The Oilers just received crushing news that nobody saw coming
Maxim Berezkin and Stan Bowman just got tied to a brutal Oilers development as the Russian winger is now expected to stay in the KHL.
That is bad news in Edmonton.
Not small bad news either.
This felt like one of the cleaner offseason wins the Oilers could have landed. Berezkin was widely seen as a legit candidate to come over and push for NHL time next season, but the latest reporting says he is instead set to sign a 2-year extension with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.
That changes the mood around Edmonton's forward group right away.
The Oilers need size, they need more edge up front, and they need cheaper internal help. Berezkin checked all 3 boxes without costing the club a trade package or free-agent overpay.
Now that option looks gone.
The file you shared goes even further and calls it a mistake, noting that Berezkin is already 24 and turns 25 in October, which makes this the kind of moment where a player usually has to test himself against NHL competition instead of staying in a comfort zone.
That is why this stings for Edmonton.
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The Oilers just lost a realistic answer for their forward depth
Berezkin was not being talked about like a fringe maybe.
Bowman himself had already praised him earlier, calling him a good-sized player who makes plays and is comfortable with the puck.
That matters because Edmonton clearly saw something real there.
And the production backs up the idea. Berezkin had 32 points in 64 games this season, after 42 in 66 the year before, while also posting 14 goals and 8 assists in 38 playoff games across the last 2 KHL postseasons.
That is the type of profile the Oilers could use right now.
A big winger.
A player who can defend.
A player who can make plays.
A player who could have helped replace some of the size and snarl the team has lost up front.
Instead, Edmonton is left watching him stay overseas for 2 more years.
And in a summer where the Oilers already have bench questions, roster holes, and cap pressure, losing a forward like that before he ever arrives is the kind of setback that hurts more than people want to admit.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 29, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Taylor Hall | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Logan Stankoven | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Jackson Blake | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Seth Jarvis | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Cole Caufield | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 1 | 1 | |
| William Carrier | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Lane Hutson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Alexander Nikishin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | - | - | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | - | - | |
| Jalen Chatfield | - | - | - | |
| Kirby Dach | - | - | - | |
| Phillip Danault | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||