San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier had no intention of trading defenseman Jake Walman two months ago.
But Oilers GM Stan Bowman made an offer that Grier felt he couldn’t turn down, and now Walman has become a vital piece for an Edmonton team that is seeking to win its first Stanley Cup in 35 years.
Going into Game 1 of the Cup final against the reigning champion Florida Panthers on Wednesday, the puck-moving Walman, in the playoffs, is averaging 19:39 in ice time and has six points in 16 games. Before Wednesday, Walman and Florida forward Anton Lundell were tied for the league lead with a +12 rating.
“Our identity is just being a good puck-moving team,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said Tuesday. “If you don’t have the defensemen who can make those good plays and pass the puck up to the forwards, you’re not a puck-moving team.”
To help superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, Bowman began to pester Grier about Walman, who became the Sharks’ best offensive defenseman this season while averaging over 23 minutes in ice time per game. Walman also still had a year left on his three-year contract, which carried an economic cap hit of $3.4 million.
The Oilers sweetened their offer for Walman, and a deal with San Jose was hammered out in the afternoon of March 6 and announced by the Sharks at 11 p.m. (PT). In the trade, San Jose received a conditional 2026 first-round draft selection and AHL forward Carl Berglund.
“(Walman) was a big target from the middle of the season,” Bowman told reporters in March. “Mike Grier was probably tired of talking to me. I was told he wasn’t trading him because he had another year on his contract. But when we pitched the (2026) first-round draft pick, we got his attention.”
“We just thought it was a price that we couldn’t turn down,” Grier said on March 7. “I know (Bowman) well … and when he brought (up a first-rounder) a day or so ago, we had to really think about it, because (Walman’s) been good for us and good for our group. We just thought it was the right decision to do it now and move forward.”
Talk about going from the cellar to the penthouse.
Instead of playing out the string with the last-place Sharks, Walman, along with Panthers acquisitions Nico Sturm and Vitek Vanecek, is now playing for the Cup as Edmonton faces Florida in a highly anticipated final rematch.
Walman enjoyed his time in San Jose, where he got the opportunity to play big minutes. But he was ecstatic to join the Oilers and play with Draisaitl and childhood pal McDavid.
Evander Kane #91 and Jake Walman #96 of the Edmonton Oilers discuss the play in the first period of Game Three of the Second Round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Vegas Golden Knights at Rogers Place on May 10, 2025, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Leila Devlin/Getty Images)“I didn’t really expect it at all, but fortunate to be a part of this team,” Walman said of the trade in April when he and the Oilers were in San Jose. “It’s a team that’s had a chance over the last couple of years. I’m excited to be a part of it, and happy that came and got me and saw something in me.”
Other ex-Sharks in the Cup final are Evander Kane and Ty Emberson with the Oilers and Jaycob Megna and Jonah Gadjovich with the Panthers. Gadjovich, who was with the Sharks from 2021 to 2023, lifted the Cup last June as the Panthers beat Connor McDavid and the Oilers in seven games.
Walman was watching, as he and McDavid had known each other since their youth hockey days in Toronto.
“I was cheering for (the Oilers) last year in the playoffs,” Walman said, “and to be a part of it now, I’m really excited and really happy to help.”
The Walman trade came near the end of a frenzied week for the Sharks, who earned back-to-back road victories over the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres on March 3 and 4, respectively, marking the first time in two months that they had won consecutive games.
Then, within two days, both Vanecek and Sturm were traded to the Panthers. And just hours after Sturm was dealt on March 6, the Sharks sent Walman to the Oilers.
Walman’s been a significant part of the Oilers’ run, which, before Wednesday, had seen them win 12 of their last 14 games since falling behind the Los Angeles Kings 2-0 in their first-round series.
Walman helped the Oilers overcome the loss of top-pair defenseman Mattias Ekholm, who was injured on April 11 against the Sharks. He returned for Game 5 of the Western Conference against the Dallas Stars last Thursday.
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“I’m really proud of where I am right now,” Walman said in April as he put his career in perspective. “All the adversity that I dealt with a little bit in the beginning of my career kind of set me up for a time like this.”
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