The top free agent this off-season also happens to be the exact type of player the Edmonton Oilers need.

This off-season has already been a busy one after the Carolina Hurricanes hoisted the Stanley Cup Sunday. There have been several notable trades made, including former Oilers prospect Michael Kesselring.

It only seems like a matter of time before Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse is moved as well, as he reportedly asked for a trade with a shortlist of five teams. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Oilers don’t believe they’ll need to retain a lot of his $9.25 million cap hit, if any at all, and a report from The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported the team is speaking with the Penguins about a deal.

That’d be huge for the Oilers, as they already have just over $14.5 million in cap space heading into the opening of free agency on July 1st. They’ll still need to re-sign some players, namely Jason Dickinson, Kasperi Kapanen, and Connor Murphy, but if they can free up over $7 million in cap space, that’d be huge for one of their biggest needs since the Connor McDavid era began: a top-six scoring threat.

Enter Alex Tuch.

Alex Tuch’s fit in the Oilers’ lineup

The 2026 free agency class is a rather weak one, with Tuch ranking as Daily Faceoff’s top 50 free agents. As weak as it is, Tuch is a bona fide top-six scorer........

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