It'd be a safe prediction to make that the Edmonton Oilers will be competitive again this season. The Pacific Division hasn't shown significant improvement over the past three years. However, Stan Bowman hasn't done much to improve his team either, and some off-ice storylines around captain Connor McDavid might steal the headlines.
The Oilers lost key veterans Corey Perry and Evander Kane this offseason, along with Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner. It's the sad reality of having some of the league's highest salaries under contract. Sometimes, a team can't hold on to veterans earning money above their worth, which leaves the Oilers to lean on players still on their rookie deals.
Edmonton hopes that an influx of young talent will help their offensive depth and get them over the hump. However, there are some significant questions surrounding the team before they worry about what will come in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Connor McDavid remains unsigned into season; chaos ensues
Bowman should try to get this deal done before McDavid even laces his skates for the first day of training camp. The longer the negotiation goes into the season, the less chance that the world's best player will return to Edmonton for the 2026-27 season. It'd be an unmitigated disaster to lose back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals and then lose McDavid for nothing after this season, but it's something the Oilers might have to face.
The best thing the Oilers can do is assemble a competitive team alongside McDavid and hope it's enough to keep him there. McDavid has been clear that his only priority is winning a championship, which makes sense considering any of the league's 32 teams will be willing to pay him the maximum contract value to play for their team. Simply put, McDavid doesn't need the extra year that re-signing brings because he's going to be a wealthy man regardless of whether the contract is six years or seven years.
Canadian markets aren't pretty when things don't go their way, and things are going to get very interesting if the Oilers start to falter. The entire fanbase is aware that McDavid will only stay if the team remains competitive. If the team struggles out of the gate for a third consecutive year, panic will likely set in. Of course, the Oilers have battled back each of the last two years to become contenders, but struggling out of the gate won't bring the two parties any closer to reaching a deal.
If the Oilers aren't any closer to a Stanley Cup by March, what does McDavid's future look like? Any non-fans who want to see maximum chaos and entertainment might appreciate that happening.
Oilers finally solve their goaltending woes
So, how does Bowman ensure that his team is competitive? As has been the storyline for the past two years, Edmonton needs to improve its goaltending. The front office had an entire offseason to figure out the issue, but as of this writing, it will enter the 2025-26 season with the tandem of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard for the third consecutive year.
It isn't that they aren't a solid NHL duo. It takes at least average goaltending to get a team near the top of the Pacific Division and to the Stanley Cup Final for two consecutive years. However, when the team needs a save, the pair fails to get the job done, and at this point, a switch-up would be a confidence boost to the rest of the roster more than anything else. It'd be a brutal look to enter the playoffs with the same questions again, which is why Bowman has to find a way to improve.
To tie it back into the first prediction, the goaltending conundrum might be half of the reason that McDavid hasn't signed yet. Would you sign with a team long-term that continues to roll with the same failing goaltending tandem? It would contradict everything McDavid has been telling the media about his desire to win a championship.
Is it McDavid's way of strong-arming Bowman into making a move? It isn't entirely his fault, as a goaltender needs to be available to fix it, but there are some options available if he really wants to do it. The Detroit Red Wings might be an easier team to make a deal with to acquire Jon Gibson, or a controversial move could be to inquire about Carter Hart if the NHL allows him to return to the league.
Regardless, the Oilers need to see someone else between the pipes other than Skinner or Pickard, and this might finally be the season where it happens.
