The window for the Edmonton Oilers to finally win their first Stanley Cup championship since 1990 could be starting to close.
Reaching the championship round of any professional sport for three consecutive seasons is rare.
The Oilers have won the NHL’s Western Conference title the past two seasons but have lost in the Cup Final to the Florida Panthers. During the 2023–2024 season, Edmonton went through Vegas, Dallas, and Vancouver in the playoffs before falling to the Panthers in seven games. Last season was more of the same, with the Oilers dominating Los Angeles, Vegas, and Dallas before getting another crack at the Panthers. In the rematch, the Panthers won in six games.
In attempts to reverse the sting of going home in the spring empty-handed, Edmonton ownership and general manager Stan Bowman locked up their bench leader for another three years. Coach Kris Knoblauch signed a new three-year deal that begins during the 2026–2027 season. Although the Oilers have come up empty in the finals, there’s no ignoring Knoblauch’s impressive 29–18 postseason record. Since coming aboard in November 2023 for the Alberta-based team, the Oilers have been a force to be reckoned with.
Given that Edmonton boasts a roster that includes two of the most dynamic skaters in the NHL—centers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl—great things are expected. During the past two regular seasons, McDavid and Draisaitl have combined for 151 goals. McDavid, 28, was selected by the Professional Hockey Writers Association at the conclusion of the 2024 Cup Final as the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs. It was the first time since 2003 that a player on the losing team was so honored, and only the sixth time in more than 50 years.
But McDavid, the top draft pick of the NHL by Edmonton in 2015, has seen his offensive production decline. Since a high of 64 goals and 153 points in 2022–2023, injuries have taken their toll. After 10 full campaigns with Edmonton beginning in 2015–2016, McDavid was limited to 67 games last season, and it’s only going to get more challenging for him to be an NHL Superman.
This season, playing in all 15 Oilers games so far, McDavid has 21 points (four goals, 17 assists). Edmonton is currently in fifth place in the Pacific Division with a record of 6–5–4. Earlier this season McDavid surpassed the 1,100 career point mark.
Draisaitl, 30, like McDavid, is at times performing on a higher plane than a majority of NHL skaters. Just as McDavid was a No. 1 draft pick by the Oilers, the same is true for his German-born teammate. At the 2014 NHL Draft in Philadelphia, Draisaitl was the third overall selection, and No. 1 by Edmonton. Having been on the ice for all of Edmonton’s games this season, Draisaitl has registered 17 points (10 goals and seven assists).
In September 2024, Draisaitl signed an eight-year, $112 million contract extension with Edmonton. Last month, McDavid signed a two-year, $25 million extension.
With a combined 1,500-plus games between McDavid and Draisaitl, the wear and tear on their bodies in all likelihood is going to begin to affect their performance.
Aside from the physical punishment hockey players experience for 82 regular season games, the Oilers have another challenge as the team that will travel the most (estimated 50,000-plus miles) throughout the regular season. Given their location in western Canada, the Oilers could have the league’s roughest schedule in terms of travel miles. After home games on Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche and Monday against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Rogers Place in Edmonton, the Oilers’ face a 13-day, seven-game road trip beginning in Philadelphia on Nov. 12 and ending with a visit the Panthers in Florida, and not skating at home again until Nov. 25. Fatigue is certainly a factor to consider in how well the Oilers will do this season.
Edmonton’s special teams are off to a respectable start. During the first seven weeks of the season, the Oilers have 14 power play goals—tied for second-best in the NHL. On the penalty kill, the Oilers rank 16th among the 32 NHL teams.
With a supporting lineup for McDavid and Draisaitl consisting of Andrew Mangiapane, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Evan Bouchard, and Mattias Ekholm, the Oilers have a good opportunity to reach the finals again. The core of the past two Western Conference finalists remains intact. Not since the 1960s (St. Louis Blues 1968–1970) has a team lost three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals. The Oilers have the manpower to reverse their postseason misfortune come spring. Staying healthy is the top priority for their collective units that combined for 205 points over the past two seasons.
After coming so close to winning the NHL’s grandest prize, the Oilers are due for the puck to finally bounce in their favor.
