After receiving offer sheets from the St. Louis Blues on restricted free agents Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, recently appointed Edmonton Oilers’ general manager Stan Bowman was thrown into the headlights, fast. As a result, he has made two trades, successfully addressing team needs while shedding cap space.
Podkolzin for a Fouth Round Pick
Bowman’s first trade was with the Vancouver Canucks, acquiring Vasily Podkolzin for just a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Podkolzin, once regarded as a top-three prospect in the 2019 NHL Draft, has struggled to cement a spot in the Canucks lineup throughout his 137-career NHL games, even with his promising rookie season of 26 points (14 goals and 12 assists).
While Podkolzin has yet to prove himself in the NHL, he is a very valuable addition to the Oilers’ bottom six. At 23 years old, he still has untapped potential, and for someone making just $1 million in each of the next two seasons, his cap hit is very bearable. Worst case scenario, he can be buried in the American Hockey League without impacting the team’s salary cap hit while best case scenario he develops into a 20+ goal, middle-six forward. His role is going to be on the wing, likely in the bottom six, and with the departure of Ryan McLeod’s speed, Bowman quickly replaced it through Podkolzin.
Acquiring Podkolzin also gives Bowman options with Holloway. While the Oilers are cap-compliant now, they will likely have to resort to a 20 or 21-player roster, at least once Evander Kane returns from injury. However, by acquiring Podkolzin, Holloway may seem a bit more expendable, at least in a future trade.
Ceci for Emberson
The more impactful of Bowman’s first two deals was sending Cody Ceci and a third-round pick to the San Jose Sharks for Ty Emberson. Emberson, 24, is a right-handed defenseman who scored 10 points (one goal and nine assists) in 30 games for the Sharks last season. He is a physical defender who works harder than anyone else on the ice. He is great on the penalty kill and in the defensive zone, and for just a $950,000 cap hit, Edmonton got a valuable player.
While Ceci has gotten a lot of blame for his disappointing 2024 Playoffs campaign, his overall impact will be missed, especially in Game 7s. He was one of Broberg’s better defensive partners, and he has had strong stretches in the Oilers’ bottom four. However, given his $3.25 million cap hit and struggles alongside Darnell Nurse, he was a clear trade candidate.
Grading Each Trade
In just two trades, Bowman has made the Oilers salary cap compliant while improving the roster, getting younger, and opening long-term salary flexibility. Even if Broberg’s $4,580,917 salary is matched, the Oilers are now better suited to handle it this season and beyond.
The Podkolzin trade receives an “A” grade. As great of a deal as it was in terms of value, Podkolzin’s fit is a bit of a question. He has high upside but is unproven, providing some risk to the deal. The Oilers have a surplus of forwards vying for a spot in the bottom six, so a weak training camp for Podkolzin could ultimately result in him being placed on waivers. For just a fourth-round pick, this would not be the end of the world, but for a team like Edmonton which lacks draft capital, it could be a waste of an asset. However, Podkolzin’s upside is so high that this scenario should be of minimal concern, so an “A” grade is still a great success.
The acquisition of Emberson is an easy “A+”. If the Oilers had traded Ceci and a third-round pick to San Jose for nothing in return, it would have still yielded an “A+”. Ceci’s time in Edmonton was clearly nearing an end, so to shed his deal for a third-round pick while other salary cap dumps with better players cost much more was an absolute steal. Plus, Edmonton landed a young and promising defenseman who could have a long-term role in the team’s bottom four.
When Bowman was hired, many Oilers fans were upset given his disappointing history, on and off the ice. While we are just weeks into his tenure, his early moves have shown promise and improvement from his time with the Chicago Blackhawks, giving Oilers fans optimism as the team navigates through these unprecedented offer sheets.
