Edmonton has been in thick of the championship chase for the past five seasons, playing more playoff games (81) than any other team in the League since 2022.
The grind seemed to have taken a toll this year, through an uninspiring regular season and into the postseason where injuries to Draisaitl and McDavid limited their effectiveness. Draisaitl missed the final 14 games of the regular-season with a lower-body injury, and McDavid was hampered by a fractured foot sustained against the Ducks in Game 2.
The core of the Oilers roster is getting older led by McDavid, 29, and Draisaitl, 30, who are the top two scorers in the League since McDavid’s rookie season in 2016-17; McDavid has 1,220 points since then and Draisaitl has 1,044.
It also includes forwards, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 33, Zach Hyman, 33, defensemen Darnell Nurse, 31, Mattias Ekholm, 35, and Jake Walman, 30.
Defenseman Evan Bouchard, 26, is entering his prime as is forward Vasily Podkolzin, 24, but there is a lot of work to be done on the rest of the roster to get the Oilers back as a Stanley Cup contender.
“I do see a path, but it’s going to take everybody to be better,” McDavid said. “It’s weird to talk about development for veterans, but us veterans need to find a way to get better and develop and everybody does, because that’s the only way it’s going to change.”
In order to get them back to the top of the NHL, general manager Stan Bowman will have important decisions to make this offseason. He said the entire organization will be under review, including coach Kris Knoblauch and his staff.
Knoblauch is going into the first of a three-year contract next season. He was behind the bench for Edmonton’s run to the Final in 2024 and 2025, losing to Florida in seven games and then six games respectively.
“Regardless of Connor’s contract or not, I think the clock is ticking,” Knoblauch said. “You see it in the NHL with how long windows last for successful teams, just because of players aging out or contract cap situation, there’s a window. Right now, it is win now and that’s not going to change for a while.”
The Oilers have nine players eligible to become unrestricted free agents, including goalie Connor Ingram, who worked his way to become the starter. It will be another busy summer for Edmonton trying to revamp the group.
“I know how bad Connor (McDavid) wants to win and I certainly feel the same way, that’s why we all do this,” Bowman said. “We’re pushing hard, not every year does it work with the decisions you make, but it’s not like we’re building for five years from now, we’re pushing every year and we’re not going to change that, we’re going to try and do everything we can.
“Now is the time where we want our team to win; we’re not looking down the road.”
