NHL Off-Season Rankings: No. 20, Edmonton Oilers

When you’ve climbed to the Stanley Cup Final, you’ve got one competitive step to take before you’ve won an NHL championship.

Although the Edmonton Oilers were the best team in the Western Conference for two seasons in 2023-24 and 2024-25, ultimate success eluded them. Last season, the Oilers won seven fewer regular-season games before being eliminated by the Anaheim Ducks in the first round of last spring’s Stanley Cup playoffs. 

It was a backward step for the Oilers franchise, which is on the clock with superstar center and captain Connor McDavid, who is signed only for two seasons. Although Edmonton GM Stan Bowman made many changes on and off the ice, TheHockeyNews.com’s current series ranking each NHL team’s off-season has the Oilers 20th overall. 

Moving in reverse order, our ranking criteria include each team’s off-season moves – departures and arrivals, GM and/or coach hirings, contract extensions and promotions.

The Oilers will play in a more difficult Pacific Division in 2026-27, with the experienced Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings battling up-and-coming teams like the Ducks and San Jose Sharks for a playoff berth.

Mike Babcock (coach), Frederik Andersen (G), Mathieu Joseph (LW), Ryan Shea (D), Shakir Mukhamadullin (D), Devon Levi (G) 

The Oilers’ biggest splash is the hiring of former Ducks/Detroit Red Wings/Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock as their new bench boss. Every move from the controversial Babcock will be under a microscope. While Babcock may not have been Edmonton’s first choice as coach – that first pick may have been former Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy – Babcock is now tasked with turning around an Oilers ship that took on water last season.

In terms of roster changes, the biggest addition is goaltender Frederik Andersen, who just won a Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes. If Andersen is healthy, he gives Edmonton an experienced hand at a crucial position. If things go wrong with Andersen and tandem-mate Tristan Jarry, the Oilers acquired a young option in former Buffalo Sabres netminder Levi. His stock has dropped in recent years, but Levi could yet turn into a Grade-A NHL goalie.

Bowman spent all but $4.7 million of Edmonton’s cap space, and he locked up decent contributors in D-man Connor Murphy and center Jason Dickinson to contract extensions. Still, the Oilers did not add or retain the final piece of the puzzle. 

Edmonton has the horses to be a playoff team in 2026-27. That said, Bowman’s moves could blow up and provide McDavid with a letdown experience, causing him to leave the Oilers two years from now or sooner.

Connor Ingram (G), Kris Knoblauch (coach), Darnell Nurse (D), Jack Roslovic (RW), Adam Henrique (LW), Curtis Lazar (C)

The Oilers’ biggest loss this summer is defenseman Darnell Nurse, dealt to the Sharks in a cap-space-clearing trade. Nurse was no perfect defender, and let’s be real: if Nurse were better – if he were a real No. 1 blueliner, or if Edmonton had a legit No. 1 defenseman – the Oilers would’ve won a Cup by now in the McDavid/Leon Draisaitl era.

Murphy has been a decent-enough D-man since coming over from the Chicago Blackhawks, but the new-look Oilers defense corps isn’t what you’d expect from a championship team.

Meanwhile, the Oilers lost valuable depth players in Roslovic, Henrique and Lazar – and given that Bowman and Babcock are depending on Oilers youngsters to take advantage of the bigger and better opportunities now in front of them, youngsters Matt Savoie and Isaac Howard could help matters by making the most of their chances. That would make Henrique’s and Roslovic’s departures easier to stomach.

Still, the loss of multiple experienced hands this summer won’t help the Oilers win the West and return to the Cup final. It might have been a hard sell in Edmonton, but keeping Knoblauch instead of giving the reins to Babcock might’ve been the best choice for the Oilers. Edmonton has changed coaches four times since 2019, and that isn’t a good look for McDavid & Co.

It’s not an exaggeration to say Bowman’s job security is on the line this season, and Babcock’s hiring feels like a grasp-at-straws move by the GM. Virtually every move Bowman has made has the potential to go catastrophically wrong. 

Andersen is a soon-to-be-37-year-old who hasn’t played in more than 35 games in any of the past four seasons. Andersen’s numbers in 2025-26 – including an .874 save percentage and 3.05 goals-against average – should set off alarms among Oilers fans. Andersen performed better in the 2026 playoffs, posting a .910 SP and 1.89 GAA in 16 appearances. 

But when the Hurricanes needed him most in the Cup Final, Andersen fell apart. In three appearances against Vegas, Andersen posted a save percentage between .885 and .750. Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour lost trust in Andersen. That’s part of the reason Andersen left Carolina despite winning a Cup with them. This is the guy the Oilers are pinning their hopes on?

And what happens if/when Andersen is injured or not playing well? Jarry’s contract makes him essentially unmovable. But turning to Jarry – who had an abysmal .858 SP and 3.86 GAA in 19 appearances after Bowman acquired him from the Pittsburgh Penguins midway through last season – is on the table for Edmonton. If Andersen falters and Jarry shows no signs of life, the Oilers will be turning to 24-year-old Levi – who has 39 games of regular-season experience to his credit.

All things considered, the Oilers aren’t considerably better after Bowman’s summertime moves. But you can see where Bowman is gambling: Babcock could provide the structure Edmonton has lacked in high-stakes situations; Andersen could be a workhorse, keeping Jarry from playing too much and losing what remains of his confidence; Nurse’s departure could lead to fewer errors in the Oilers’ zone. Those are all big ‘ifs’, though.  

Thus, there’s a real danger surrounding this Oilers team in 2026-27. Edmonton didn’t have the worst off-season of any team, but the Oilers needed to do more to keep up with the rest of the improving Pacific teams, and they didn’t do so.

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