Edmonton Oilers’ pending roster decisions mean tough choices for management – The Athletic

The Edmonton Oilers began the 2025-26 season with a long list of injured players. From No. 1 line right winger Zach Hyman, through top-four defenceman Jake Walman, checking winger Mattias Janmark and most recently depth defenceman Alec Regula, the overall thrust of the lineup was altered greatly due to injury.

There was a silver lining. The team had a small window of opportunity that allowed audition time for the likes of David Tomasek, Matt Savoie, Ike Howard and Jack Roslovic on the wings, plus Regula on the right side of the second pairing.

That window is closing, and Oilers management will need to make some moves in the days to come. There are tough choices ahead, and some actual NHL players could be heading out of Edmonton in the next two weeks. Here’s a look.

The pressure points

Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch is under some pressure early in the season. Management provided the coaching staff with a series of options at forward, from Europe, via trade, minor league graduations, and a recent free-agent addition in Roslovic, who needs to play a feature role due to the nature of his contract (described here by Daniel Nugent-Bowman at The Athletic).

Put simply, the Oilers have 10 wingers for eight roster spots. More are on the way. Checking winger Janmark will be back soon, and a 12th (Hyman, who’s really the No. 1 right winger) should return on or around Nov. 1.

This is a critical point in the Oilers’ season among the forward group, and it can have a great and lasting impact. The Oilers debuted wingers Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Magnus Paajarvi and Linus Omark in 2010-11, but had no room for Paajarvi or Omark the following season. It’s important to give players a full shot to show their ability, especially for rookies like Howard and Savoie. For Knoblauch and his staff, it seems an impossible task.

The issue on defence is more clear-cut. Regula, if healthy, appears to have won the No. 6 job on defence. That leaves management to decide which of Ty Emberson or Troy Stecher to expose to waivers (or trade). Injuries are always a worry with defencemen, so the team must be sure of Regula’s health before making a transaction.

The path forward

Coming up with 12 forwards from a group of 16 sounds easy, but who’s heading out? Here’s the list, from most to least likely exit:

• Curtis Lazar, who needs waivers, hasn’t played yet in an NHL game this season, and that makes him an easy name to throw out as an exit option.
• Janmark is a penalty killer and the Oilers need help there, but the GA-60 short-handed (3.63, No. 9 in the NHL entering Thursday night’s game against the New York Islanders) is rock solid. The team is getting along fine without Janmark on the penalty kill, and one of the players being used is Savoie, a rookie.
• Howard is a classic case of a young winger showing improvement but getting squeezed in playing time. In this way, he’s a doppelganger for Paajari in the fall of 2011. Howard is improving as the season wears along, and it’s obvious he has a high level of skill, but this may not be his rookie NHL season based on the numbers. It’s a shame, because he appears to be improving with each game.
• Noah Philp is a right-handed centre on a team that needs one, but he isn’t penalty killing, and that’s necessary for depth centres. He could be waived and sent to the AHL Bakersfield Condors if he clears.
• Roslovic’s contract shows the way. If he can grab consistent playing time and score goals, he’ll stay the season and likely occupy Howard’s roster spot (and a more prominent role). If not, he could be dealt in November.
• Tomasek has been impressive so far and leads the team in high-danger chances. He hasn’t scored yet, so the clock is ticking. However, his performance so far likely gets him a long leash.
• Kasperi Kapanen brings speed, aggressive forechecking and some skill. It’s not impossible to imagine he exits, but it should be considered a long shot.
• Savoie is emerging as a fairly complete winger who can play in all situations. He’s quite secure even though he can be sent to Bakersfield without waivers. He drew two penalties in the game against the Islanders on Thursday night.

There are eight forwards who are going to be in the lineup when healthy: Hyman, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Andrew Mangiapane, Vasily Podkolzin, Trent Frederic and Adam Henrique. That leaves five or six names (depending on how many forwards the team plans to carry) who make the list from the group above.

A reasonable guess as to the identity of those five or six players is Savoie, Kapanen, Tomasek, Roslovic, Philp and possibly Howard. Based on deployment (Lazar hasn’t played any games) and skills duplicated (the power play is running well without Janmark), two veterans could be waived or traded.

Is that what will happen? Probably not.

Risk averse

There are several reasons to believe the exits up front will be Lazar and Howard. Lazar hasn’t played at all; that’s a major tell. Teams usually give veterans a chance to get into the lineup, but the roster crunch is here now, and risking waivers on Lazar is probably an acceptable risk.

Howard goes to Bakersfield because he can. There are no waivers required. Savoie would be a candidate, too, but has shown great utility in his brief time this season. The bet here is that Janmark stays on the roster, and the Oilers coaching staff uses him heavily on the penalty kill. There’s every chance Knoblauch eases the PK minutes for feature offensive players like McDavid and Draisaitl by using Janmark once he’s activated.

Bottom line

The most likely scenario moving forward has the Oilers activating Walman this weekend, with Regula possibly going on IR. Eventually, general manager Stan Bowman will need to make a decision on a defenceman, and the most likely scenario (based on contract, asset cost and deployment by the coaching staff) sees Stecher traded or waived.

The forwards are all stacked and racked until the team makes the call on Roslovic. That may coincide with Hyman’s being activated from LTIR and Howard’s trip to the minors. Lazar or Janmark may also see waivers in this time period, and both could be vulnerable if the team decides to run with fewer than 23 players on the roster.

When all elements of the team are back and locked in, assuming Roslovic wins a job, the depth chart may look like this:

• Goaltenders (2): Stuart Skinner, Calvin Pickard
• Left defence (3): Mattias Ekholm, Darnell Nurse, Brett Kulak
• Right defence (4): Evan Bouchard, Jake Walman (LH), Alec Regula, Ty Emberson
• Centre (5): Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Trent Frederic, Adam Henrique, Noah Philp
• Left wing (4): Andrew Mangiapane, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Vasily Podkolzin, Mattias Janmark
• Right wing (5): Zach Hyman, Jack Roslovic, David Tomasek, Matt Savoie, Kasperi Kapanen

One final note: Managers will take any avenue available when it comes to injuries. It’s wise to note players who haven’t played in some time (Regula) as possible IR candidates. Teams love to avoid waiving NHL defencemen. Bowman grabbed Regula last year, and he didn’t play a shift all year. It’s possible Edmonton doesn’t lose a defenceman to waivers.