March 7, 2025 by Ryan Lotsberg

The Edmonton Oilers acquired Jake Walman from the San Jose Sharks for Carl Berglund and a conditional first round draft pick.

The 29-year old has 83 points in 252 NHL games with the Sharks, the Detroit Red Wings, and the St. Louis Blues. Walman has 32 points in 50 games this season, which is easily a new career-high for him. 

The Red Wings curiously traded Walman to the Sharks just one year after signing him to a three-year contract, and he’s been fantastic for the Sharks. He’s -1 on a terrible Sharks team that has been outscored by 65 goals this season. Plus/minus is a flawed stat, but Walman’s plus/minus tells a story. He has been a top defenceman for the Sharks this season.

Walman – Puck IQ	TOI %	DFF%	DFF%RC	GF%
Elite	32.9	43.7%	-0.9	35% (7-13)
Middle	40	50.2%	4.3	60% (24-16)
Low	27.1	47.6%	4.4	42.9% (12-16)
All	100	47.4%	2.8	48.9% (43-45)

His metrics against elite competition are concerning, but he isn’t likely to be tasked with such a hard role with the Oilers, and being on a better team should raise those numbers. Walman is shining brightly against mid-level competition, which suggests that he’s well suited for a second pairing role.

Natural Stat Trick	GA/60 Rel	GF% Rel	xG% Rel	xGA/60 Rel	HDCA/60 Rel
Walman	0.09	10.63	3.92	-0.05	-0.12

Walman leads the Sharks in average time on ice (23:11), but he ranks third behind Mario Ferraro and Cody Ceci in average ice time at even strength. Walman played 537:54 in 41 games with Ceci before the former Oiler was dealt to the Dallas Stars earlier this season, which is far and away more time than Walman has spent with any other partner this season. Walman has played 50 games without Ceci, so we can get a fair sense of how he’s done with and without Ceci by his side.

NS Line Tool	GF%	xGF%	HDCF%	CF%
Walman – Ceci	50.85% (30-29)	44.95%	42.27%	47.3%
Walman w/o Ceci	46.67% (14-16)	55.3%	53.91%	51.84%

As it turns out, Ceci appears to have been a drag on Walman. Oilers fans have seen that movie before, so that shouldn’t be too surprising. Perhaps being on a better team with a better partner will improve Walman’s numbers.

We just have to figure out who that partner will be. Walman is a good puck mover, which should allow him to fit in with the Oilers nicely. @NHL_Sid pointed out that rush defending is a weakness of his. While he can play the right side, he’s better on the left side.

Walman’s weak rush defending makes the fit with Darnell Nurse, who also struggles with rush defence, questionable. It would also be best to keep Walman on the left side.

Brett Kulak has performed well beside Nurse this season. Their 42.86% goal share doesn’t reflect their 55.66% expected goal share. Walman could bump Kulak up to the second pairing, which would see Walman playing with Troy Emberson. Their skill sets could complement each other nicely.

The other option would be to break up Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard on the top pairing. Walman and Bouchard could become a tremendous offensive top pairing. Ekholm and Nurse could team up to form a shut down pairing, and the third pairing with Kulak and Emberson could remain intact.

Walman likely bumps John Klingberg out of the lineup. Emberson has been good, but there’s no reason he couldn’t sit for a game or two. Regardless, the Oilers will be carrying eight defencemen that can play for the rest of the season. I could see Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch experimenting with some potential pairings in practice and in some upcoming games. The reality is there are multiple options that could work.

The Oilers also formally announced that Evander Kane will not return during the regular season, which became a certainty when they acquired Walman. Getting Walman was the smartest use of Kane’s LTIR space. Walman is a top four defenceman in his twenties that has another year left in his contract. He will still be in his prime when his contract expires. Kane being on LTIR and not returning until the playoffs allowed the Oilers to add a top four defenceman in his prime with term without taking anything from the current roster, which is an option that otherwise would not have been possible.

I realize that most fans and members of the media are stuck in the here and now while the Oilers are contending, but Ekholm and Kulak each only have one year left on their contracts. Ekholm will have just turned 36 when his contract expires. Kulak will be 32 years old when his contract ends after next season. Both will be past what is considered “prime”. Walman’s contract also ends next season, but he will only be 30 years old when his contract expires next season. I believe that one of Ekholm or Kulak will not be re-signed, and it was smart to get ahead of finding a younger replacement that can do the job.

Related: Oilers acquire Frederic