The Edmonton Oilers were one of the busier teams as the 2026 free agency period opened up across the National Hockey League on Wednesday. They addressed their goaltending vacancies, cleared salary cap room by dealing longtime Oiler Darnell Nurse and his annual $9.25-million contract – with no salary retained – to the San Jose Sharks, added additional blueliners to hopefully fill the holes left by Nurse’s departure and took a chance on a depth forward with a Stanley Cup on his resume. Here’s a look at the players with NHL experience Oilers general manager Stan Bowman added on Wednesday. Frederik Andersen Andersen returns to the Pacific Division for the first time since 2016, when the Anaheim Ducks – the team that drafted him in 2012 – traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 13-year veteran, the first Danish goalie in the NHL, first saw NHL action in 2013-14 with the Ducks, became the backup once Viktor Fasth was traded to Edmonton at the trade deadline and took over as starter the next season after Hiller moved on to the Calgary Flames. After a 2015-16 season sharing and competing for the crease with teammate John Gibson, the Ducks traded Andersen to the Leafs for a first- and a second-round pick. As a five-year starter in Toronto, Andersen compiled a 149-74-36 record in 268 games played and set the team record for most wins by a goalie in one season with 38 in 2017-18. The Leafs failed to get out of the first round of the playoffs in the four years he tended their post-season crease, including back-to-back seven-game defeats to the Boston Bruins in 2018 and 2019. Jack Campbell emerged as the Maple Leafs’ starting goalie in 2020-21. Andersen joined the Hurricanes as a free agent in 2021, signing three contracts – two two-year deals and a one-year extension a year ago – while at times dealing with injuries and a blood-clotting issue that saw him miss four months of playing time in the middle of the 2023-24 campaign. He posted a 16-15-5 record, an .874 save percentage and a 3.05 goals-against average in 35 games this past regular season before going on a 13-2 run in the playoffs for the Hurricanes along with a .910 save percentage and a 1.89 goals-against average. The 36-year-old faltered in net during the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights, allowing 12 goals on 65 shots for an .815 save percentage and a 4.44 goals-against mark before leaving Game 3 with a knee injury. Brandon Bussi took over in the Hurricanes’ net the rest of the way and stayed there even amid reports Andersen had recovered and could return to play. Ryan Shea The 29-year-old American played 150 games for the Penguins over the last three seasons, scoring nine goals and 32 assists for 41 points. Last season, he played 80 games with the Penguins, scoring six goals and 35 points with a -plus30 plus-minus while averaging 18:53 in ice time. He signed with Pittsburgh as a free agent in 2023 after three years in the Dallas Stars’ system. The NCAA Northeastern product was a 2015 fourth-round draft pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015. Mathieu Joseph The 29-year-old forward comes to Edmonton on a one-year, $1-million contract after splitting last season with the St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings. The eight-year veteran NHLer broke into the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018, winning a Stanley Cup with them in 2021 before being traded to the Ottawa Senators at the 2022 trade deadline along with a third-round pick for Nick Paul. The Senators traded the Laval, Que., native in July 2024 to the Blues, who released him in early March and was picked up by the Kings for the rest of the season. In 471 NHL games, Joseph has scored 68 goals and 100 assists for 168 points. He put up two goals and nine assists for 11 points in 50 games last season. Devon Levi The Oilers acquired the goalie and a 2028 seventh-round pick from the Buffalo Sabres for a 2028 third-rounder. Once a top goalie prospect, the 24-year-old Levi played this entire past season in the AHL. The Florida Panthers took the native of Dollard-Des Ormeaux, Que., in the seventh round, 212th overall, of the 2020 NHL Draft and was traded a year later to the Sabres in the deal that saw Sam Reinhart join Florida. After a successful NCAA career with Boston’s Northeastern University, he signed an entry-level deal with the Sabres in 2023. He has played 39 NHL games over three seasons, putting up a 17-17-2 record with an .894 save percentage and 3.29 goals-against average. Shakir Mukhamadullin The 24-year-old Russian defenceman acquired by the Oilers along with prospect blueliner Zack Sharp has played 83 NHL games, 50 of them last season with the Sharks. In 2025-26, the six-foot-four, 200-pound left-shooting d-man scored five goals and seven assists for 12 points, picking up 22 penalty minutes, while averaging 17:09 in ice time. The New Jersey Devils took him in the first round, 20th overall, of the 2020 NHL Draft before dealing him to the Sharks three years ago in the trade that sent forward Timo Meier east. He came to North America full-time in 2023-24 and split time between the Sharks and their AHL affiliate. Also added: the aforementioned defenceman Sharp and forward Eduards Tralmaks.
