Edmonton Oilers almost made deadline trade with Islanders: report
The Edmonton Oilers were busy at the most recent NHL trade deadline, but they reportedly struck out on one of their top targets.
Oilers GM Stan Bowman made two trades to help stock up the team ahead of the playoffs. The first was a move to bring in Trent Frederic and Max Jones from the Boston Bruins to improve forward depth, while the second saw Edmonton acquire defenceman Jake Walman from the San Jose Sharks.
Judging from Bowman’s post-deadline presser, it sounded like the Oilers had been hot on the heels of Walman all season, but a new report suggests that wasn’t the case for Frederic.
Marco D’Amico of RG Media reported this morning that Edmonton instead had their trade focus solely on New York Islanders’ veteran centerman Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
“Sources have indicated the [Oilers] had two-way centerman JG Pageau as their main target at the NHL Trade Deadline,” D’Amico wrote on X. “The [Islanders] nixed a potential deal with [Edmonton], forcing the Oilers to pivot to Trent Frederic.”
Sources have indicated the #LetsGoOilers had two-way centerman JG Pageau as their main target at the NHL Trade Deadline.
The #Isles nixed a potential deal with EDM, forcing the Oilers to pivot to Trent Frederic.
More on what went down below: https://t.co/bjCd40t5WZ
— Marco D'Amico (@mndamico) March 27, 2025
Edmonton’s interest in Pageau makes a lot of sense, as the team needed another bottom-six centre to round out the forward group. The 32-year-old is having a decent season on Long Island with 12 goals and 37 points through 68 games. He was switched back and forth this season as a centre and wing, similar to Frederic.
Outside of the offensive results, Pageau is also a decent two-way player as well and can be trusted in difficult D-zone starts. The fit is there for Pageau and the Oilers, so why couldn’t a deal be made?
According to D’Amico, two problems prevented a potential trade from being completed. The first was an unwillingness from Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello to retain salary on Pageau’s pricey $5 million cap hit that runs through next season. That would have been essential in any trade with the Oilers, as they did not have enough space to take that contract on at full freight.
The other reason detailed is that the Islanders were not interested in trading Pageau for a package of draft picks and wanted some bodies in return. Unfortunately, the Oilers didn’t have the right players to entice the Isles into getting something done.
That second reason also seemed to be an issue for Edmonton’s supposed interest in Mikko Rantanen, who was reportedly close to a contract extension agreement with the Oilers but couldn’t get a trade done with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Pageau would have been a big add for this group, and it remains to be seen if Frederic was the better option, as he has yet to play a game with the Oilers due to an injury.