Oilers 2026-27 Player Previews: Ryan Shea

The 2026-27 season is almost here, so let’s continue our Edmonton Oilers player preview series. The last player previewed was Connor Murphy, and now we turn our attention to the newest member of the defence core.

The Oilers signed unrestricted free agent (UFA) Ryan Shea to a five-year contract with a $4 million cap hit. He’s a left-shot who can move up and down the lineup and play on every pairing. He has played parts of three seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins and has 150 games under his belt. The 29-year-old is a late bloomer and had a breakout 2025-26 season. He recorded six goals and 35 points in 80 games with a plus-30 rating. That plus-minus led the Penguins. He also averaged 18:53 per game.

Shea is unknown among this fan base, but should improve the defence core and add depth. Especially considering general manager Stan Bowman traded long-tenured defenceman Darnell Nurse. The newest blueliner is a cheaper replacement. With that said, let’s preview what his 2026-27 season could look like.

Shea Is Versatile

Shea is adaptable and can thrive with anyone. With Pittsburgh, his most common defence partner was Kris Letang. They played 572:10 together at 5-on-5, which was second most on the team. He also played 309:22 with Connor Clifton, who’s a completely different player than Letang. Letang is more offensive, whereas Clifton is defensively minded. He can play with all types of partners, and that versatility is a valuable asset.

If Mattias Ekholm struggles on the top pair, Shea can step up and fill that role. He can also play on the second pair with Murphy or on the third pair with Ty Emberson. He could move around quite a bit if necessary, while providing quality minutes. The organization values flexibility.

The Massachusetts native is also a good penalty killer. He spent 181:28 shorthanded last season, which was third on the team and second among defencemen. The Penguins also had the sixth-best penalty kill unit at 81.4 percent. His inclusion should help improve the Oilers’ struggling penalty kill.

Best Case Scenario

Like Murphy, a great season from Shea would coincide with a great penalty kill. If he can help improve that unit, that’s a win. He’s not overly physical, only recording 38 hits last season. If he can reach 50 hits, that’s a plus. He also registered 92 blocked shots, good for third on the Penguins. 100 blocks or more should be the goal this season. He was on the ice for 24 goals against on the penalty kill, so hopefully that can be duplicated. That’s roughly one goal every 7:30 of ice time, or one goal every 3.7 power plays.

Offensively, 10 goals and 40 points would be ideal. He’s playing on an elite offensive team, so his point production should improve. All of his points last season came at even strength, which ranked 20th among all NHL defencemen. That even-strength production should continue this season, and hopefully he can add a few shorthanded points to his tally.

Shea should push for more ice time to create internal competition. If he plays well, it will force Ekholm and Jake Walman to step up; if they don’t, Shea can easily take those minutes. Edmonton’s defence core is pretty solid, and if everyone elevates their game, this team will find success.

Worst Case Scenario

It’s hard to judge new players and how they will fit into the lineup. The worst-case scenario is that Shea won’t fit within this team’s system, but that seems unlikely. With new head coach Mike Babcock, the whole system should change. That will affect everyone on the roster, not just the newcomers.

Since he’s a late bloomer, there might be some concern that last season was an outlier. There’s still uncertainty surrounding him and whether he can string together consecutive quality seasons. At worst, two goals and roughly 20 points would be a disappointing campaign. If that’s paired with a poor penalty kill, that would be incredibly underwhelming.

What would you like to see from Shea this season? Keep following The Hockey Writers as we continue the Oilers’ player previews ahead of this season.

Advanced stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.