New Additions: F David Tomasek (1yr x $1.2M), G Matt Tomkins (2yr x $775k AAV), D Riley Stillman (2yr x $775k AAV), F Andrew Mangiapane (2yr x $3.6M AAV), F Curtis Lazar (1yr x $775k), F Isaac Howard (from TBL)

Subtractions: F Viktor Arvidsson (to BOS), F Evander Kane (to VAN), F Sam O’Reilly (to TBL), F Corey Perry (to LAK), F Connor Brown (to NJD), F Jeff Skinner (to SJS), F Derek Ryan (Retired), D John Klingberg (to SJS), F Drake Caggiula (FA), D Travis Dermott (FA)

Retentions/Extensions: D Ty Emberson (2yr x $1.3M AAV), F Trent Frederic (8yr $3.85M AAV), F Kasperi Kapanen (1yr x $1.3M), F Noah Philp (1yr x $775k), D Evan Bouchard (4yr x $10.5M AAV)

Coming off yet another loss in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Edmonton Oilers enter the 2025-26 season with a bit of a dark cloud over their head. For starters, it is very difficult to make it to the Finals three years in a row (although it has been done twice already this decade), and Connor McDavid is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. Following the loss, the Oilers captain stated that he intends to take his time figuring out what is best for him on his new contract. People made the assumption that meant he would use the offseason to figure things out, and like his teammate Leon Draisaitl did last year, sign before the beginning of the following season. It looks as though the league’s best player will enter the year without a deal done, putting pressure on the Oilers to convince him to stay in Edmonton.

In 2024, the Oilers came one game shy of a championship, losing in game seven to the Florida Panthers. Entering the offseason, they had money to spend, looking to add to what was seen as a championship calibre team. They re-signed a trio of forwards that were a part of their 2024 squad in Corey Perry, Mattias Janmark and Adam Henrique. Then continued to add to their offensive depth by signing free agents Victor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner. Arvidsson had a career high of 34 goals, and Skinner scored 40 once in his career. Fans thought best case scenario, thinking the pair could score 30 goals each, playing in a top six with McDavid and Draisaitl. The duo combined to score 31, and neither established a role in the top six, both settling for third and fourth line minutes, or even being a healthy scratch. To add insult to injury, after using their cap space to sign a bunch of veterans, the St. Louis Blues took advantage of their tight situation and offer sheeted Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, and the team had to say goodbye to two of its promising young players. Both set new career highs in their first year with the Blues, with Broberg recording 29 points as a defenceman, and Holloway finishing third on the team with 63 points. By adding more vets and losing young talent, the Oilers got older and slower, and that was evident in the first two games against the Los Angeles Kings in the playoffs, going down 0-2 in the series. It seemed like they were finally going to drop a series to the Kings, have an early playoff exit and have another offseason to retool their group. But to my surprise, on the backs of their two superstars, the team caught fire and made it back to the Final, but once again came up short.

Before free agency began the team was busy, re-signing Evan Bouchard (4yr x $10.5M AAV), Kasperi Kapanen (1yr x $1.3M), and Trent Frederic (8yr $3.85M AAV). Bouchard has been the Oilers number one defenceman since the 2022 playoffs. He is one of the league’s best offensive defencemen, who finds another gear in the postseason, ranking second all-time in points per game by a defenceman in the playoffs, only trailing Bobby Orr, and slightly ahead of Cale Makar. Kapanen was added to the roster last season when the team picked him up off waivers. He is a speedy, ‘goes hard in the corners’ type of forward that teams look for, and stepped up in the playoffs most notably scoring the series clinching goal in overtime of game five against the Vegas Golden Knights. Frederic had an underwhelming showing as an Oiler after being acquired at the deadline, scoring one goal along with 3 assists in 23 appearances. Yet, the team signed him to an eight year extension. Whether he just struggled in a new environment or was affected by the ankle injury that sidelined him for two months, something was up. The team is banking on his production getting back to what it was in 2023-24 with the Bruins, where he recorded 18 goals and 40 points in Boston. If he can return to that form, he carries a very reasonable cap hit, at under $4M a year.

Lots of notable players either chose to leave in free agency, or were shipped out for cap related reasons, the Oilers will look very different on night one this season than they did last year. 40 year old Corey Perry is gone, Arvidsson is gone, Jeff Skinner is off to San Jose, along with John Klingberg. The two departures I believe that will be missed the most are Evander Kane, who was traded to Vancouver, and Connor Brown, who signed for four years in New Jersey. Kane is one of the better skilled power forwards in the league, although he had a tendency to take some dumb penalties. Brown was one of the fastest players on the team, and played valuable minutes on the penalty kill. 

As for new additions, the biggest names coming in are Andrew Mangiapane, and Isaac Howard. Mangiapane used to play in Alberta, but for the rival Calgary Flames. He spent last season with the Capitals, and now comes back to the province where he started his career. He has scored at least 14 goals for six straight seasons, with a career high of 35 in 2021-22. The 29 year old will look to produce as a scoring forward, and will begin the season on one of the top two lines. Howard has not played a game in the NHL yet, but the team expects the 2025 Hobey Baker winner to play the full season with the team. He was drafted by the Lightning in 2022, but reportedly did not want to sign his ELC with Tampa Bay, as a result he was traded, and signed with the Oilers. The anticipation for Howard is high, as the team is desperate for young forwards who can contribute while on a rookie contract. Another player on his ELC is Matthew Savoie, who was acquired in exchange for Ryan McLeod last offseason. Savoie, from St. Albert, Alberta, is a former top ten draft pick, who spent the majority of last season in the AHL, where he had 54 points in 66 games. Much like Howard, the team is hoping he can be a full time player this season, and the two of them could find themselves in the Calder Trophy race.

The only other new face worth noting is Czech forward David Tomasek, 29, who had 102 points over the last two seasons (99 games) in the Swedish League. He was signed back in April for the 2025-26 season, to a one year deal worth $1.2M, certainly a low risk deal, but the question is, how high is the reward? If his game is able to translate to the NHL, it will be a fantastic signing.

Goaltending has been a talking point for the Oilers for as long as I can remember. At times last postseason it was great, other times it made fans question how the team got as far as they did. Stuart Skinner opened the playoffs as starter, but was replaced by Calvin Pickard, who kept winning, and the team had no choice to keep him in net, until he got hurt. Skinner reclaimed the net and was excellent against Vegas and Dallas, but Florida got the best of him. Once again Pickard was called upon, and then once more the team went back to Skinner. That does not win you a Stanley Cup, inconsistent play in net. What wins is reliable goaltending, and fans hoped the team would address the situation in the offseason. The team did not address the position (besides signing a 31 year old goalie with 6 career games in the NHL, Matt Tomkins), and Skinner and Pickard will be the tandem to begin the year. I expect the conversation around the position to continue, and for Edmonton to be involved in trade talks with any quality goalie that becomes available.

McDrai is still in town, so this team is going to score. Nuge enters YEAR FIFTEEN with the club (insane), and although he probably will not crack 100 points ever again, they will need him to provide depth scoring. Especially early on when Hyman is out, as he recovers from the wrist injury he suffered in the Western Conference Finals. The team anticipates his return sometime in November. His absence will leave an opening for some of the new additions to develop chemistry with McDavid and Draisaitl and earn additional minutes. 

On D, it is your usual crew with one new face from last year’s deadline. Bouchard will lead the team in minutes and be on the powerplay. Ekholm will look to bounce back from a poor performance in the playoffs last season after returning from injury, I expect he will be fully healthy after the offseason. Nurse will… continue to be overpaid, and have an amazing game every so often. Kulak is an underrated defenceman who is a great skater and likes to jump up on the rush, a similar play style to the new guy, Jake Walman. Ty Emberson and Troy Stecher will fill in as the sixth/seventh defenceman. It is a solid group, it just lacks a shutdown guy as everyone tends to make some questionable plays in their own end and their strengths are moving the puck up the ice and getting involved. Ekholm, Walman and Kulak are all on expiring deals so the team may look to either extend any of them, or shake things up.

It is hard to ignore it because he is the greatest player in the world, but the discussion around the Oilers this season will be largely about the McDavid contract situation. Fans want a deal done, management wants a deal done, and I am sure his teammates want a deal done. No one likes when there is an off ice distraction that impacts the team. Ultimately, it is about what Connor wants, and he has earned the right to take his time on this contract. While he and the front office work on that, the team on the ice will work on getting back to another Cup Final, and finishing the job. Third time’s a charm?