We have all seen those job postings before, the ones that say something like this, “the successful candidate should have a minimum of two to five years experience in order to be considered for this position.” Professional athletes are employees and sports world is no different. While there may be some players who can make the transition from juniors to NHL right away, a job as hockey player can often follow the same trajectory as this job posting.
So what is more important to an NHL franchise’s success: veteran experience or youthful presence? Entering this season, the Edmonton Oilers are ranked as the oldest team in the league with an average age of 30.3 years. With high expectations this season, how have the oldest teams of the past 20 NHL seasons fared in their campaigns? Let’s explore this below.
What do the trends say about age?
Below is a line graph showing the average age of the oldest, youngest, and Stanley Cup winning teams of the past 20 NHL seasons.
There are a number of trends that we can take away from this graph:
- Since the early 2010s, the average age of the league’s oldest teams have mostly been below 30-years-old. Only three teams since the 2010–11 Detroit Red Wings have crossed the 30 years of age mark. The most recent team: 2024–25 Edmonton Oilers.
- In the past 20 seasons, only one team who was the oldest team in the league that season won the Stanley Cup: the 2007–08 Detroit Red Wings. Their average age was 30-years-old. The following season, their average age was 30.83 years. The result? Stanley Cup Final loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
- As evidence by the golden line, the average age of the Stanley Cup winning teams tends to lie somewhere in between the oldest and youngest team in the league.
How far the teams made it
In addition to the above, let’s look at the success of the past oldest and youngest teams since 2003–04 season:
| Oldest Team | Youngest Team | |
| Missed Playoffs | 8 | 13 |
| First Round Elimination | 4 | 3 |
| Second Round Elimination | 4 | 1 |
| Conference Finals Elimination | 1 | 3 |
| Stanley Cup Finals Elimination | 2 | 0 |
| Stanley Cup Finals Winner | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | 20 | 20 |
When looking at the raw data, it is evident that the youngest teams were more likely to miss the playoffs and had been unable to crack the Stanley Cup Final. On the contrary, only 40% of the past 20 oldest teams missed the playoffs with the most recent oldest team, the 2023–24 Edmonton Oilers, finishing as the Stanley Cup Final runner-up.
Based on this, a reasonable conclusion is that experience does matter. But how much experience, and the balance between the youth and experience is something that is hard to determine. For example, the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings were the youngest teams in the 2008–09 and 2009–10 seasons, respectively. How did they fare in the following seasons? Blackhawks went on to win three Stanley Cups in five years (2010, 2013, 2015). Kings were not far behind, with two Stanley Cups wins in four years (2012, 2014).
So where does this ultimately leave us? The answer to age is not so simple and lies somewhere in the middle. Experience matters and it is clearly important to the success of a team. However, I would argue that it may be just as important to combine that experience with the energy, speed and excitement of younger players. This simple formula seems to give teams the best possible chance at lifting the Lord Stanley trophy.
Where does this leave the Oilers?
Heading into this season, Oilers are the unofficial winners of the back-to-back oldest team award. Their average age this season is 30.3 years, higher than the 29.5 years last season. Warren Foegele (28), Ryan McLeod (25), Vincent Desharnais (28), Philip Broberg (23), and Dylan Holloway (23) all left in the off-season. The addition of players like Ty Emberson (24) and Vasily Podkolzin (23) may have helped to replenish some of the lost youthfulness. However, the Oilers have also brought in guys like Jeff Skinner, Viktor Arvidsson, and Josh Brown who are 32-, 31- and 30-years-old, respectively.
So what does this ultimately mean for the Oilers? As demonstrated by the above data, being the oldest team in the league should not be seen as a negative or carry stigma with it. Prior teams who have been the oldest in the league show that any outcome is realistic which includes winning the Stanley Cup.
The more important question we should be asking of the Oilers is how will they use last season’s experience and the age of their locker room to their advantage. We continue to discuss the famous Cup or bust expectations but can the Oilers’ age be a positive part of the team identity Draistaitl discussed forging? Can it be one of the reasons the Oilers’ lift the Stanley Cup in June 2025? Time will tell.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
