The Edmonton Oilers signed centre Jack Roslovic of Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday. The free agency signing was announced during the Oilers regular season opener–a 4-3 Edmonton loss to the Calgary Flames in a shootout. The terms of the deal are for one year and $1.5 million.
Earlier in the offseason it was reported that Roslovic had received a contract offer from the Oilers, but it was rejected by Roslovic’s agent who happened to be 1995 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Claude Lemieux of Buckingham, Quebec. Roslovic was apparently not pleased with Lemieux, and fired him. Roslovic then hired Justin Duberman of New Haven, Connecticut as his agent. Duberman, who played one season with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1993-94, is an agent for Achieve Sports Management, was able to get a deal done with Edmonton.
In August, we discussed the fact that Roslovic was an unrestricted free agent, and the two teams that were showing the most interest were the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes. However, Jim Parsons of The Hockey Writers believed there were six teams interested in Roslovic.
Roslovic’s prior NHL teams
Roslovic has played for four NHL teams over the last nine seasons. He was with the Winnipeg Jets from 2016 to 2020, the next four seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2020 to 2024, and one season each with the New York Rangers (2023-24), and the Carolina Hurricanes (2024-25).
Roslovic in 2024-25
This past season, Roslovic had 22 goals and 17 assists for 39 points. He was a -10 with 10 penalty minutes, two power-play points, two game-winning goals, 139 shots on goal, 192 faceoff wins, 23 blocked shots, 14 hits, 19 takeaways, and 63 giveaways.
How will Roslovic fit into Edmonton?
The Oilers desperately need some better overall two-way depth after being unable to protect a three goal lead against the Flames. The Oilers saw inexperience from David Tomasek, who took a dumb high-sticking penalty in the second period, and Noah Philp, who was a -2. Expect Roslovic to fit into the center position in Edmonton right away, and possibly replacing Philp. One area of concern is the fact that Roslovic was a -10 on a very good Carolina Hurricanes team. However, he was very good taking face-offs, as he had a career-high faceoff winning percentage of 54.1%. Still, I believe face-off winning percentage is an overrated statistic when evaluating overall production.
Free Agency Grade
With Zach Hyman out of the lineup still from his injury in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Oilers took a chance on Roslovic. I give the Oilers a grade of B-.
