The Edmonton Oilers will enter the 2026–27 season with all of the pressure on them. This will likely be the do-or-die season for their Stanley Cup hopes, as Connor McDavid will be entering the final year of his contract in 2027–28.
The core that has been built up to this point may only have one last chance to accomplish the ultimate goal. With players aging, time is not on the Oilers’ side.
With a must-win season on the line, let’s take a look at the top storylines to watch during the 2026–27 season.
The Mike Babcock hiring
The main storyline to watch at the start of the season will be the impact Mike Babcock has on the team. It has been a long time since he last coached in the NHL, and there was a lot of negative energy surrounding this hiring. Babcock last coached in the NHL during the 2019–20 season, which was his fifth year as the Toronto Maple Leafs head coach. After this, he was fired and replaced by Sheldon Keefe.
Since his time with Toronto, Babcock has only had one other opportunity to coach in the NHL. In the summer of 2023, Babcock was hired as the new head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Here, everything seemed to be good to go, with a new chapter beginning for Babcock. However, he never coached a game for Columbus as he resigned from the team in September of 2023. This reportedly had something to do with Babcock asking players to share personal photos from their phones with him.
Now, Babcock has officially reentered the NHL as the head coach of the Oilers. It will be interesting to see how the team performs under Babcock, as he is known to be an extremely tough coach. Former NHL players Mike Commodore and Johan Franzen are just a few players who have spoken up about how awful a person Babcock is. The coach reportedly verbally assaulted Franzen during his time with the Red Wings, while Commodore has consistently spoken about his hatred towards the coach.
In the end, this will easily be the top story to watch on the Oilers in the upcoming season.
A three-goalie tandem
Another main storyline to watch out for will be the opportunity to run with a three-goalie tandem. This, of course, will include Tristan Jarry, Frederik Andersen, and Devon Levi. Jarry was originally brought in last season to help with the goaltending, while Andersen and Levi were brought in through trades this offseason. All goalies have had ups and downs in their careers, so this will be interesting to watch unfold.
Jarry continued to struggle a fair bit during his time with the Oilers last year. He posted a .858 SV% during the regular season along with a 3.86 GAA. He only made one start in the playoffs, which resulted in an overtime loss. Some may remember that being the game where Ryan Poehling scored a controversial goal in overtime after video review.
Andersen is definitely the most reliable goalie of these three. He has been a fantastic goalie throughout his entire career and is coming off a Stanley Cup victory. Andersen had a tough regular season in 2025–26. He posted a .874 SV%, but really turned it around in the playoffs. He was arguably the Hurricanes’ MVP in the playoffs until he was replaced by Brandon Bussi in the finals.
Levi is the wild card out of the three. He has struggled at the NHL level, but has had great years in the AHL. Maybe a chance with a new organization is exactly what he needs.
A blueline without Darnell Nurse
A massive change in the Oilers organization was moving on from defenceman Darnell Nurse. Nurse had spent his entire career with the Oilers until he was dealt to the San Jose Sharks. Now, the Oilers’ defensive core faces a serious shakeup. Without Nurse, the new defensive core will feature a mix of these defencemen.
- Mattias Ekholm
- Evan Bouchard
- Jake Walman
- Connor Murphy
- Ryan Shea
- Shakir Mukhamadullin
On paper, this is easily the best defensive core the Oilers have had in quite some time. Removing Nurse and his liabilities and replacing him with solid bottom-four guys seems to be an awesome move. It will be interesting to see how this core lines up as the season gets underway.
Can the Oilers claim the Pacific Division crown?
The last main storyline to watch for the upcoming season is whether or not the Oilers will claim the Pacific Division title. Last year, the Oilers just barely missed out on it, and that was with a mediocre year. With that being said, the Oilers have little to no competition in the Pacific next year. The only other Cup contender in the division is the Vegas Golden Knights. Outside of that, the division is full of mediocre and bottom-feeder teams.
Winning the Pacific Division would be a massive win for the Oilers. Not winning it last year really gave them a tougher first-round opponent. The Anaheim Ducks matched up very well against the Oilers. With the division win, the Oilers would have played against the Utah Mammoth, who would have brought them less trouble.
Winning the division should be the main priority of the regular season next year. That would set the team up perfectly for a hopeful cup run.
Out of these main storylines, which one will you be paying attention to the most?
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