It’s rumoured that the Edmonton Oilers are looking to re-sign forward Trent Frederic to a long-term deal, likely an eight-year contract with a cap hit in the $3.5 to $4 million range. And after Wednesday’s Evander Kane trade, this signing seems even more inevitable.
He’s coming off a two-year deal with a cap hit of $2.3 million, and despite missing time down the playoff stretch due to a lingering ankle injury, he was inserted into the lineup for Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs. He recorded four points (1G, 3A) in 22 postseason games, accumulated 25 penalty minutes, delivered 85 hits, which ranked sixth in the NHL and drew six penalties, tied for the 16th most in the league.
Given that the Oilers are reportedly aiming to re-sign him long-term, it’s clear they liked what they saw from the 6-foot-3, 220-pound feisty forward. With that said, let’s take a look back at some of Frederic’s most memorable moments from the playoffs.
He was slotted into Game 1 against the Los Angeles Kings and, despite recording an assist, he looked a step behind and understandably so, given that he had missed time down the stretch.
However, as the series went on, Frederic’s mobility and overall play noticeably improved. A big part of that came from finding the right linemates — he was paired with Connor Brown and Adam Henrique on the third line, and the trio started showing chemistry in Game 4, which the Oilers won 4-3 in overtime. In addition, the rugged forward nearly scored the game-winner himself when a shot bounced off the end boards and landed on his stick, but he couldn’t beat Darcy Kuemper in the extra session. Nevertheless, the Oilers still emerged victorious in Game 4.
His first and only goal of the playoffs came in Game 6 against L.A., which was the Oilers’ fifth of the night, and held up as the game-winner. He barreled in on a 3-on-1 rush as Brown dodged a couple of checks and slid the puck over, where Frederic made no mistake and buried it past Kuemper.
In the second round against the Vegas Golden Knights, his toughness was on full display when he took a brutal cross-check to the face from Nicolas Roy in double overtime of Game 2, drawing a five-minute power play. And if that had been you or me taking that stick to the face, we’d be sipping soup through a straw and calling in sick for a week. But Frederic stayed in the game, remained on the bench, and got a front-row seat to Leon Draisaitl burying the game-winner in overtime.
In Game 4 against Vegas, Mattias Janmark clipped goaltender Adin Hill, sparking a scrum. Frederic then dropped the gloves with the imposing 6-foot-6, 245-pound Nicholas Hague. The fight lasted over 40 seconds, and although Hague seemed to land more punches, Frederic appeared to do more damage, as Hague headed to the penalty box looking bloodied.
From there, however, Frederic — who put up three points in six games in the first round — went pointless in nine games until he registered an assist in the Oilers’ 6-3 win in Game 5 against the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final.
That said, Frederic went pointless in the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers, but his biggest moment came in Game 3 when the game was 5-1 for Florida and basically out of reach. He went after Sam Bennett, who had been ‘casually’ bumping into Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner earlier in the series. Frederic chased him down and landed two cross-checks, the last one breaking his stick over Bennett’s back. The play ignited chaos, setting off a series of scrums — highlighted by a heavy tilt between Darnell Nurse and Jonah Gadjovich.
To summarize, Frederic’s playoffs started strong offensively in the first round with three points in six games, he showcased his tough-as-nails grit in the second, and despite not posing much of a scoring threat in the Cup Finals — likely due to a lingering ankle injury — he still brought the physicality, delivering 26 hits in six games against the Panthers.
At the Oilers’ end-of-season media availability, Jason Gregor asked Frederic if he had more to give when healthy, and he responded, “Yeah, I’m not really thrilled with exactly how I played through the playoffs, but that’s the past — it’s hard to look back. I have a lot of stuff to work on, and I’m excited about that.” All things considered, the St. Louis, Missouri native didn’t quite deliver the offence I expected. Still, he brought a physical edge throughout the playoffs, and I’m intrigued to see what he can do when he’s able to move around the ice better.
Frederic Could Be Hitting His Prime at 28 — Just Like Maroon and Kassian Did
Interestingly, while an eight-year contract Frederic is rumoured to receive may carry more risk by year five, the upside is that the Oilers will likely get him during his peak years. If he follows the trend of two other former power forwards who recently played for the Oilers, Frederic’s prime should be right around the corner.
Frederic is big, physical, fights, and knows how to put the puck in the back of the net — qualities that remind me of a couple of former Oilers who fit the power forward mould. One of them is Pat Maroon, who played in Edmonton from 2015 to 2018 and recorded his best season at age 28 when he scored a career-high 27 goals, which was a result of playing 734 minutes at 5v5 alongside Connor McDavid that season.
Additionally, another rough-and-tumble player with qualities similar to Frederic is former Oiler and fan favourite Zack Kassian, who played in Edmonton from 2015 to 2022. He was also 28 when he recorded his first 15-goal season in 2018-19, and the forward he played the most 5v5 minutes with that season was McDavid. Kassian followed that up with his most productive season a year later, scoring 34 points in 2019-20.
In saying that, with Frederic turning 28 next February, I wonder if the Oilers are hoping history repeats itself. They’ve had two big and physical players find success playing with McDavid before, and maybe with Frederic — especially if his ankle improves — they can make it a three-peat.
That could be wishful thinking, but if he topped out at a 25-30 goal scorer on McDavid’s wing for a couple of seasons, that $3.5–$4 million he’s rumoured to fetch would look like a bargain. Still, if that’s not in the cards, at minimum, he’d be a serviceable bottom-six player who hits, fights, has his teammates’ backs, and could potentially score 15 goals a season. That type of player is very valuable, especially considering he may also play down the middle, as he also said, “I would love to play more center.” That said, that’s exactly the kind of player the Oilers need moving forward, especially now with Evander Kane and his toughness heading to Vancouver, and Frederic just on the brink of his prime.
