Something big is brewing as Stan Bowman prepares his next blockbuster

Connor McDavid's front office is not done working the phones this summer, and Stan Bowman is reportedly still hunting for help up front.

David Pagnotta told Inside Sports on 880 CHED that the Edmonton Oilers are still looking to add more up front, whether it comes through free agency or a creative trade.

That's a notable admission with July already rolling. Most contenders have their skeletons set by now.

The Oilers finished the season 41-30-11 with a plus-13 goal differential and a six-game-to-two-game-to-two-game stretch to close out their last 10. Good, not great. Fourteenth overall league-wide.

McDavid put up 138 points last season. Draisaitl added 97 of his own on a cap hit of 14,000,000 dollars. The engine still runs. The depth around it is the question mark.

Pagnotta says he is curious to see what Bowman does next. Fair. The Oilers GM has been quiet on the addition front so far this offseason.

He also believes Edmonton is in a better spot than it was a month ago, especially with a much more mobile defense.

Bouchard, Walman give Oilers a different look on the back end

That defense argument holds up. Evan Bouchard put up 95 points last season, including 21 goals, while logging real power play minutes. Jake Walman chipped in 20 points and four shorthanded goals split between his roles.

Add Mattias Ekholm's 41 points and a plus-32 rating, and Edmonton's blue line does not look like the group that got picked apart in years past. It moves the puck now instead of chasing it.

Darnell Nurse remains on the books at 9,250,000 dollars against the cap, still logging heavy minutes at 31. Whether that's the best use of term and money is a fair question, one Bowman has not had to answer publicly yet.

Up front is where the real work sits. Beyond McDavid and Draisaitl, the scoring drops off fast, and depth names like Trent Frederic, Adam Henrique and Mathieu Joseph were brought in to stabilize the middle six, not carry it.

A creative trade, as Pagnotta put it, usually means moving term or a prospect to solve a need free agency can't fill cheaply. Think of it like patching a roof before the rain instead of after. Bowman knows that math better than most.

Nobody in Edmonton is panicking. This roster just went 41-30-11 with McDavid and Draisaitl both healthy for long stretches. But contention windows do not stay open forever, and Bowman knows that better than anyone watching from the outside.