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Two Oilers Land on Worrying NHL List Ahead of 2026-27 Season
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- Two Oilers Land on Worrying NHL List Ahead of 2026-27 Season
Evan Bouchard of the Oilers Getty
It's been an offseason of change for the Edmonton Oilers, who not only made meaningful switches behind their bench but also said goodbye to several players including Adam Henrique, Curtis Lazar, Jack Roslovic, Darnell Nurse, Calvin Pickard and Connor Ingram.
The Oilers fell short in their quest to make a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, and they feel that the subsequent hiring of former Stanley Cup-winning head coach Mike Babcock could be the solution.
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While the Oilers have arguably the best value contract in the NHL right now thanks to the eye-opening discount that Connor McDavid gave them in his short two-year extension, Edmonton also unfortunately has a pair of players who landed on a worrying ranking list.
Two Edmonton Oilers Players Were Included In A Ranking Of The NHL's Worst Contracts
According to NHL Insider Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic, the contracts of forward Trent Frederic and defenseman Jake Walman rank among the 10 worst in the NHL.
Frederic is signed to an eight-year, $30.8 million contract, while Walman is signed to a seven-year, $49 million deal.
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Luszczyszyn had this to say about Frederic:
"The problem is that Frederic's own performance last year dropped him even further below that line, where he's now firmly in fourth-line territory. And not a quality fourth-liner either. Frederic had just seven points in 74 games last season and was a real drag at five-on-five. His contract now feels like a complete anchor where he's being paid nearly $4 million to be basically replacement level."
"The question now is whether Frederic can return to form. He isn't that far removed from third-line territory, which was part of the bet the Oilers made when they signed him. The hope was Frederic would return to that level when healthy; instead, Edmonton saw him drop further toward the abyss."
Last season, Frederic scored just four goals with three assists in 74 games played.
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Dom Luszczysyn Was More Forgiving To Jake Walman's Deal
When discussing Walman's contract, Luszczyszyn began by saying that it initially looked as though he would be a perfect fit on the Edmonton blue line, and that there's still room for improvement.
He wrote:
"The level he showed in 2024-25 looked truly high-end and he looked like a perfect fit within the Oilers system to close the season and in the playoffs. The problem is how erratic Walman's annual output has been over the past four seasons; he might be one of the league's most inconsistent players. That means the Oilers bought him at a high, expecting a No. 3 for a majority of the deal. Walman played far below that level in 2025-26, enough to put him in No. 4 territory going into 2026-27 — with a trajectory well below what his paycheck entails.
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Walman's history suggests that some patience should've been exercised, perhaps, but a large onus on Walman's placement on this list currently falls on him. He didn't hold up his end of the bargain immediately after signing."
Walman was limited to 53 games last season, and scored eight goals with 12 assists.
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