Yes, that is right. As I write this, the Edmonton Oilers are currently one game above a .500 team. In 24 games so far this season, they currently sit at a record of 10–9–5. In my professional opinion, the 2025–26 NHL season has been anything but lackluster for the Oilers.
To explain my reasoning and make it clear, there are three key elements that I have noticed that will help me explain and help you understand why the season has not gone well for the team so far.
Goaltending issues
With the Oilers, it always seems like their goaltending is one of the main “hot” topics discussed every season. This season, especially, the goalie discussion has been on the front page for everyone to see and hear about. Edmonton currently has two goalies that they heavily rely on, and I will explain what has worked and what has not worked in the team’s goalie department this year.
Two Stanley Cup Final appearances
Thanks to 27-year-old Stuart Skinner, the Edmonton Oilers were able to make it to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, both against the Florida Panthers. In 2023–24, Skinner started in 23 postseason games and ended up with a record of 14–9. In that run, he had a .901 save percentage and averaged 2.45 goals against. The Oilers found themselves down three games to none against the Panthers, but thanks to the play of Skinner and the team in front of him, Edmonton was able to come back and force a game seven, where they ultimately lost 2–1.
Last season in 2024–25, Stuart Skinner started in only 15 playoff games and ended up with an even record of 7–7. In that run, he struggled a bit more and only had a .889 save percentage and averaged 2.99 goals against. Skinner and the Oilers would never really play on to find their rhythm, and ultimately could not win when it mattered, and because of that flaw, lost 4–2 to the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champion, Florida Panthers.
Goalie age and experience
A big thing with any NHL-level goaltender, which also translates into how well they can perform, is their age and experience. Right now, the Edmonton Oilers cannot really say that they have a goalie with great experience or a goalie at a great age.
Stuart Skinner is currently 27 years old, and Calvin Pickard is 33. Yes, I understand that Skinner is young and has time to grow and learn, but the Oilers are realistically running out of time to pursue their first Stanley Cup in 35 years and in the Connor McDavid/Leon Draisaitl era.
Calvin Pickard is currently in his 11th NHL season, with his sixth team at 33. He has lots of NHL experience and, at times, has shown that, but he is realistically over halfway through his career, with maybe four or five strong seasons left. The Edmonton Oilers definitely need a younger or more experienced goalie to give them the best chance to win.
Not having a set 1A starter
Right now, Stuart Skinner is known as the Edmonton Oilers ‘Bonafede #1 starter.” If you look at how he has played this season, as the teams heavily relied upon the backstop, does he really deserve that title?
Stuart Skinner, in 17 games started so far this season, has allowed basically a career-worst 3.00 goals per game, and has an average save percentage of .885. I do not believe that Skinner is a #1 starter, because he has allowed three or more goals in 14 of 17 games. That is approximately 82% of his games, and that means that the Oilers have to score four goals per game in order to win, based on that stat line.
To give your team the best chance to win, a goalie (especially a starter) has to be able to make the big saves in the most important moments of the game. High-end goalies will not make those saves every time, but they only miss a few of those big saves every once in a while. Unfortunately, while Skinner has shown that he can make some of these big saves, he does not do it at the same rate as the other top-end players that he is consistently competing against.
Here is what Bryan Hayes, one of the TSN Overdrive analysts, had to say:
Lack of team effort
One of the other key elements I have noticed that helps explain why the Oilers’ season has started the way it has is that there has been a lack of effort from some of their players. The lack of effort being noticed could be from the impact of the team dynamics/systems, which I will get to later in this read. Here is a list of all of the Oilers players and how they have performed in terms of points since the beginning of the season.
To no one’s surprise, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl currently lead the team in points. In 24 games so far this season, McDavid has 10 goals and 23 assists for 33 points, while Leon Draisaitl currently has 14 goals and 14 assists for 28 points. With only three players currently averaging a point or more per game, and three players at 20 points or more, the Oilers definitely have an offensive depth issue.
Maybe it is players not working hard enough to score, win puck battles, or contribute in those ways, or maybe they just have not found their game yet. As the season goes on and as the 2026 Olympics get closer, we will see if this changes, but as of right now, who knows what these players are going to do on a game-to-game basis.
Team dynamics/systems
The final key element that helps explain why the Oilers are where they are today is a big one. I am talking about the team dynamics/systems, which could include the power play, penalty kill, five-on-five play, shots, high-danger scoring chances, etc.
At this moment, a vast majority of these key team dynamics are not where they are preferred to be for Edmonton. The Edmonton Oilers are currently 12th in high-danger chances for, 22nd in high-danger chances against, 21st in high-danger goals for, and 17th in high-danger goals against. Edmonton is currently ranked 12th on the penalty kill, but has the third-best power play. They are also fourth in goals for, first in goals against, 11th in shots per game, and 17th in shots against per game.
Yes, their two best players have been scoring very consistently, but in one area where they thrive, there are multiple areas that they do need to improve on, to affect their all-around game in a positive way. As a team, it is hard to focus on just one system for your players, when all that the staff and management may be trying to do is improve all the systems at once. Like I mentioned earlier, if you focus on one system and get really good at that specific aspect, the other systems will start to lack because less time is being put into improving them as well.
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Is it only down, or up from here?
I do think that this is a fair question to ask. I will not jump to conclusions too quickly, because the Oilers have only played 24 games so far this season, but there is and has been a lot to talk about, and it does not look good right now. They can not get worse, right? Realistically, the only way for Edmonton now is up, and they have to start proving to their fans and organization why they made it to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals and the grind that it took everyone to get there.
Oilers Fans! What are your thoughts on the season so far, and what other key elements that I may have missed are noticeable for the Oilers today?
Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
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