The Edmonton Oilers beefed up their defense on Thursday with the acquisition of Jake Walman from the San Jose Sharks. The Oilers sent their 2026 first-round pick — which they can move to 2027 if it is a top-12 pick — and forward Carl Berglund to the Sharks.
Walman had been a bright spot for the Sharks since they acquired him in a trade from the Detroit Red Wings last June. The 29-year-old has been San Jose’s top-scoring defenseman, with six goals and 26 assists for a career-high 32 points.
Jake Walman has been a bright spot for the Sharks this year. A bit of a surprise to see him moved, but a great get for the Oilers. pic.twitter.com/VAonVSvxwW
— dom
(@domluszczyszyn) March 7, 2025
A risk for Oilers?
In Walman, the Oilers have augmented their blue line by bringing in a puck-mover that fits the ideal makeup of what GM Stan Bowman values in a defenseman for this team.
Walman has excelled on a poor San Jose Sharks squad and has a 49 percent Corsi for, goals for and expected goals for marks at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick.
Although he’s a left-shot, making him the fourth regular rearguard in that boat, the 29-year-old should provide the Oilers coaching staff with options to mix and match pairs at various moments of games.
But his acquisition comes with risk, with a high price and only attempts to patch up the hole left by the much younger Philip Broberg at nominal cap savings but less team control.
The Oilers have had interest in Walman before. In fact, they considered trying to trade for him during the 2022-23 season before his then-team, the Detroit Red Wings, opted to sign him to an extension. The Oilers acquired veteran Mattias Ekholm before that trade deadline instead.
Ekholm has wound up being a catalyst for the Oilers thanks to his two-way game and notably staunch defending. His skill sets are quite different than Walman’s.
An NHL scout who’s had numerous viewings of Walman said he skates and moves the puck well but called him a No. 5 defenseman who takes risks and can be a defensive liability. The scout said Walman can play both sides but is far better in his natural position. That could result in Brett Kulak playing even more right defence.
Walman was cast off by the Red Wings for future considerations – see, nothing – just last June. Now, the Oilers are giving up a first-round pick and fringe prospect Carl Berglund to take on his $3.4 million cap hit for this season and next.
That comes after the Oilers opted not to match the two-year, $4.58 million AAV offer sheet Broberg signed with the St. Louis Blues last August. Sure, there’s the benefit of hindsight here and three-quarters of a season has since been played. But the Oilers are saving $1.18 million per year for two seasons between Walman’s and Broberg’s cap hits, yet Broberg has two more campaigns of team control, is five and a half years younger and has more ability to play his weak side.
Walman has appeared in just one playoff game, which came in 2021 with the Blues, so he’ll be in the spotlight like never before in a few weeks. — Daniel Nugent-Bowman
Sharks stay active
This is an impressive bit of asset management by Sharks general manager Mike Grier as he continues his major rebuild. Walman provided plenty of value, but San Jose also selected prized defenseman prospect Sam Dickinson with the No. 11 pick in last year’s draft. Grier essentially got Walman as a salary dump from Detroit for nothing and not only got excellent production from the defenseman but turned him into a trade asset. In picking up Walman last summer, Grier also got a 2024 second-round pick, which he used to select Swedish defense prospect Leo Sahlin Wallenius.
The Athletic has Sahlin Wallenius ranked No. 9 in a Sharks prospect pool that was rated No. 1 in the NHL. Along with him and Dickinson, the Sharks also have 20-year-old Luca Cagnoni as another left-shot rearguard who has offensive upside and power-play acumen. Cagnoni is the second-leading scorer for the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, with 13 goals and 41 points.
Already on the roster are left-hand shots Henry Thrun and Shakir Mukhamadullin. The Sharks recalled Mukhamadullin on Feb. 4 and are starting to fast-track his NHL development. While Walman’s next contract might be richer than San Jose wanted, and the return in a trade was too appetizing to turn down, Grier will need to add more proven NHL talent up in the lineup to go with the young core of Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith and William Eklund up front.
The Sharks have been busy at this deadline, moving out center Nico Sturm and goalie Vitek Vanecek while acquiring right-shot defenseman Vincent Desharnais. Rugged forward Luke Kunin, who was held out of Thursday’s game at Colorado, also could be on the move before Friday’s deadline. — Eric Stephens
Required reading
(Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
