Edmonton Oilers Take Big Risk, Extend Mattias Ekholm Through Age 39

For the past several seasons, Mattias Ekholm has been key to the Edmonton Oilers success, with their top pairing defenseman going a long way to mitigate the struggles of Darnell Nurse and his overpaid contract.

Now, after Connor McDavid signed an incredibly team friendly two-year extension, the team had money to spend, and have now decided to use it to extend their veteran defenseman.

According to reports, the extension is for three seasons and carries a salary cap hit of $4 million annually, with the deal set to keep him in the NHL until the age of 39, something that has been deemed a big risk by fans.

However, the team got McDavid for an extra three years including 2025/26, so the time is now to push all the chips in for their pursuit of a Stanley Cup, with many believing the risk is worth it to lock in their top defenseman.

This comes just days after Jake Walman also reached an extension with the team, as the Oilers clearly believe this current core group is the one that can finally take them over the top and lead them to glory.

Only time will tell whether or not this core can take the Oilers to the Stanley Cup, but fans are certainly celebrating after Stan Bowman locked in three key pieces moving forward, and if they can get themselves back into a good spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, all these signings will certainly help this team.