Fans are known for their high emotions, especially after big, frustrating losses. Hockey fans may be the cream of the crop in this regard. After the Edmonton Oilers lost the Stanley Cup to the Florida Panthers, Oilers fans pointed fingers in all sorts of directions, but a consistent direction was towards former Wisconsin Badger Trent Frederic.
Fans accuse the trade earlier in the season of being a bust. Frederic came over from the Boston Bruins in a trade deadline deal in an effort for Edmonton to do exactly what they did: get to the Stanley Cup. However, the Oilers came up short of winning it all, and in many fans' eyes, Frederic didn't do enough.
Trent Frederic has been completely invisible. Hope they don’t commit to giving him either term or dollars this offseason.
— Aaron Aggarwal (@aaronaggarwal) June 18, 2025
We better see a heck of a bounce back from Trent Frederic if he’s in fact around long term.
— One for One Podcast (@OneforOnePod) June 18, 2025
Good thing we got Trent Frederic and Max Jones to help us win us the cup
— Bryce Munro (@BMunro22) June 18, 2025
And as I’ve said on here a bunch of times, the Trent Frederic is a playoff-type player narrative is hollow. 4 pts in 22 games this year and now has 4 goals in 44 career playoff games
— Gus Elvin (@gpelvin) June 18, 2025
Trent Frederic was underwhelming in the playoffs, but it may have been Edmonton's fault
The hard part of the "Trent Frederic disappeared" narrative is that he truly didn't see the ice enough to warrant a ton of points. He only played 11 total minutes in the final game, and that was consistently his average in the Stanley Cup. As far as forwards go, that was the third-worst ice time of those who got in the game. His shifts were quick, often to help spell Leon Draisaitl, who averages over 20 minutes a game in the Stanley Cup.
Trent Frederic could have played better, there's no doubt, but he was still trying to figure out his role for most of the second half of the season and doing it in a limited capacity. Now, it will be interesting to see if he sticks in Edmonton or not.
Frederic is now a free agent since the season is over, and there are already reports and rumors that the Oilers are working out a long-term deal to keep the former Wisconsin star in Edmonton. If that is the case, the fans may have some mixed feelings about it.