The Oilers have reportedly completed a trade with San Jose Sharks that will deliver left shot defenceman Jake Walman to Edmonton in exchange for a first round draft choice, presumably in 2026 since the 2025 first has already been traded.
The trade has not yet been confirmed, possibly due to Oilers needing to clear a roster spot to make room for the newcomer. That presumably can’t take place until after tonight’s game against Montreal Canadiens, in which emergency call-ups Cam Dineen and Max Jones are slated to play. With all of ill defencemen Mattias Ekholm and John Klingberg and healthy scratch Jeff Skinner, the roster is full to capacity with 23 active players.
Walman, just turned 29, has enjoyed a breakout season in San Jose after being acquired from the Red Wings with another asset just last summer. In 50 games this season, he’s scored 6-26-32 with a very respectable -1 on what is a net -65 team. 25 of those points have come at even strength, the other 7 on the powerplay.
Walman is something of a late bloomer who played 3 full seasons in the AHL from 2017-20 before finally making the NHL as a full-time player in the COVID-shortened 2021 season, during which he turned 25. He was subsequently dealt from St. Louis to Detroit at the deadline in 2022, where he established himself as a 20-minute-per-night rearguard the last 2 seasons. The Red Wings signed him to a 3-year contract with an average annual value of $3.4 million that will expire in 2026.. Oddly, they dealt him to the Sharks with a second-round sweetener just one year in to the pact in a one-way trade that suggests “cap dump”.
Walman certainly made the most of his new opportunity. Impressively, his ice time soared in San Jose this season to a team-high 23:11 per game . That time includes 2:40+ on each special team. He’s certainly made the most of the opportunity, joining an impressive list of past San Jose blueliners in early productivity:
Turns out those 50 games were all Walman ever got as a Shark. Barring an unforeseen complication, he’s soon to be an Edmonton Oiler.
The Oilers now take on the final year-plus of that contract. There was no chance of retention as San Jose has already used all three of its retention slots in past deals involving Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson and Tomas Hertl. Impressive work by Mike Grier to get a second round pick for acquiring the player, then a first for disposing of him.
Bearing in mind the weak team he’s been playing on, Walman has posted excellent on-ice numbers in San Jose, in the 49-50% range in shots and goals categories at 5v5. The team as a whole is down in the 45% range on shots and 43% in goals.
More to come.