The New York Rangers were linked to a number of players around the time of the NHL trade deadline, specifically ones that they would have a chance to extend for the future. One such player ultimately ended up with the Edmonton Oilers. The thought process was the acquisition would add some toughness, grit, and depth to the bottom-six. Fresh off a loss in the Stanley Cup final, for a second consecutive season, the team is doubling down.
Trent Frederic has signed for eight years with the Oilers, and the contract will count $3.85 million against the cap.
8 years, $3.85 aav for Frederic in Edmonton.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 27, 2025
Although the cap is rising over the next few seasons, and this salary will be inconsequential in a couple of seasons, the Rangers caught a break by Edmonton extending him.
Oilers likely extending Trent Frederic somewhere between $3.5-4M for eight years.
— dom 📈 (@domluszczyszyn) June 18, 2025
Looks like too much and too long for what Frederic looked like this past season. pic.twitter.com/W8tRWBb1XA
Frederic had a career year for the Boston Bruins during the 2023-24 season as he scored 18 goals and added 22 assists for 40 points in 82 games. It was an improvement upon his previous career year, established in 2022-23, in which he posted a line of 17-14-31 in 79 games.
This past season was a disaster as Frederic finished with a line of 8-7-15 in 58 games, and just one goal and three assists for four points in 22 playoff games. Frederic is a center who has also been deployed on the wing, and stands 6'3" and weighs 221 pounds. Selected 29th overall at the 2016 draft, the Bruins at the time acknowledged that at best he was likely a third-line talent.
That came courtesy of Bruins director of amateur scouting Keith Gretzky, an individual who just happens to be an assistant general manager for the Oilers. Even though his primary responsibility now is running the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League, you'd have to think that General Manager Stan Bowman asked his opinion before making the trade in the first place.
The Rangers are a team looking to improve its depth, establish a new identity, and become more like the Florida Panthers. The Panthers are relentless and hard to play against, and you can make the case that Frederic would have been able to do that in New York. But that much money and years would have just been a repeat of the Barclay Goodrow fiasco, and he wouldn't have come with the track record of playoff success and Stanley Cup rings.
There are arguably already too many options for the Rangers to evaluate in-house for the bottom six, and while Frederic could have been one of the better ones, it wouldn't have been a move that drastically improved the overall makeup of the team. With Frederic off the board the team can focus their attention elsewhere, and that truly is for the best.