Oilers targeting towering defenseman from Eastern Conference rival
Stan Bowman has a backup plan brewing on the blue line, and Buffalo's Michael Kesselring is the name now floating into Edmonton's contingency file.
The buzz hit Twitter this Monday from NHL Rumour Report, citing Jeff Marek. Translation: if the Oilers can't sort out Connor Murphy, they pivot.
Murphy played 80 games for Edmonton this season, posting 5 goals and 12 assists. He went minus-2 with a shorthanded helper, and added 3 points in 6 playoff games.
His last 10 read like a steadying veteran: 4 points, plus-6, no penalty drama. That's the kind of bottom-pair stability the Oilers leaned on all spring.
But Marek's note frames Kesselring as the fallback, not the prize. The 26-year-old right shot put up 2 points in 34 games for the Sabres, with a 0 rating and one assist over his last 10.
The fit makes some sense on paper. Edmonton's right side already runs through Evan Bouchard's 95-point season, and Murphy's $4.4M cap hit at age 33 is a tough thing to extend twice.
Kesselring carries a $1.4M cap charge. He's young, he's cheap, he plays the right side. For a roster pushing $12.5M into Connor McDavid alone, that math matters.
Why the Sabres might actually move him
Buffalo finished 50-23-9, fourth overall, 109 points, first in their division. That's a team with leverage, not desperation.
But Lindy Ruff already has Rasmus Dahlin, Bowen Byram, Mattias Samuelsson, Owen Power, Logan Stanley, Conor Timmins, Luke Schenn and Zach Metsa on the depth chart. Kesselring is the eighth defenseman in line.
Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen has used Kesselring sparingly. 34 games. Plenty of healthy scratches. Buffalo wins this trade only if Edmonton overpays.
And Edmonton has a reason to overpay. The Oilers went 41-30-11 this season, ranked 14th overall, and dropped both regular-season meetings with Buffalo, including a 5-1 loss in November.
The trade rumour isn't the move yet. It's the leverage. If Murphy walks or asks too much, Bowman wants a name in his back pocket that doesn't blow up the cap.
Whether that name is actually Kesselring, or just a placeholder in a bigger conversation involving Owen Power and Carter Hart, is the part Marek didn't answer.
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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 | ||||