Trent Frederic opens up about his lack of ice-time and frustrating tenure in Edmonton

Last season, the Edmonton Oilers traded for Trent Frederic of the Boston Bruins in a deal that was supposed to give them further depth and aggression in their pursuit of the Stanley Cup.

In the summer, Stan Bowman and the Oilers front office happily handed him an eight-year, $30.8 million extension, with many questioning why they would give him such a lengthy deal.

Unfortunately, Frederic has dealt with plenty of injury issues, and since returning to the ice, he hasn't been much of an asset for the team, tallying just 2 goals in the 28 games he's played with the team dating back to last season.

Now, he's opened up on how frustrating that has been early in his Oilers tenure, addressing his lack of ice time with the team in 2025/26 while admitting that as of right now, less than 10 minutes per game is what he deserves.

Given how valuable he was meant to be for the Oilers bottom-six, the production has been disappointing from Frederic thus far, especially after he had 18 goals in his final full season with the Boston Bruins.

Ultimately though, this is a player with grit that plays a two-way game, and if he can start producing once more, he'll be a very valuable piece for Edmonton moving forward, but if he can't start making an impact, the decision to hand him such a long-term contract will start to look worse and worse.