There’s chatter that the Edmonton Oilers plan to sign D-man Jake Walman to a long-term contract extension. As Zach Laing reports, according to Evolving Hockey, the deal could be close to six years with a $6.278-million cap hit, and this likely reflects Walman’s strong playoff performance last season, where he recorded 10 points (2 goals, 8 assists) in 22 games and led the entire league in blocked shots with 66.
That said, because of Walman’s tremendous playoff run, a long-term contract extension is well-deserved and one I’m in favour of, and it may be just around the corner this offseason. With that in mind, and following that trend, here’s a look at seven Oilers who turned strong playoff performances into multi-year contracts the following offseason.
Fernando Pisani – Signed a 4-Year, $10 Million Contract Following the 2006 Playoffs
Fernando Pisani was drafted by the Oilers in the eighth round of the 1996 NHL Draft but didn’t begin his NHL career until age 26. In his third season, he set a career high with 37 points (18G, 19A) in 80 games during the 2005–06 regular season, then followed it up with an unforgettable performance during Edmonton’s run to the 2006 Stanley Cup Final.
Pisani scored a league-leading 14 goals and four assists in 24 playoff games, and only three of those came on the power play, one was a spectacular shorthanded tally, and the other 10 came at even strength, including five game-winners, with none bigger than the iconic goal he scored in Game 5 of the Final.
The Oilers were down 3–1 in the series against the Carolina Hurricanes, and in Game 5, they found themselves tied 3–3 in overtime. While killing a penalty, Pisani stepped up as the OT short-handed hero, as the late Robin Brownlee described his goal:
“Pisani’s snipe, top shelf snapshot over the glove of Cam Ward after he snatched the puck on a Rod Brind’Amour pass attempt at the blueline, was his 11th of the post-season and it gave the Oilers a 4-3 win, sending the series back to Edmonton for Game 6. A shorthanded overtime winner?
How often does that happen? How often does any of what we saw in the spring of 2006 – 14 goals, including five game-winners in a span of 24 games by a player who never scored more than 18 goals in a season — happen? Pisani was the unlikeliest of heroes, an Edmonton boy who’d toiled in the AHL and didn’t even make it the NHL until he was 26. It was perfect.”
That goal was indeed perfect and instantly became one of the most memorable in Oilers playoff history. Unfortunately, his efforts during that playoff run weren’t enough to bring the Stanley Cup to Edmonton. However, because of his incredible performance, the Oilers rewarded Pisani with a four-year, $10 million contract on July 1, 2006.
That said, before the start of the 2007–08 season, he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, which sidelined him for the first 26 games of the campaign. The illness began to impact his health, and as a result, he was never fully able to replicate the impact he had during the 2006 Cup run. Over the next four seasons in Edmonton, he tallied 89 regular-season points in 211 games before playing his final NHL season with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010–11.
Dwayne Roloson – Signed a 3-Year, $11 Million Contract Following the 2006 Playoffs
In 2006, the Oilers were holding onto the eighth seed in the Western Conference when then-GM Kevin Lowe acquired veteran goaltender Dwayne Roloson from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a first-round draft pick and a conditional third-round pick. The netminder helped the team secure the final playoff spot and took his game to a whole new level once the playoffs began.
Facing the first-seeded Detroit Red Wings in the first round, he posted a .929 save percentage (SV%), helping his team pull off a huge upset with a 4–2 series win. He matched that .929 SV% against the San Jose Sharks in the second round, which included a spectacular glove save on sniper Jonathan Cheechoo in double overtime of Game 3, helping the Oilers secure the win and eliminate the Sharks in six games. The netminder then posted a .939 SV% in the Western Conference Final against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
Unfortunately, Roloson suffered a severe knee injury during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final when Marc-André Bergeron accidentally drove Andrew Ladd straight into him in the crease, which was a devastating collision for the team. The injury forced Roloson out for the remainder of the series, and backup Jussi Markkanen manned the net, with the Oilers eventually losing to the Hurricanes in seven games.
That said, Roloson put on an incredible performance during the 2006 playoff run, posting a 12-5 record with a 2.32 goals-against average (GAA) and a league-leading .927 SV%. As a result, the Oilers signed the then 36-year-old netminder to a three-year, $11 million contract the following offseason.
Overall, “Roli the Goalie” played in 174 regular-season games over the next three seasons with the Oilers, going 70-75-20 and posting a .908 SV% during that span before signing with the New York Islanders in July 2009.
Ales Hemsky – Signed a 6-Year, $24 Million Contract Extension Following the 2006 Playoffs
Former Oiler Ales Hemsky was the 13th overall pick in the 2001 NHL Draft and made his NHL debut during the 2002–03 season, putting up 30 points in his rookie campaign and following it up with 24 points in his sophomore season. In 2005-06, he posted 77 points in the regular season, marking his breakout year.
Moreover, he carried his stellar play into the playoffs, registering 17 points (6G, 11A) in 24 postseason games and had several highlights, most notably scoring the tying goal late in Game 6 against Detroit in the first round, followed by the go-ahead goal with just over a minute remaining. That goal held up as the game-winner, eliminating the powerhouse Red Wings and marking the final NHL game of Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman’s career.
Hemsky was just 22 years old during the 2006 playoff run and was already under contract for the 2006–07 season. But after a strong postseason showing and with a desire to lock up their future star, Edmonton decided to sign him to a six-year, $24 million contract extension in July 2006.
Hemsky played a total of 11 years in Oil Country, and while his highest point total after 2006 was 71 points, the talented winger was one of the few bright spots during the Oilers’ decade of darkness.
Kris Russell – Signed a 4-Year, $16 Million Contract Following the 2017 Playoffs
The Oilers signed veteran blueliner Kris Russell to a one-year, $3.1 million deal on Oct. 7, 2016, just before the season opener. He posted 13 points (1G, 12A) during the regular season, led the team with 213 blocked shots, and carried his dependable defensive play into the postseason.
In the playoffs, he was a minute muncher for the blue and orange, playing the third-most minutes of any Oiler during the team’s playoff run with 286:19, behind only Adam Larsson and Connor McDavid. Moreover, he led the team in blocked shots by a wide margin in the postseason, finishing with 54, well ahead of fellow D-man Oscar Klefbom’s 28.
His biggest block came in Game 5 of the opening round against the Sharks, when he got in front of a Brent Burns blast in overtime and moments later, former Oiler David Desharnais scored the OT winner, giving Edmonton a 3–2 series lead.
Russell also posted four assists and was effective in breaking the puck out, but it was his rugged defensive play that season — particularly his gritty workload in the playoffs — that led the Oilers to sign him to a four-year, $16 million contract in June 2017.
Russell played the remainder of his contract with the Oilers before they re-signed him for one more year for the 2021–22 campaign, which was his final NHL season. In total, he appeared in 339 regular-season games with the team.
Brett Kulak – Signed a 4-Year, $11 Million Contract Following the 2022 Playoffs
The Oilers acquired D-man Brett Kulak from the Montreal Canadiens at the 2022 trade deadline in exchange for William Lagesson, a conditional second-round pick, and a seventh-rounder.
He played in 18 regular-season games down the stretch, producing eight points (2G, 6A), and was solid in 16 playoff games that season. He recorded five assists and, as Zach Laing described, he “was a near-perfect fit in the lineup.” He averaged just over 16 minutes of steady hockey a night in the playoffs, used his speed, defended well, and seemed to bring out the best in his D-partner, Tyson Barrie, during that run.
According to Natural Stat Trick, he had a 63.16% goal share, and high-danger chances were 8–4 in his favour when he was on the ice at 5v5. All in all, he helped stabilize the third pair in the postseason and also showed he could handle second-pair responsibilities when needed.
Impressed by Kulak’s performance during the 2022 playoff run, Edmonton signed the Stony Plain, AB native to a four-year, $11 million contract in the following offseason. He has since been a stabilizing force on the Oilers’ back end as he approaches the final year of his contract in 2025–26.
Evander Kane – Signed a 4-Year, $20.5 Million Contract Following the 2022 Playoffs
The Oilers picked up Evander Kane as a free agent in January 2022 after San Jose terminated his contract. He caught fire in the final stretch of the 2021-22 regular season, scoring 39 points in 43 games, and then turned up the heat even more with a spectacular 2022 playoff run.
He scored 13 goals in 15 playoff games, tying for first place with Nathan MacKinnon. Additionally, Kane scored seven goals in seven games against the Los Angeles Kings in the opening round, then added five goals in five games against Calgary, including a natural hat trick in Game 2 of the Battle of Alberta series. As well, his 11 even-strength goals led the league that postseason.
Beyond scoring, the rugged forward was a physical force with 73 hits in 15 games, which was fourth-most in the league and led the playoffs in penalty minutes with 37. The Colorado Avalanche wound up sweeping the Oilers in four games in the Western Conference Final. Still, following Kane’s tremendous postseason, he signed a four-year $20 million contract with the club on July 13, 2022.
Overall, Kane scored 62 goals and 111 points in 161 regular-season games for the Oilers, and added 26 goals and 42 points in 68 playoff games. However, he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks on June 25, 2025.
Mattias Janmark – Signed a 3-Year, $4.35 Million Contract Following the 2024 Playoffs
Oilers forward Mattias Janmark originally signed with Edmonton in July 2022 on a one-year deal worth $1.25 million, putting up 25 points that season. He then re-signed another one-year deal in June 2023, taking a pay cut to $1 million, and recorded just 12 points in the 2023–24 regular season.
However, during the 2024 playoffs, Janmark recorded eight points in 25 games. While he didn’t exactly light up the scoresheet, he was highly effective in his bottom-six role. The Oilers’ penalty kill that postseason was an incredible 94.3%, the best in NHL history, and Janmark played a big part in that, playing the second-most minutes among forwards (49:45) and scoring two shorthanded goals. He also scored the game-winner in Game 5 against the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final.
Additionally, Janmark rose to the occasion in the Stanley Cup Final. While he recorded only eight points during the postseason, four of those came in the Final — two goals and two assist and he was also the only Oiler to score in Game 7’s 2-1 loss to the Panthers.
Janmark was a pending unrestricted free agent after the 2023–24 season, but his strong playoff performance likely played a key role in his earning a multi-year deal from the Oilers just seven days after the loss to Florida, signing a three-year, $4.35 million contract on July 1, 2024.
Having said that, while not every deal has been perfect, the Oilers have had their fair share of solid signings following strong playoff performances, but which signing stands out as your favourite?
THE OILERSNATION OPEN PRES. BY STAR MECHANICAL
When: Friday, August 29th, 2025
Where: Millwoods Golf Course
What:
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Foursome teams – $1300 | Solo (Mosaic team) – $325
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All in support of Gregor’s Grads.
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A day of golf followed by a Banquet lunch and an exclusive after party.
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