The Edmonton Oilers looked strong Thursday night in a convincing 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings. The team\u2019s record over the last six games (4-1-1) indicates the Oilers have finally joined the battle that is the 2025-26 season. On Friday morning, general manager Stan Bowman made two deals designed to address clear weaknesses and add to the progress made throughout the first 31 games of the season.<\/p>\n
PuckPedia<\/a> has the cap breakdown, with the Oilers taking on $850,000 in cap and making it happen by moving Jake Walman to long-term injury reserve (LTIR). Edmonton has $1.7 million in available cap space when running a 21-man roster, but the crunch will come as soon as Walman, Kasperi Kapanen and Noah Philp come off LTIR. Jack Roslovic and Connor Clattenburg are on injured reserve. Bowman isn\u2019t done making moves based on the cap pressure to come.<\/p>\n Tristan Jarry<\/strong><\/p>\n The big incoming piece is Jarry. Evaluating goaltenders is the most elusive assignment in hockey, but a good metric to use is five-on-five save percentage over three years. Goalies who play at a high level for three consecutive years are as close as any NHL team can get to a sure thing. Here\u2019s how things have gone for Jarry and Skinner in those seasons.<\/p>\n .915<\/p>\n<\/td>\n .900<\/p>\n<\/td>\n .913<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n .913<\/p>\n<\/td>\n .901<\/p>\n<\/td>\n .892<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n All numbers five-on-five, via Natural Stat Trick<\/p>\n Bowman was no doubt looking for the kind of consistency Jarry\u2019s numbers imply he can deliver. The Oilers play a more freewheeling style than most teams, with defensive lapses happening more than with other elite-level teams. There could be some wild moments in the early days with Jarry adjusting to the team\u2019s style, but if he can post close to a .913 save percentage at five-on-five, he\u2019ll be a hero in Edmonton.<\/p>\n Jarry is an upgrade on Skinner, and in this way, Bowman delivered with this trade. Skinner may well be better off with the Penguins, a team that has found useful players in the past via an offloading of talent by Edmonton. Justin Schultz is a fairly recent example.<\/p>\n Spencer Stastney<\/strong><\/p>\n Oilers fans may not be familiar with Stastney, but his acquisition may be a key component to the day\u2019s activities. The Oilers were struggling with Kulak on the ice, as his consistent, reliable play has been missing all year. After Thursday\u2019s game against the Detroit Red Wings, I wrote<\/a>, \u201cKulak is off his game. His foot speed has fallen from 87th percentile to less than 50 percent, via NHL Edge, and his five-on-five goal share has cratered (38 percent in 2025-26),\u201d and that made a move necessary.<\/p>\n Stastney is a younger, less expensive version of Kulak in terms of skill set. Stastney\u2019s 25, a little undersized for the NHL (6 feet, 184 pounds) and can move the puck well. He\u2019s also a good coverage defender despite a lack of experience (he has played 81 career games for the Nashville Predators).<\/p>\n Puck IQ has Stastney on the good side of the ledger in possession stats<\/a>, and Natural Stat Trick<\/a> concurs. The Oilers have upgraded based on the 2025-26 stats, although fans will have to wait and see how quickly Stastney can adjust to his new surroundings. He has good foot speed (71st percentile<\/a>, via NHL Edge), an area where Kulak has fallen off badly this season.<\/p>\n Sam Poulin<\/strong><\/p>\n Poulin was the Penguins\u2019 first-round pick in 2019. He\u2019s a reasonable bet for a team looking for wingers who offer a rugged edge, some scoring ability (he\u2019s shooting the puck more this season in the AHL) and size (6-foot-2, 213 pounds). Poulin\u2019s acquisition could be short-term; he\u2019s an unrestricted free agent in the summer, but there\u2019s a window of opportunity for him.<\/p>\n Connor Clattenburg is injured, Trent Frederic hasn\u2019t provided the expected level of physical play, and Edmonton\u2019s depth lines have been easy to play against so far this season. Poulin could spend the rest of the season with the AHL Bakersfield Condors, but he was no doubt acquired with a possible NHL role in mind.<\/p>\n Bottom line<\/strong><\/p>\n Oilers fans will be divided on this trade, but Bowman has charted a new course with a goaltender who has been consistent in important areas over the last three seasons. Edmonton was never going to enter the 2026 playoffs with the same goalie tandem three years in a row, and there\u2019s a non-zero chance backup Calvin Pickard won\u2019t be part of the team after the deadline as well.<\/p>\n If the Jarry deal works out, he\u2019ll be a hero, and Bowman will be lauded for his vision. What we can say now is that the trade for Jarry is bold and at least somewhat grounded in solid analytical evidence. Skinner has been unable to rise to the challenge this season, and a change had to be made. Is this the right change? We wait.<\/p>\n Stastney won\u2019t get much attention today, but this is the kind of deal that could see a key piece added for only a draft pick. If Bowman\u2019s pro scouts are right, and math suggests there\u2019s a player here, the Stastney acquisition could pay off for the rest of the decade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Edmonton Oilers looked strong Thursday night in a convincing 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings. 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