Connor McDavid will remain with the Oilers after a major addition of a 600-game veteran forward: A possibility
Jake DeBrusk is now tied to Edmonton after Kris Knoblauch's exit pushed the Oilers toward a major offseason reset.
The Oilers' first-round playoff loss to the Anaheim Ducks didn't just sting.
It forced bigger questions about the roster, the bench, and what this team still needs around Connor McDavid.
One change has already hit behind the bench with Knoblauch out.
The next wave looks set to land up front, where Edmonton is being connected to a winger with a long NHL track record.
That player is DeBrusk, the 29-year-old Canucks forward who has now played more than 600 NHL games.
The idea is simple: find McDavid a winger who can finish and keep pace.
Zach Hyman's decline in production has opened that conversation.
Edmonton doesn't need a depth add in that spot. It needs someone who can handle real top-six minutes.
A report from Jesse Courville-Lynch framed DeBrusk as a «buy-low candidate,» and that label fits the angle around him right now.
Why Jake DeBrusk makes sense for Edmonton
DeBrusk's last season in Vancouver came on a club that struggled to generate offense. Even in that setting, he still produced 23 goals and 42 points.
That matters.
Those numbers suggest there's still enough finishing touch there for a rebound if the deployment improves and the support around him gets stronger.
The Oilers would be betting that a move beside McDavid or Leon Draisaitl could unlock more offense than DeBrusk showed with the Canucks.
That's the real swing here.
Courville-Lynch also pointed to DeBrusk being on a «solid contract,» which only adds to the appeal as the cap rises and teams start thinking bigger this summer.
For Edmonton, this isn't about making noise for the sake of it.
It's about correcting a flaw that showed up fast in the playoffs when the lineup needed more bite on the wing.
Now the focus shifts to GM Stan Bowman and whether he can find common ground with new Canucks GM Ryan Johnson.
If Edmonton wants a proven winger for its top six, DeBrusk has become a name to watch.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 24, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Tomas Hertl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| William Karlsson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Mark Stone | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Kaedan Korczak | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Mitch Marner | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Devon Toews | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Jack Drury | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nazem Kadri | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Keegan Kolesar | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Landeskog | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Dylan Coghlan | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Parker Kelly | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Manson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Martin Necas | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Shea Theodore | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | - | - | |
| Brent Burns | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||