Oilers place Jake Walman on injured reserve

A key defender on the Edmonton Oilers‘ roster is going to miss some more time.

On Thursday, the team announced that defenseman Jake Walman has been placed on injured reserve. The Oilers have not released the reason Walman is out of action, nor when he suffered the undisclosed ailment.

The Toronto native was not in the lineup when Edmonton opened the 2025-26 regular season against the Calgary Flames. The Oilers ended up losing 4-3 in a shootout.

Daily Faceoff’s Jason Gregor confirmed that Walman will not be in the lineup when Edmonton plays host to the Vancouver Canucks. With his alleged placement on IR being retroactive to the start of the season, despite being named to the season-opening roster, Walman should be able to return to action next Tuesday, when the Oilers visit the New York Rangers.

The move provides the opportunity to insert forward Jack Roslovic into the lineup this weekend. The Oilers signed the last prominent free agent on Wednesday night to a one-year contract.

The news of Walman’s absence comes just a few days after the 29-year-old signed a seven-year contract extension. The deal, which kicks in next year, will carry an AAV of $7 million through the 2032-33 season. It’s a nice little pay bump for Walman, who is heading into the final season of his three-year contract that he signed with the Detroit Red Wings in February 2023. The deal has a cap hit of $3.4 million. The new contract provides a little security for the Armour Heights, Ont. native. In his NHL career, Walman has never signed a contract longer than three years.

The extension shows Walman’s worth to the Oilers. The team acquired him at the trade deadline last March from the San Jose Sharks, hoping he could provide some assurance on the back end. The deal paid off. Not only did Walman show some of his scoring prowess, which made him a fan favorite during his brief time in Detroit, but he was solid in his own end of the rink, making him a key player as Edmonton made it back to the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row. 

In 15 games with the Oilers near the end of the regular season, Walman scored a goal and seven assists for eight points, giving him a career-high 40 points in 65 games on the year. In the playoffs, the 29-year-old delivered two goals and eight assists for 10 points, posting a plus/minus of +9 while averaging over 20 minutes of ice time per game.

In 267 regular-season games in the NHL, Walman has scored 32 goals and 59 assists for 91 points.