Jeff Marek may have just revealed exactly what Edmonton plans to do next
Connor Murphy and Stan Bowman now sit right in the middle of Edmonton's blue-line problem.
That is the clean read from Jeff Marek's latest thought on the Oilers.
If Edmonton wants to keep Murphy, the price sounds like it could land around 3.5 million.
That is not outrageous money on its own.
But nothing in Edmonton gets judged on its own anymore.
Every contract now gets measured against the bigger mess the Oilers still have to solve. The crease still needs help. The bench is still unresolved. And the blue line still looks like a group that needs more certainty than it has.
That is why Marek's second point matters just as much.
-
The Oilers' offseason could be about to change dramatically after Jeff Marek's latest report
If Murphy does not re-sign, Marek wondered whether Michael Kesselring of the Sabres could slide into that spot.
That is where this gets interesting.
Because that kind of name tells you exactly what Edmonton should be hunting. Not a headline defenseman. Not some fantasy move. A useful right-shot piece who can stabilize part of the back end without forcing the whole cap sheet to bend around him.
Murphy fits that description too.
At 3.5 million, he starts to look like a decision about priority, not value. If the Oilers believe he can give them real structure and dependable minutes, that number is workable.
But if they see him more as a decent option than a real need, then it starts making sense to look elsewhere.
That is where Kesselring becomes the more dangerous conversation.
Because once Edmonton starts missing on the players it already knows, it goes right back into the market trying to convince itself the next alternative will be clean, easy, and affordable.
It rarely works that neatly.
The Oilers do not need more guessing.
They need more certainty.
That is why Murphy matters more than people may think. He is not some star piece, but he might be exactly the type of middle-class blue-line player contenders regret losing when they spend all summer chasing bigger names that never come.
And if Edmonton cannot get him done, the Kesselring angle becomes worth watching fast.
Not because it is flashy.
Because it sounds realistic.
And for the Oilers right now, realistic fixes may be the only ones that actually matter.
|
YESTERDAY
MAY 27, 2026
| ||||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Staal | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Logan Stankoven | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jackson Blake | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jalen Chatfield | - | 1 | 1 | |
| K'Andre Miller | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | - | - | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | - | - | |
| William Carrier | - | - | - | |
| Cole Caufield | - | - | - | |
| Kirby Dach | - | - | - | |
| Phillip Danault | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Demidov | - | - | - | |
| Jakub Dobes | - | - | - | |
| Noah Dobson | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||