Oilers Lock In Mukhamadullin Hours After Acquiring Him From San Jose

The Edmonton Oilers signed restricted free agent Shakir Mukhamadullin to a two-year, $3.5 million extension on Saturday morning, just three days after acquiring him from the San Jose Sharks in the Darnell Nurse deal. The $1.75 million annual salary represents a 75 percent raise over his prior $1 million cap hit, a deliberate investment that tells you the Oilers view him as more than a spare part in their defensive rotation.

Mukhamadullin, 24, logged 50 games last season with San Jose, posting five goals and 12 points while playing 17:09 per night. Those are steady third-pairing numbers—reliable but not transformative. The Oilers, however, are betting he'll thrive in a more structured environment alongside Connor McDavid's defensive core. The speed of this signing (hours after the trade) suggests Edmonton's front office had already done the work; Mukhamadullin wasn't a surprise pickup but a planned addition to address depth on the left side.

From a roster construction standpoint, this move is pragmatic. The Oilers shed salary in Nurse, acquired a younger defensive asset, and locked him in at a reasonable cost before his arbitration window opened. Mukhamadullin will return to RFA status when this deal expires, giving Edmonton flexibility on his next negotiation. The organization is clearly betting that a change of scenery—and more ice time in a playoff-contending system—will elevate his production from the 0.24 points-per-game pace he maintained in San Jose.

For prop bettors, this signals Edmonton's defensive depth will be materially different next season. Mukhamadullin's shooting volume and involvement in the team's offense will likely increase. Last season in San Jose, he averaged 1.72 shots per game across 50 contests; in a secondary role with the Oilers, that number could tick higher if he gets consistent third-pair deployment and power-play looks. Watch his early-season ice time carefully—if Edmonton trusts him for 18-plus minutes regularly, his season-long shot and point totals will carry upside relative to his shallow recent history. Conversely, if he's relegated to 13-15 minutes, the raise looks more like a salary-floor signing and his individual prop ceilings compress sharply.