Stan Bowman reveals bigger plans for long-term signed forward
Edmonton Oilers GM Stan Bowman wants Trent Frederic in a larger role next season, with the 28-year-old reportedly slated for third-line duty alongside Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
That's the latest out of Edmonton on Wednesday afternoon, and it's the kind of plan that's going to raise eyebrows fast.
Frederic finished his first full year with the Oilers carrying a 4-3-7 line in 74 games. He went minus-15. That's the player Bowman wants to promote.
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The cap hit makes it sting more. Frederic is signed at $3.85 million, and the production simply hasn't matched the number.
His recent form told the same story. One assist in his last 10 games. Zero points in his last five. A bottom-six forward asked to find another gear in the playoffs.
Putting him next to Nugent-Hopkins isn't a small bet either. RNH ran a 20-36-56 season at $5.125 million, and he's the kind of center who needs finishers around him, not passengers.
Tristan Jarry getting another look in net
The other piece is the goaltending. Bowman appears willing to give Tristan Jarry a real shot at staying rather than eat money to move him.
Jarry's body of work in Edmonton this season is thin. Thirty-three games, 16 wins, an .882 save percentage. Two shutouts to soften the edges.
For a team that finished 14th overall at 41-30-11 and second in the division, .882 from a $5.375 million goalie is the headline nobody in the room wants on the bulletin board.
Bowman's logic is understandable. Moving Jarry now means retention or a sweetener, and the Oilers don't have endless flexibility to absorb that.
But the gamble has a smell to it. You're banking on a bounce-back from a goalie whose numbers tanked, and trusting Frederic to deliver what he didn't deliver all year.
The cap structure in Edmonton was supposed to be the floor, not the ceiling. Now the GM's spring messaging sounds an awful lot like running it back with the same pieces and hoping the room shifts.
Connor McDavid's window keeps narrowing. The window for patience, league-wide, doesn't widen because you say it does.
If both bets miss, the next conversation Bowman has in Edmonton won't be about line combinations.
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MAY 27, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Staal | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Logan Stankoven | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jackson Blake | - | 1 | 1 | |
| K'Andre Miller | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | - | - | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | - | - | |
| William Carrier | - | - | - | |
| Cole Caufield | - | - | - | |
| Jalen Chatfield | - | - | - | |
| Kirby Dach | - | - | - | |
| Phillip Danault | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Demidov | - | - | - | |
| Jakub Dobes | - | - | - | |
| Noah Dobson | - | - | - | |
| Jake Evans | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||