The Edmonton Oilers are steadily doing their due diligence early in the 2025-26 season. Within days of locking up Connor McDavid and Jake Walman to extensions, another of their top players does likewise. Today is defenceman Mattias Ekholm’s turn to get paid, as he signs a three-year extension with the club. The deal carries with it an average annual value of $4 million. Let’s break it down, and what it means for general manager Stan Bowman and the Oilers as a whole.
EK YEAH! 💪
The #Oilers have signed defenceman Mattias Ekholm to a three-year contract extension with an AAV of $4 million. pic.twitter.com/pl0NzodiFB
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 8, 2025
Edmonton Oiler Mattias Ekholm Re-Signs Until 2029
Currently, Ekholm is in the final year of a contract that pays him $6.25 million per season. A deal he had signed with his previous team. Since coming over from the Nashville Predators around the 2023 trade deadline, Ekholm has been a vital part to the Oilers blueline. He has most notably helped elevate Evan Bouchard’s game to star status. Ekholm’s command of the game from the backend, makes him a valuable asset when the game is on the line. His experience that he has passed on is a big part of the reason he signed this deal. At 35 years old, he may not be as spry as he once was. However, he aims to be a major contributor to another deep Oiler Stanley Cup playoff run, like he has done since joining Edmonton.
Ekholm’s Statistics
As Mattias Ekholm signs, let’s take a look at his statistics, his play on the top pairing with Bouchard has been exceptional. If we filter on pairings that played 600 or more minutes, in each of the last two years, they have been remarkable. In 2023-24, they finished first with an expected goal percentage of 62.8%. Then again last year, they finished second at 59.5%. The impressive thing about these stats, too, is that they are up against the best the competition has to offer. Yet, they have proven to be among the best for controlling the play and driving offence. As the NHL season gets started tonight for Edmonton, as they take on the rival Calgary Flames, in the classic Battle of Alberta, the partnership of Bouchard and Ekholm look to start right where they left off, as the top pair.
For his career, Ekholm is approaching 900 career NHL regular season games. He has 86 goals, 274 assists, and 360 career points. Even at this point of his career, his statistical play has yet to fall off. In 2023-24, his 45 points was actually a career high. Last year he didn’t quite match it, but still decent. In 65 games, he had nine goals and 24 assists for a total of 33 points. That was all the while playing over 22 minutes a game. It is likely that throughout the duration of this deal, his play does diminish slightly. However, given his sustained level, his composed play, and experience, he will just be a very important asset to the organization. An organization that is desperate to claim the Holy Grail, a Stanley Cup victory.
Main Photo Credit Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
