Over the last two summers, the Edmonton Oilers have invested heavily in veteran wingers. The summer of 2024 saw Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner added in the wee hours of free agency on July 1. One year later, Andrew Mangiapane was brought on board. All three players disappointed, despite being veterans who were famous for things they did previously to help their teams win. The Oilers deployment of these veterans was less than ideal, so investing more money in talent that the coaching staff doesn’t use is inefficient.

Oilers general manager Stan Bowman can look back on the last two free-agent summers (he wasn’t GM when Arvidsson and Skinner were signed) and contemplate why those players were available. The age of all three players (Mangiapane was 29, the other two past 30) and the willingness of each player’s team to let them loose may have been a tell.

In the era of the salary cap, teams pay full price for players in their most productive seasons, but walk away from veterans when they reach the tipping point and begin to deliver less than optimal performance. In free agency, the birth certificate is an important factor.

For Bowman and the Oilers, free-agent signings should be few and include players who are under 30. The Oilers have 10 contracts that include no-trade or no-movement clauses; adding more to the pile is a bad idea for an aging roster. There will be temptation for Bowman; there are several 30-plus players who could help the team win the Stanley Cup. The fewer 30-plus contracts with no-trade language, the better.

Edmonton has $16.5 million in cap room, according to PuckPedia, which sounds like a lot of walking-around money. However, there are big holes to fill. Based on the current roster and the salary cap limits, Bowman’s best approach may be returning several of the team’s own UFAs and then buying free agents under 30 who could fill specific roles.

The listAlex Tuch

Tuch, 30, is at the top of the list. The Buffalo Sabres will be first in line to sign their brilliant scoring right winger, and chances are the 33-goal scorer isn’t going anywhere. If he reaches free agency, every team in the league will be interested. Tuch could do brilliant work with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and is young enough to deliver through the end of this decade. Consider him a real target, but a long shot to sign in Edmonton. The club would have to move a big contract out to make it happen.

Connor Murphy

Murphy, 33, has played in 825 NHL games. He’s the perfect example of a player the Oilers should not sign to a contract with term, a no-movement clause and more than $5 million AAV attached. There’s a good chance the club does exactly that, as an investment at the trade deadline (he came over from the Chicago Blackhawks) traditionally means Edmonton signs the player. Murphy has value. He helped solve the second-pairing issue. He and Darnell Nurse were highly effective down the stretch and top-flight against the Anaheim Ducks. Fans should consider his signing by Edmonton close to a lock.

Jason Dickinson

Dickinson, 30, is another player the Oilers acquired at the deadline. The organization could use his veteran savvy at center, and he played massive minutes versus elites (almost half of total when in Chicago, via Puck IQ) while allowing just 2.0 GA-60 against those difficult opponents. The lack of quality centres in free agency this season means the Oilers may have to overpay before July 1 to get it done. Fans should expect him to sign with the club just before free agency, unless the price reaches epic numbers.

Kasperi Kapanen

Kapanen will turn 30 before training camp. His play is inconsistent, and the Oilers will need to upgrade his roster spot at some point. That said, he’s a solid plug-and-play winger who has chemistry with Draisaitl, and he can penalty kill. Of the three Oilers on this list, he would be the least expensive. There’s a chance another team sees his size and effectiveness and overlooks the inconsistency to sign him. Edmonton management values Kapanen enough to bring him back for another year.

Connor Ingram

Ingram had a solid year for the Oilers and shouldn’t cost a large amount in free agency. He’s 29 and outplayed Tristan Jarry in net for the Oilers. Management may move on from him, but Ingram was the better goalie last season down the stretch and in the brief playoff run. The team would be wise to sign him.

Bobby McMann

McMann is a fast train winger who will be 30 in June. He’s a late bloomer who can score goals, and the Oilers might be able to bring him in at reasonable dollars. He played over 36 percent of his five-on-five time versus elites (that’s a significant amount) with both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Seattle Kraken, but didn’t perform well against the league’s best. He would be a third-line scoring option.

Beck Malenstyn

Malenstyn, 28, can play either wing and has good size (6-foot-3, 209 pounds). He can scoot and plays an aggressive style. His offensive output is strictly fourth line, but he has played over 250 NHL games by being physical and playing responsibly.

Lassi Thompson

Thompson, 26, is a 2019 first-round pick who has played in just 29 NHL games. The draft pick didn’t work out as planned for the Ottawa Senators, but the Finnish defenceman is right-handed, can pass the puck well and is young enough to have an NHL career. Right-handed defencemen are unicorns, and the organization doesn’t have much beyond what is in the NHL at the position.

The list isn’t sexy, but the Oilers don’t have enough cap room to truly wheel financially unless they can offload a rich contract. Zach Hyman’s no-movement clause eases this year, but he can still be an effective feature player on a Stanley Cup contender.

The trade route may be the better road for Bowman this summer.