In today’s NHL rumour rundown, we look at the Edmonton Oilers’ 50/50 raffle situation, which has been paying into a private company owned by the Oilers Entertainment Group (OEG). Elsewhere, numbers don’t seem to be too far apart with Anthony Stolarz and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Finally, we look at the plan for the Pittsburgh Penguins when it comes to trading some of their top players.
Oilers’ 50/50 Raffle Pays Katz Group $81 Million
In a study from Brett McKay of Investigative Journalism Foundation (IJF), and first reported by our Jesse Courville-Lynch, it was revealed through financial audits that the Oilers’ 50/50 raffle has been paying part of the charitable proceeds to a private company called “Win50”, owned by the Oilers ownership group, OEG.
McKay reported that from 2021 to 2024, the organization had paid $81 million into “Win50” for what was labelled as “licensing and rights” fees. With that $81 million and other costs, McKay stated that less than 20 percent of the total fundraising through the Oilers’ 50/50 raffle goes to charitable causes.
Related: NHL Rumors: Barkov Out, Reimer Joins Maple Leafs, Walman Close
There was a video, posted by McKay on X, where he stated that the Oilers Foundation told him that Win50 pays all expenses to run the raffle, and that they are the “cost of doing business”, but would not state how much profit the subsidiary company earned.
Stolarz & Maple Leafs Not Far Off From Extension
With talks surrounding Stolarz and an extension with the Maple Leafs, there is now some clarity in terms of what both sides are looking for.
When training camp opened, during Stolarz’s initial media availability, he noted that he is looking to get paid fairly and would like an extension done before the season starts. Multiple sources have noted that the Maple Leafs would also like to get an extension done with the goaltender.
Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz (Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images)
TSN’s Chris Johnston stated that Stolarz is looking at Kevin Lankinen and Karel Vejmelka getting five-year deals worth between $4.5 million and $5 million per season. That is a fair landing point for Stolarz, especially given his excellent stats over the past two seasons. While Stolarz had impeccable stats last season, it was only across 34 games, which was a career-high.
The Maple Leafs are reportedly not as big on taking a five-year risk on Stolarz and would prefer a three-year deal. While Stolarz has been able to do exactly what has been asked of him in each of the past two seasons, one of which was with the Florida Panthers, there is no evidence that he can do it in a bigger role.
With Joseph Woll out for an indeterminate amount of time, Stolarz is going to be leaned on heavily and will truly be tested. Johnston finished his segment on Stolarz by stating, “I believe both sides are pretty committed to getting a deal done”.
Rust, Rakell, and Karlsson Trade Talks To Pick Back Up
One of the biggest stories of the offseason was the potential moves the Penguins could make. While Sidney Crosby talks will always lead the way, regardless of the odds of it actually happening, there are three players to keep an eye on as the season gets underway.
Josh Yohe of The Athletic did a recent mailbag where he was asked about when some traction on these deals may begin to pick up again. (from “Penguins mailbag: Why did Sidney Crosby’s agent say that? What’s a successful season?”, The Athletic, Sept. 25, 2025)
Yohe first cited that he believes that the comments from Pat Brisson regarding Crosby’s future were in part as a way to communicate to general manager Kyle Dubas that the hope is that Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust are not traded.
That trio will make for a good top line, and while the Penguins are looking like a bottom-of-the-standings team this season, that is still a very strong trio. Taking the talent away from Crosby’s wings could be a difficult decision to make for Dubas.
Yohe would later write that he believes that trade talks surrounding Rakell, Rust, and Erik Karlsson will likely pick up as the season begins. The goal for the Penguins is to rebuild the team and pipeline. That is going to happen through the draft in most cases with this team, and with Gavin McKenna leading the way in the draft stocks, the Penguins have likely have their eye on him and the first-overall pick this season.
Trading their top players isn’t going to be easy, but Dubas is going to have to decide what is more important between improving the team long-term and keeping Crosby as happy as possible in this stage.
