Edmonton Oilers get Jake Walman in surprise trade with Sharks
The Edmonton Oilers have kept busy ahead of Friday’s trade deadline, swinging a deal with the San Jose Sharks for defenceman Jake Walman.
The trade, which is now official, was originally reported by The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta. The Oilers are sending a conditional (top-12 protected) 2026 first-round pick and minor-league forward Carl Berglund in return.
Oilers GM Stan Bowman pulled the trigger on the deal to shore up their defensive group. While it was expected that Edmonton would add a defenceman before tomorrow’s deadline, just about nobody had Walman as the guy to move.
The 29-year-old has six goals and 32 points in 50 games, and led all Sharks players in average ice time (23:11) this season. His underlying numbers are also solid.
It paints the picture of an above-average puck-moving defenceman. While his defensive metrics may not be amazing, you have to consider he was playing top-flight minutes on one of the league’s worst teams.
Here's Walman's microstat card for this season. #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/qR42upVMRs
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) March 7, 2025
There is no doubt that Walman is a top-four defenceman in the NHL, which was one of the Oilers’ biggest needs heading into this deadline outside of another goaltender. The Toronto native is left-handed, which will cause a bit of confusion as to where he will slot into the Oilers system.
Perhaps the Oilers could run with a left side consisting of Walman, Mattias Ekholm, and Darnell Nurse, which frees up Brett Kulak to move to the right side with Evan Bouchard and Ty Emberson.
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We should get our first look at Walman in the Oilers lineup when Edmonton hosts the Dallas Stars at Rogers Place on Saturday. But will Walman be the only new player in Edmonton’s lineup? The trade deadline is set for Friday at 1 p.m. MST.