Now that the draft and the opening days of free agency have passed, most of the offseason movement is already behind us. Of course there is a lot of offseason left for teams to manoeuvre, but a league-wide picture is starting to take shape for the upcoming 2025–26 season.
With that in mind we polled our readers on what they think of the Edmonton Oilers moves so far in this week’s Sunday Census. Have the Oilers done enough?
Want to take part in Sunday Census polls? We send them out every week on our Twitter at @oilrigEDM. Follow along or send in ideas for the next poll!
Did Edmonton do enough?
While the results of the poll were fairly even, it seems a slight majority of our voters are confident and content with the Oilers work so far. Without much draft capital the Oilers did not make huge splashes at the draft, but certainly there is some hope for the upside of Tommy Lafreniere and David Lewandowski. Firmly in the realm of selling off futures for current roster help, this much was fairly expected.
Meanwhile, the Oilers were far more active in the trade market. While some fans were hoping for even more aggressive selling, the Oilers did well to offload Evander Kane and Viktor Arvidsson, or about $9M in salary cap space for the upcoming season.
The cap space was useful in some key re-signings for Evan Bouchard and Trent Frederic, as well as some free agent additions in Andrew Mangiapane, Curtis Lazar, Matt Tomkins, and Riley Stillman, to join David Tomasek and Josh Samanski. Mangiapane stands out as the headline, an interesting re-roll on the Arvidsson experiment as a middle-six winger.
Though Kane was injured most of last season, the Oilers are technically short of how they finished last season. Tomasek is a wild card who could help bridge that gap, but the Oilers thin prospect pool offers some upside. Both Matthew Savoie and Quinn Hutson offer some offensive upside, Noah Philp and James Hamblin joining Lazar as depth options. A big piece of the Oilers being improved over last season is the potential development of Savoie.
Of course, it is not the only reason the Oilers might be improved over last season. A full season of Jake Walman should mean a much stronger blueline than this time last year. There might be some fans happy to hear that longtime Goalie Coach Dustin Schwartz might be on the move. While it has been a more subdued offseason, the Oilers are primed to defend their back-to-back Western Conference titles, if not to take the last step forward next season.
Edmonton should’ve done more
While many fans appreciate the work that the Oilers have done so far, there is a good portion of voters who are dissatisfied. The biggest reasons for such might well be tied together, as many have pondered that one of the biggest reasons that Connor McDavid has not signed an extension is that the Oilers have not upgraded their goalie.
Of course it is not as simple as that, but McDavid clearly wants to see that the Oilers are headed in the right direction before extending his commitment beyond this season. It is conjecture to suggest that goaltending is the sole reason for why McDavid is hesitant, or even that he is hesitant at all. Still, the Oilers continue to stay put with their oft criticized and low cost tandem of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard.
Perhaps a change of goaltending coaches might rekindle the play of Skinner in particular, as his save percentage has fallen in each of his three years under Schwartz. In fact, Mike Smith might have been the last goalie to maintain his level of play over his time in Edmonton, and had his own coach separate from Schwartz. Still, even if a bounce back or improvement from Skinner is possible, additional help may be required.
The goaltending market is nearly dry, save for the scheduled arbitration for rising star Lukas Dostal. The Oilers are also without much cap space at this point, meaning they will have to be dollar in dollar out. This leaves many fans questioning why the team has not shipped out players they perceive as overpriced, like Adam Henrique or Mattias Janmark. Meanwhile, Henrique has a no movement clause while Janmark has a 10-team no-trade list. Even then, their combined $4.45M cap hit does not necessarily guarantee the space to afford a true upgrade.
Regardless of how the team ended up here, many fans are steadfast in the team’s need to address the goaltending. This has been a critique of the team for many years, only serving to add to frustrations. There is, of course, still time for the Oilers to tweak their lineup, not only through the offseason but also during the season itself. Despite being one of the best teams league-wide over the past two seasons, there remains a sense of dread from the fanbase.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
