After their first-round playoff exit nearly a month ago, the Edmonton Oilers need to improve their roster for the 2026–27 season. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about that, and as a result, I’m expecting a very active offseason.

It begs the question of whether a blockbuster trade is on the horizon, and recently, Tyler Yaremchuk wrote a piece touching on exactly that for the Oilers. He mentioned that when considering a potential trade for St. Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou, who has multiple 70-point seasons under his belt, the conversation around the main piece going the other way would likely start with Matt Savoie. However, he followed that up by noting that Savoie should be very, very close to untouchable in that scenario.

And with that, it got me thinking — hypothetically, even if we took away no-trade and no-movement clauses, which current Oilers players would be considered untouchable in trade talks this offseason?

And because, as the saying goes, if Wayne Gretzky can get traded, anyone can. For this discussion, we’ll use “untouchable” to mean “nearly untouchable” in a trade sense. With that in mind, let’s dive into the Oilers’ current untouchable players below.

Matt Savoie

As Yaremchuk noted recently, Matt Savoie should be considered untouchable (or very close to it) in any trade talks.

Savoie had a solid rookie campaign in 2025–26, flashing that high offensive upside near the end of the season. He showed his defensive prowess in his rookie season, leading all forwards in minutes played on the penalty kill (132:13) and tying for second on the team in takeaways (32). He finished with 37 points (18 goals, 19 assists), which ranked seventh in rookie scoring overall, providing solid two-way play while still on his entry-level contract.

That said, Savoie has one more season left on his entry-level contract before becoming a restricted free agent after the 2026–27 season, and what adds to his near-untouchable status is the incredible point production he could provide next season while still on that cheap entry-level deal.

There’s a good chance Savoie will be stapled to McDavid’s........

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