The Edmonton Oilers have no one to blame but themselves for being in the position they are in after being ousted by the Anaheim Ducks in six games in Round 1 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. While players like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are taking ownership of this season’s failures, it really starts with General Manager Stan Bowman and President and CEO Jeff Jackson.
The timeline for the Edmonton Oilers began during the 2023-24 season, when the team did not extend its then-GM and current Los Angeles Kings GM, Ken Holland. Holland was a lame duck going into the season. All the teams knew the schedule: the last possible date of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final was June 24, 2024, with the NHL Draft on June 28 and 29 and free agency beginning on July 1.
It’s an Important Offseason for the Edmonton Oilers
Regardless of the organization’s thoughts on Holland, they needed a GM in place on July 1st. If the organization knew they were moving on from Holland before his contract wasn’t renewed on June 30, 2024, you would think they would have been searching for a replacement before then. Allowing Jeff Jackson to conduct free agency was a mistake.
And if waiting for Stan Bowman to be reinstated by the NHL for his role in what with the Chicago Blackhawks scandal was always the plan, then that is an even bigger mistake, and it is showing. The decisions by Jackson and Bowman have put the Edmonton Oilers further away from a championship than before.
Let’s start with the 2024 moves highlighted by the St. Louis Blues’ offer sheets to Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway. These two players were drafted and are being developed by the Edmonton Oilers. Management mishandled the development process for both players leading into the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, both players were effective for the Oilers during their run to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, especially Broberg, who ate up minutes on the backend and played solid defence.
The first order of business for incoming General Manager Stan Bowman is to evaluate those players without even knowing them. He decided to take the assets and let two players walk. Instead of Jackson signing Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner, the first order of business would have been to sign Broberg and Holloway to deals and then figure out the rest. That is what good general managers or good management teams do.
Changes Are Coming with the Edmonton Oilers
Instead, Arvidsson and Skinner are brought in, as Broberg and Holloway were out the door, and were joined by Cody Ceci, Vincent Desharnais, Warren Foegele, Derek Ryan, and Ryan McLeod. McLeod was traded for Matt Savoie. The depth that the Oilers had in 2024 was depleted. Not to mention the moves to move out Desharnais and Ceci cleared the money to sign both players, or at least Broberg.
The Oilers had their ups and downs throughout the 2024-25 season, as most of the team was back, including Corey Perry, Evander Kane, John Klingberg, and others. Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard were between the pipes as the Oilers showed they could do things the right way, getting back to the Stanley Cup Final.
Despite losing in six games, the series wasn’t that close, as the Oilers were outmatched by the Florida Panthers once again. The depth the Oilers once had was not there to match the Panthers, so more changes were coming in Bowman’s first full off-season as GM. In the previous off-season, he had to deal with the Leon Draisaitl extension; during the 2025 offseason, he had to deal with the McDavid extension.
Anaheim Ducks Exploiting Edmonton Oilers Defensive Weaknesses
McDavid put Bowman and company on the clock as he only signed a two-year extension kicking in on July 1. It was signed right before the season. However, the damage was done to the roster as Viktor Arvidsson was traded to Boston for cap relief. Connor Brown signed in New Jersey. Evander Kane was traded to Vancouver for cap relief. Corey Perry signed in Los Angeles.
The depth of the Edmonton Oilers was shrinking right before their eyes. Evan Bouchard got a massive extension as well. But to make matters worse, despite saying they were looking to upgrade their goaltending, Bowman traded Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak to Pittsburgh for Tristan Jarry and his full cap hit.
Kulak was then flipped by the Penguins to the Colorado Avalanche and just sent his new club to the Western Conference Final with an overtime winner. In addition to those moves, Bowman also gave away a 2027 first-round pick, a 2027 3rd round pick, a 2028 2nd round pick, and a 2029 second-round pick in trades for Connor Murphy, Colton Dach, and Jason Dickinson with the Chicago Blackhawks, along with moving Andrew Mangiapane‘s contract.
Is the Window Closing to Keep Connor McDavid in Edmonton?
As Bowman stated at the year-end press conference, he hopes to re-sign Murphy and Dickinson. There is no hope; he needs to find any justification for sending the Edmonton Oilers backward and further away from a Stanley Cup Championship. And guess who paid the price, the head coach, Kris Knoblauch.
Knobaluch is out before his three-year contract extension kicks in because Bowman went behind the coach’s back to replace him, and it got out. Now he had no choice but to replace him. And credit to Stan Bowman, he took ownership of the fiasco in Edmonton, but now he and Jeff Jackson are on the clock.
This team has to win next season or show signs of winning for Connor McDavid to stay in Edmonton. These trades and moves are excusable for any general manager. While his name is on the Stanley Cup for the Blackhawks three titles, Dale Tallon built the core of those Blackhawks teams, while Bowman made them worse.
The same thing is playing out in Edmonton. This is the biggest offseason in franchise history. Similar to what is going on in Toronto. But it is true for the Oilers. When poor decision-makers are at the helm, poor decisions are made. Hence, why the Edmonton Oilers took steps back, not forward, this season.
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