But now, we\u2019ve started to get a look at who will compete for roster spots next season.<\/p>\n
The forwards<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a contingent of forwards that are easily considered locks for next year\u2019s roster: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Matt Savoie, Kasperi Kapanen, Vasily Podkolzin, Jason Dickinson, Trent Frederic, and Josh Samanski.<\/p>\n
That group of 10 will find themselves somewhere in the forward ranks on opening day, and while calling Samanski a lock might be naive, as he still needs to prove himself in camp, the Oilers haven\u2019t brought in anybody to contend for his minutes as the 4C.<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s a group of seven players who will be contending for a winger spot on the third line, two winger spots on the fourth line, and the extra forward: Colton Dach, Isaac Howard, Mathieu Joseph<\/a>, Max Jones, Connor Clattenburg, Mattias Janmark, and Quinn Hutson. In that order are my favourites to earn those spots.Dach showed well in a limited role last year after being acquired, and is still in need of a new deal. I see him being on the roster. Howard is close to being ready to take the leap into the NHL, while Joseph\u2019s signing could be sneaky good<\/a> for the Oilers as a penalty kill, defensive specialist. Jones has shown he can step into the NHL with success, and for as much fun as Clattenburg is to watch, I\u2019d rather see him getting more ice time with the AHL\u2019s Bakersfield Condors than playing limited minutes in Edmonton. Janmark\u2019s time with the team has likely run its course, and he\u2019s likely to be buried in the AHL, while I\u2019m not certain Hutson is ready for the jump to the NHL. Stastney, who was acquired last December for a third-round pick, is likely the odd man out. Can they trade him, or do they run the risk of putting him on waivers?<\/p>\n In the crease, the Oilers will be keeping all of Tristan Jarry, Frederik Andersen<\/a>, and Devon Levi on the roster. This creates good competition at a position the team needs improvement in, but it also creates a roster crunch, allowing Edmonton to have just two extra skaters on the roster. Logically, that means one extra forward and defenceman. A look at the Oilers\u2019 defencemen and goaltenders as of July 10, 2026, in PuckPedia\u2019s MyGM mode.<\/p>\n Zach Laing is Oilersnation\u2019s managing editor and The Nation Network\u2019s news director. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing<\/a>, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.PRESENTED BY PRAIRIE TOYOTA DEALERS It\u2019s time for a truck that can play in every zone. Which means, it\u2019s time to Toyota! Its standard i-FORCE engine delivers more power than ever and a towing capacity of up to 6,400 lbs. It helps you take on challenging landscapes with confidence with its available Panoramic Multi-Terrain View Monitor that provides a live, underfloor view of the terrain your tackling. It even makes loading and unloading gear effortless with its available Power Liftgate. Whether it\u2019s for early morning practice or weekend away games, the Tacoma is a teammate you can rely on. Visit your local Prairie Toyota dealer today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The dust has settled on the NHL offseason, but that doesn\u2019t mean the work is done. The Edmonton…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":794446,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-794445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794445","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=794445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794445\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/794446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=794445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=794445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=794445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783750695_753_image.jpeg\"\/)
A look at the Oilers players competing for forward spots, assuming Colton Dach signs a league-minimum contract, via PuckPedia\u2019s PuckGM mode<\/a>.The defence and the goaliesThe majority of this group is fairly simple. On the blue line, Evan Bouchard, Mattias Ekholm, Jake Walman, Connor Murphy, and Ryan Shea<\/a> will eat the majority of minutes. But beyond them, it gets murky. Ty Emberson, Spencer Stastney, and Shakir Mukhamadullin<\/a>, three waiver-eligible defencemen, will compete for the sixth spot on the blue line and a spot as an extra defenceman.Emberson took a step forward last season, and his being a right-shot defenceman probably helps his case as the sixth blue liner, but Mukhamadullin will have the inside track to remain on the roster after being acquired as the key asset coming back to the Oilers in the Darnell Nurse trade<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783750695_703_image.jpeg\"\/)
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