The July 1 activity has Edmonton Oilers fans in a small state of shock. A roster with all 23 holes filled and plenty of cap room? It’s a trip from the days of Ken Holland’s run as general manager of the team (2019-24), when the pandemic, buyouts, expensive signings and slow-playing prospects saw the team often at the very top of the cap with fewer than the maximum 23 roster players.
In dealing Darnell Nurse and using the newly available dollars to make smart, low-cost bets, general manager Stan Bowman has set course on a new era. The Oilers are still top-heavy, with three men making more than $10 million annually. The trio of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard, however, are all value deals at their price, and that allows the team to improve the floor without compromising the ceiling.
Most of the new arrivals are familiar to NHL fans, ranging from emerging talents finding their way (Devon Levi, Shakir Mukhamadullin), to well-known veterans (Ryan Shea, Mathieu Joseph) and famous NHL players (Frederik Andersen) coming off a Stanley Cup-winning season. The club even found the money to re-sign wingers Kasperi Kapanen and Max Jones.
Two players acquired during the watershed opening day of free agency have little name recognition. Both could be important to the Oilers in the future. Here’s their story.
NHL free agency: Early winners and losers
Shayna Goldman and Madison Eades
Eduards Tralmaks
Tralmaks’ career path is a long and winding road. He was 6 feet 4, 210 pounds (now at 225) when he signed an American Hockey League contract with the Providence Bruins in March 2021. Described as a “hard working competitor and effective power forward” by Maine coach Red Gendron, Tralmaks played parts of three seasons with the AHL Bruins before heading to the Kladno Knights of the Czech league for the 2023-24 season. Once there, the Latvian scored goals in bunches (44 over two seasons).
In March 2025, at age 28, he earned a one-year NHL contract from the Detroit Red Wings. A player who is trending up at 28 isn’t terribly unusual, but having enough upward trajectory to earn a first NHL deal at that age is somewhat unusual. Tralmaks rewarded Detroit with 26 goals on the wing in the AHL during 2025-26.
On July 1, in the middle of the busiest day imaginable, Bowman signed Tralmaks to his second NHL deal. It’s for just one year, but there is an increase in his AHL salary (from $225,000 with Detroit to $400,000 with the Oilers).
Why would the Oilers do that? He’s a first-shot scorer, and the Oilers badly need one in the AHL and the NHL. Let’s compare his season in 2025-26 with those of Ike Howard and Quinn Hutson, who delivered strong performances as AHL rookies.
| Player | Shots-Game | Goals-Game | Sh Pct |
|---|---|---|---|
|
2 |
0.41 |
20.5 |
|
|
3.2 |
0.51 |
15.9 |
|
|
2.97 |
0.45 |
15.1 |
Offensively, all three wingers are a problem for opponents. Tralmaks is notable because he doesn’t need many chances to cash in, and his size, speed and skill have great utility. He is big, can get to places and create problems, while also having a nice set of hands for a player his size. Patrick Maroon didn’t have the wheels, and he was younger than Tralmaks when he ascended to the NHL, but the basic premise applies. Tralmaks can score goals and has utility in other areas. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility that Mike Babcock takes a liking to him in preseason and remembers the big Latvian when injuries hit during the year.
A new coach means opportunity for all players. Tralmaks is a fascinating addition to the team. We don’t know the metrics tracked by the Oilers when viewing AHL players, and we don’t know how many Edmonton scouts had eyes on him last season. We do know the organization liked him enough to guarantee $400,000 no matter where he plays, and that offers some intel on how much the team values Tralmaks.
Zack Sharp
Zack Sharp is the latest in a growing list of NCAA defencemen Bowman has acquired since he arrived in Edmonton. The ranking of the Oilers’ top 20 prospects for summer 2026 shows Damien Carfagna at No. 3, Paul Fischer at No. 9 and Asher Barnett at No. 11. The organization has added several layers of scouting and analytics over the past 24 months, and one of the results is an increased level of activity involving college defenders.
Sharp, who came over from the San Jose Sharks in the Nurse trade, is the latest college blue to join the organization. He was drafted in 2025, after his freshman season with Western Michigan University and was a teammate of current Oilers centre prospect Owen Michaels’ on that team.
His scouting reports from last summer offer a first-blush view. Corey Pronman at The Athletic wrote, “a highly mobile defenseman with good size. He makes a decent outlet pass, but his puck game has been inconsistent over the years. I do wish he played a bit more physical for his profile.”
A year later (April 2026), Scott Wheeler at The Athletic had an encouraging update on the player, who was said to have improved areas Pronman mentioned as needing work. “A 6-foot-2, 195-pound defenseman who skates well, keeps it simple and doesn’t overcomplicate the game,” Wheeler wrote. “He can beat guys up the ice, make a good first pass, join the play, play physical and give you a consistent shift-to-shift approach.”
You never know with college defencemen, but Sharp has speed (as noted above) and size. He’s listed at 6-2, 195 pounds, bigger than fellow defencemen Carfagna and Fischer, and about the same size as Barnett. The biggest college defenceman in the team’s prospect pool is Bauer Berry (6-4). The Oilers have until June 1, 2027, to sign Sharp, so fans could see him in Bakersfield in time for the 2027-28 campaign.
Bottom line
The 2025-26 Bakersfield Condors boasted three wingers (Howard, Hutson and Roby Jarventie) who scored more than 20 goals, but Howard appears destined for a full NHL season and Jarventie signed in Europe. Tralmaks is a terrific addition to a team looking for a proven scorer at the AHL level, and he has enough in his resume to offer NHL intrigue, too. The Oilers will have plenty of recall depth in Bakersfield (Jones, Hutson, Connor Clattenburg), but Tralmaks offers a differentiating skill set in that group. A speedy fourth-line power forward who can score goals is an attractive option.
Sharp is another defenceman added to the prospect pool, with speed and size. NHL teams are all about puck retrieval and outlet passes, along with an edge for winning battles. Sharp has all of those things, and he’ll be an interesting player to follow at Western Michigan this winter. Sharp’s former teammate (Michaels) will turn pro with the Condors, but 2025 Oilers draft pick Tommy Lafreniere will be a teammate at Western Michigan this fall.
