottom sixer with a similar contract.\u00a0<\/p>\n As their 2026 first round pick is expected to end up in the hands of San Jose from the Jake Walman<\/a> deal, if Bowman decides it\u2019s essentially now or never, he could tap into a prospect pool which is not surprisingly bottom ranked, but offers some interesting names. On the defensive side, Beau Akey<\/a> stands out, the 2023 second round selection a righty with raw offensive potential, just 31 games into his professional career with AHL Bakersfield. NCAA standout Paul Fischer<\/a>, a lefty, figures to have more of a path forward in the organization, assuming the team locks him up on an entry-level contract this spring.\u00a0<\/p>\n Expected to search for supporting cast rather than big game hunting, top prospect Isaac Howard<\/a> is still a name hard to ignore in any trade speculation. The 21-year-old has 31 points in 24 AHL games this season, also making 28 appearances at the highest level in his first pro season. Seemingly a full time NHLer as soon as next year, where his energy and skill are exactly what the team needs, the Oilers would be showing keen patience by holding onto the youngster, rather than falling into the classic short term gains trap. Regardless, if Bowman were to pull off a surprise splash, Howard, along with their 2027 first round pick, would be in the conversation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Team Needs<\/p>\n 1) Third-line Center: Having just turned 36, Adam Henrique<\/a> is no longer a viable option at 3C, should Edmonton make another deep run. The respected veteran has just 10 points all season. Henrique is still dependable at the faceoff dot, but he is currently on LTIR with an undisclosed injury. Even once healthy sometime post-Olympics, an upgrade would be beneficial. Columbus captain Boone Jenner<\/a> would be a tremendous acquisition, but in the midst of a remarkable turnaround, the Blue Jackets may be content to hold onto their longest tenured player. Even so, the team also offers Charlie Coyle<\/a> as an intriguing higher end rental candidate, but his $5.25MM cap hit would be difficult to sneak in even if Bowman put together a compelling trade package. Elsewhere, Winnipeg offers two viable options, the club already being linked to Mangiapane. Vladislav Namestnikov<\/a> emerges as a capable center with similar contract term in a possible swap. Bowman could also try to bring in his former Chicago captain in Jonathan Toews<\/a>, but the 37-year-old is clearly not ring chasing at this stage, and may be hesitant to depart his native Jets in a sentimental final chapter. The future Hall-of-Famer firmly holds all cards in terms of his future.\u00a0<\/p>\n 2) Middle-Six scoring depth:<\/p>\n Somewhat surprisingly it came out just yesterday<\/a> that the team is not likely to target defense, so besides an anchor down the middle in Henrique\u2019s mold, Edmonton also could use a winger to bring what Mangiapane was signed for. If Nashville holds onto their bigger ticket veterans, they could retain on Michael Bunting<\/a>\u2019s expiring $4.5MM, the 30-year-old already known to have a skillset complementary of elite centers from his time in Toronto. Speaking of the Maple Leafs, Bobby McMann<\/a> and his highly manageable $1.35MM cap hit would be a huge addition by the Oilers, filling a Corey Perry<\/a>-type void. However, Toronto will not part with their surprise 20-goal-scorer easily, and Edmonton\u2019s limited offerings make a deal difficult to pull off. Finally, Calgary\u2019s Blake Coleman<\/a> would thrive wearing the blue and orange, but he would require salary retention along with Edmonton likely having to move out Henrique\u2019s $3MM cap hit, not to mention the two clubs being divisional rivals. Dealing Henrique would be difficult as he holds trade protection, and Bowman has limited draft capital sweeteners to work with. Whatever the case, the Oilers have no shortage of names to pursue as they work toward a seventh straight playoff berth.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Image Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the Olympic break upon us, the trade deadline is under a month away. Where does each team…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":459359,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5125],"tags":[54005,198,146,5300,5,4,24,697],"class_list":{"0":"post-459358","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edmonton-oilers","8":"tag-deadline-primer-2026","9":"tag-edmonton","10":"tag-edmonton-oilers","11":"tag-edmontonoilers","12":"tag-hockey","13":"tag-nhl","14":"tag-oilers","15":"tag-pro-hockey-rumors-originals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116077769028953058","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/459359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
2027: EDM 1st, EDM 2nd, EDM 5th, BOS 5th, EDM 6th, EDM 7th<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/USATSI_27456754-200x300.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n