Is “just get in” really the right approach for the 2025-26 Edmonton Oilers?
We would all feel better after two unsuccessful Stanley Cup Finals bids had this edition of the Oilers pranced all the way to a President’s Trophy.
Some are not big fans of “just get in”, or as Connor McDavid described it recently, “peak at the right time”. On the outside, it feels like it lacks a little urgency.
But what if Edmonton’s experience has taught them otherwise?
That and more in this edition of…
9 Things
9. Saturday was the sad anniversary of Oilers forward Colby Cave’s passing in 2020. The Colby Cave Memorial Fund continues to carry his spirit today, supporting mental health initiatives and efforts to make sports accessible to underprivileged children.
8. A success story in the organization this past week. 19-year-old William Nicholl signed his first ELC April 1. And in his first game with the Bakersfield Condors, he scored his first professional goal. That from a player drafted 196 overall is like found money. Long way to go for the prospect, but arrows up.
7. Connor Ingram is the Oilers 2026 nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, honouring the player who best exemplifies qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication. No Oiler has ever won it. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is the nominee for the King Clancy Trophy (leadership and humanitarian qualities).
6. The Edmonton Oilers both slipped out of the Pacific Division lead and clinched their seventh consecutive post-season at the same time on Saturday night, each while they were not even on the ice. Now, that is no small feat. A Vegas win dropped them to second, but a Winnipeg loss provided the “X”.
5. There is still a matter of seeding. Some Oilers have said that winning the division and home ice advantage would be “nice” but ultimately not all that important. I can agree that the title itself is a mostly an empty one. But having last change in a game seven down the road when margins are narrow could come in handy, no? More on this in a minute…
4. Another thing that is still up in the air is Edmonton’s health. If everyone save for Mattias Janmark can play, Edmonton has a good enough lineup to go all the way. But there remain a few unanswered questions. Zach Hyman is said to return before the end of the regular season. And Stan Bowman says Leon Draisaitl has suffered no setback and remains on the same timeline set out earlier. Every team deals with injuries in the playoffs. However, not every team has two 50-goal scorers out. Hyman and Draisaitl make this a very different and more dangerous club.
3. Evan Bouchard is second in the NHL in WAR (Wins Above Replacement) this season at 4.37. It is a metric that measures a player’s overall impact on the success of his team. Zach Werenski is first. And when you rank the best D-men in the league by WAR and then list them by EVD (Even Strength Defence), Bouchard is also second at 1.95 (Moritz Seider is first). Evan also has a 10-point bulge in the scoring race for Defencemen (91, to Werenski’s 81). Explain to me again how someone might not at least have Bouchard on his Norris ballot? Bouchard is not the perfect player, but who is?
2. By my eye, the Oilers have been playing some of their best defence of the season. A tighter, “closer to home” approach in their own zone, a greater effort on behalf of the forwards to backtrack and better goaltending have improved their look in a meaningful way. Do the numbers agree? In fact, yes. In their last ten games, High Danger Scoring Chances allowed at 5v5 (Natural Stat Trick) help illustrate the Oilers improvement: The Seattle performance was their best (just 2) followed by Los Angeles (5) and Utah (March 24, 6). On average over that same stretch, the Oilers have allowed 8.8 HDSC’s 5v5 per game. Their season average is 9.2. So, the club has improved their defensive play at evens during the most critical time, which is leading up to the playoffs. Speaking of which…
1.By this time next week, the Stanley Cup Playoffs will be underway. Probably like you, this edition of the Oilers has been a mix of frustrating and exasperating for me to watch. Just when they begin to show signs of their true selves, they seem to hit yet another speed bump. And that has happened enough times to make one wonder if this IS their true selves…an inconsistent team, just good enough to qualify for the post-season but perhaps not more. There are some franchises who would gladly trade places with the Oilers who are off to their seventh consecutive postseason berth. But a club with Connor McDavid would surely aspire to exceed that…no? Well, it is worth keeping in mind, however, that Edmonton has played the second most total games of any other NHL club since 2021-22 at 483 (Florida is first at 486). That is one whole hell of a lot of hockey. And look at the physical toll that grind has exacted from the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champion Panthers, who will glumly watch the playoffs this year from the sidelines. Plus, the Oilers have the added psychological burden having come up just short the previous two seasons.
Put yourself in their place and think of your own career. If this is your work life, and you have just missed a budget, did not quite make your year, nudged out for that big contract that your company was bidding on, do you not approach a new year differently? Alter your pace? Draw on those valuable past lessons to help drive you forward? Add innovation, R&D, a winkle here, a critical new employee or two there? For your sake, I sure hope so.
Look: I agree that “just get in” seems a bit too simplistic. After all, NHL History the last decade teaches us that lower seeds have a poorer record against those seeded higher than them. But the G.M. of the very Panthers we just finished talking about, Bill Zito, believed in that approach. It worked for him when Florida finished fifth in the East in 2024-25 and proceeded to skate all the way to the promised land.
And guess what?
The 2025-26 Edmonton Oilers are currently tied for fifth in the West.
This article is not AI generated.
Leavins Cult of Hockey
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Bruce McCurdy, 1955-2025.
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