When Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney had a fire sale at the 2025 NHL trade deadline, it resulted in a Stanley Cup champion. As a matter of fact, before the series between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers, it was guaranteed that it would end with a former Bruin winning the Cup.
In the end, Brad Marchand and the Panthers won the Stanley Cup on Tuesday night with a 5-1 win over Edmonton in South Florida, over his former teammate, Trent Frederic. A couple of days before the March 7 deadline, Frederic was moved to the Oilers in a three-team deal despite being injured.
Before the playoffs, he managed to play in just one game, but he played in 22 postseason games for Edmonton during their run, with a goal and three assists. It was a typical Trent Frederic playoff run, play a grinding game and be an enforcer, and let the Oilers' stars do their thing. Twenty-four hours after their season ended, it was reported that Frederic and Edmonton are closing in on a contract extension that they will regret over time.
Edmonton and Trent Frederic are reportedly closing in on an eight-year contract extension
One day after the Oilers saw their season end following a Game 6 loss to Florida, it was reported by Andy Strickland that Edmonton and Frederic were closing in on an eight-year extension with an AVV of $4 million. Talk about a contract that general manager Stan Bowman and the Oilers will regret over time.
Frederic set a career-high in goals with 18 in 2023-24 and assists with 22. It was a magical year for anyone who took the ice for the Black and Gold, but Frederic had one of those seasons that nobody saw coming. By giving him $4 million over the next eight years, if that does indeed happen, that would be a huge mistake for someone who hasn't proved he can be a consistent player.
Frederic does his job at the bottom of the lineup, the 29th overall pick in the first round of the 2016 Entry Draft by Sweeney. He never lived up to the first-round selection, as it was a pick that Sweeney went out of the box with at the time, but given his draft history, it ended up being a par for the course selection. Now, Edmonton is looking to lock up the 27-year-old, and if they do with the rumored deal, it would be an absurd deal and mistake before the length runs out.