{"id":697665,"date":"2026-05-27T18:36:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T18:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/697665\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T18:36:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T18:36:10","slug":"what-does-a-good-year-look-like-for-trent-frederic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/697665\/","title":{"rendered":"What does a good year look like for Trent Frederic?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now that we\u2019re well into the Edmonton Oilers\u2019<\/a> offseason, I\u2019ve been wondering what a successful summer looks like if you\u2019re Trent Frederic. Gord knows we\u2019ve got a long time to think about it.You don\u2019t have to say much other than it was an ugly first year in Edmonton for Freddy<\/a>, and I think there are a lot of fine Nation Citizens around here who have already thrown in the towel. That\u2019s not to say I blame them. His four goals and three assists<\/a> in 74 games missed expectations by an international flight, let alone for a guy in the first year of an eight-year contract at $3.85 million per season. The fans were pissed, and rightfully so. But I also don\u2019t think the frustration came from anyone expecting Frederic to be a 25-goal scorer, but when a player signs for an eternity, you want to see the guy do more than wind up as a healthy scratch in the playoffs. That seems fair to me.Given that it\u2019s highly unlikely Frederic will be on the move<\/a>, I\u2019m trying to figure out what our expectations should be for him going forward. Is he really only a fourth-line player<\/a>? Can he be a guy who makes life miserable in the corners and around the crease? Is there more offence there than what we saw in year one? Can he have more than a shift or two where the puck doesn\u2019t die on his stick? That\u2019s what this summer has to be about for me. I don\u2019t think Frederic needs to reinvent himself, but he absolutely needs to come into camp with a clearer identity than the one we saw in his first year in Edmonton. He can\u2019t come into training camp starting on the first line with Connor and Leon, only to end up in the press box when the games matter most. He needs to find a role and embrace it.HE\u2019S DONE IT BEFORE\"EdmontonBob DeChiara-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Jan 7, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Trent Frederic (11) fights with Edmonton Oilers right wing Corey Perry (90) during the second period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The obviously frustrating part of the story is that Frederic has shown more than this before, which was exactly what we thought we were getting when Stan Bowman traded for him. In Boston, he had 17 goals and 31 points in 2022-23, then followed that up with 18 goals and 40 points the next season. I dream of those Freddy numbers. He was never going to be in the running for the Rocket Richard, but the Oilers<\/a> didn\u2019t need him to. A 15-goal, 30-point version of Trent Frederic would be a massive win around here, especially if the rest of his shifts came with chaos, gritensity, and the willingness to be all-world annoying to play against. The problem, of course, is that the Oilers didn\u2019t get anything close to that player last season. Instead, they got an anchor that couldn\u2019t find any consistency.<\/p>\n

As for what a good season looks like, I don\u2019t even know how to set the bar for him because the contract makes every quiet night feel louder than it probably should. Are we only happy if Frederic gets back into that 15-17 goal range he had in Boston, or can we live with him being a reliable bottom-six winger who brings some snarl, chips in goals here and there, and doesn\u2019t leave us wondering why he\u2019s even dressed? Based on what we saw last season, I\u2019m thinking it\u2019s probably the latter. I honestly don\u2019t know if we\u2019ll see him get close to 17 goals again, but if he can give me double-digit production, consistent physicality, more chaos, and fewer nights where you forget he\u2019s in the lineup, then maybe it\u2019ll be alright.<\/p>\n

When you have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl leading the charge, you don\u2019t need Trent Frederic to be spectacular to be useful, but he does have to be noticeable more often and for the right reasons. Even if the goal scoring doesn\u2019t come back, he needs to win more battles, grind players down in the offensive zone, get to the net, finish checks, and make his line feel like it\u2019s more than just a placeholder for when the big dogs are on the bench. He didn\u2019t do that nearly enough in 2025-26. We need to see more shifts where his line isn\u2019t getting shelled or simply treading water until the top six can get back over the boards. The Oilers need more than that from a player they\u2019re paying for nearly a decade. Again, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s unfair.<\/p>\n

WHAT IS A GOOD YEAR FOR TRENT FREDERIC?\"EdmontonBrad Penner-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Oct 14, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Edmonton Oilers center Trent Frederic (10) celebrates his goal against New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin (31) during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Even though only time will tell what we will or won\u2019t get from Trent Frederic, I don\u2019t think I\u2019m talking out of school when I say that I hope he\u2019s putting in the work this summer. That\u2019s not to say that I doubt a professional athlete working hard, but we need to see the guy roll into town looking like a man on a mission. I don\u2019t want to hear any \u201cI\u2019ll try my best\u201d talk or that he\u2019s in the best shape of his life, either. I want to see an animal out there. I want to see a dude with a chip on his shoulder who wants to prove everyone wrong about what he can or can\u2019t be.<\/p>\n

A good year for Frederic probably isn\u2019t about living up to his contract<\/a> because I\u2019m not sure that\u2019s realistic right now. If anything, his second year as an Oiler should be about making the contract less of a daily conversation. His goal shouldn\u2019t be about proving he\u2019s worth all that money, but giving whoever the coaching staff ends up being a reason to trust him<\/a>, giving the fanbase a reason to buy into him as an Oiler, and giving everyone else something better to talk about than how long he\u2019s still got left on his deal. And after the flushable season he just had, that would be a pretty meaningful step.<\/p>\n

So what does a good year look like for Trent Frederic? For me, it\u2019s probably around 12-14 goals, reliable bottom-six minutes, a truckload of hits, and way less nights where we don\u2019t even hear his name on the broadcast. That may not sound like a huge ask for a player making nearly four million bucks a year, but unfortunately, this is where we\u2019re at after year one. Frederic has a lot to prove, and while I\u2019m not ready to sit here and pretend I\u2019m Kool-Aid guzzling optimistic, I am curious to see whether a full offseason and having the worst year of his NHL career behind him can be the first step to getting him closer to the player the Oilers thought they were buying.<\/p>\n

PRESENTED BY DERRICK DODGE\"\"There\u2019s a new chapter beginning at Derrick Dodge<\/a>, and the momentum is real. Under new ownership, the dealership is bringing fresh energy, a renewed focus on customer experience, and a bold, forward-thinking approach to vehicle buying. This change marks the start of an exciting new era, built around transparency, trust, and putting customers first. To celebrate this transition, every vehicle purchase comes with a trip for two to Las Vegas. Whether you\u2019re shopping for your next vehicle or simply curious about what\u2019s changed, Derrick Dodge is moving forward with confidence, purpose, and a clear vision for the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Now that we\u2019re well into the Edmonton Oilers\u2019 offseason, I\u2019ve been wondering what a successful summer looks like…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":662054,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194294],"tags":[49,48,23752],"class_list":["post-697665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-edmonton","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-edmonton"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=697665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/662054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=697665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=697665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=697665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}