The Edmonton Oilers have become a perennial Stanley Cup contender. They have made the playoffs seven straight years, and played in the Stanley Cup Final in 2024 and 2025. This past season, the team fell short, losing in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to the Anaheim Ducks. This led Connor McDavid to claim the Oilers have taken a step back.
The Oilers need to look at making additions to improve the top line in order to return to dominance. Over the past two seasons, Zach Hayman has not been at the same level he once was. While Hyman scored 31 goals this past year, it is well off the pace of the 54 he scored in 2023-24. As he has just turned 34-years old, finding a new top-line member to join McDavid, allowing Hyman to move into the middle-six would be ideal for the Oilers.
One of the best options on the market is Jordan Kyrou. At 28-years old, he still has multiple years of high-quality play ahead of him. This past season was not the best for Kyrou, scoring 18 times and adding 28 assists, but the prior three years saw him have at least 30 goals and 20 assists in each season. In order to get Kyrou, the Oilers will have to put together the best possible package.
Edmonton continues to trade away draft picks
The St. Louis Blues have been stockpiling draft capital. The Blues have three picks in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft. They have the pick from the Detroit Red Wings as part of the Justin Faulk trade. Meanwhile, the Blues acquired another first-rounder from the New York Islanders in the Brayden Schenn deal. That pick is actually the Colorado Avalanche’s first-round pick, which the Islanders moved to the Blues. The Blues have clearly signaled they are rebuilding for the future, and could look to add another pick.
The Oilers do not have a first-round pick this year, as they sent it to the San Jose Sharks for Jake Walman. They also shipped off their 2027 first-round pick in exchange for Colton Dach. The Oilers have a second-round pick in 2026 as well as their first-round pick in 2028. At least one of those will need to be part of this trade. With the fact that other teams have more draft capital and interest in Kyrou, both picks may be necessary to get this deal done.
Matthew Savoie becomes a cornerstone for the Blues
If the Blues are getting rid of a cornerstone of the franchise, they need to get back a potential cornerstone in return. That will be Matthew Savoie. He was the ninth overall selection of the 2022 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres. He was drafted after a highly successful season in the WHL. In 2021-22, he played 65 games for the Winnipeg Ice, scoring 35 goals and adding 55 assists. After being drafted, he would return to the Ice the next year, racking up 95 points in 62 games and then 29 more points in 19 playoff games.
He did not spend much time with the Sabres franchise, playing in just a handful of AHL games and one game at the NHL level before being traded to the Oilers. After a solid 2024-25 season with the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL, Savoi spent the 2025-26 season at the NHL level. He was great in his first year, finding the back of the net 19 times while adding 19 helpers. That had Savoie finish tied for sixth in the NHL in scoring among rookies.
The passing and playmaking ability of Savoie, combined with the fact that he is just 22-years-old, he could be the future face of the Blues, and a perfect piece to be traded to the team in exchange for Kyrou.
The Oilers trade away their last quality prospect
The prospect line for the Oilers has been running dry. While the Oilers have one of the worst-ranked prospect pipelines in the NHL currently, they do have some quality parts that they can use as trade chips. One of the biggest trade chips they have is Isaac Howard. Howard was the 31st overall selection of the 2022 NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Instead of signing with the Lightning, he played in the college ranks.
Howard played for the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2022-23, and was solid, but not great. He would then transfer to Michigan State. In 2024-25, he was fantastic. Howard found the back of the net 26 times while adding 26 helpers. He was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and won the Hobey Baker Award. The award-winning forward could not agree to a contract with the Lightning, and Howard was traded to the Oilers in exchange for Sam O’Reilly.
He spent the majority of the season with the AHL Bakersfield Condors. In his 47 AHL games, he lit the lamp 24 times while adding 26 assists. At the NHL level, Howard played in 29 games but scored just two goals and three assists. Still, there is clear talent with Howard, and someone who could push the deal over the finish line to bring Kyrou to the Oilers.
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