The rough starts for the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/">Edmonton Oilers</a> are nothing new. For the past couple of years, the team from Alberta&#8217;s capital has struggled out of the gate, but managed to turn it into deep playoff runs, including advancing to each of the past two Stanley Cup Finals.

However, there&#8217;s a growing sense that this year is different than previous campaigns. The Oilers have won just six of their first 15 games of the 2025-26 season, and the team sits tied for 25th in goals against, surrendering 5.2 goals per game.
The level of concern might also be coming from the pressure the team has regarding McDavid&#8217;s future. No. 97 <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-connor-mcdavid-extension-two-years-no-increase-cap-hit">signed a two-year extension</a> just before the start of the regular season, with a cap hit of $12.5 million, making it clear that he wants to win in Edmonton, putting the pressure on general manager Stan Bowman.
On Wednesday, <a href="https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/2025/11/05/does-the-oilers-slow-start-put-gm-bowman-on-the-hot-seat/">TSN&#8217;s Craig Button explained</a> how McDavid&#8217;s words have put Bowman on notice.
<blockquote>&#8220;Connor McDavid was very clear,&#8221; Button stated. &#8220;He said, &#8216;I have no problem staying in Edmonton if we have a team that can win and win and win again.&#8217; A very clear message. Then his actions spoke even louder. He said, &#8216;Hey, listen, I&#8217;m going to give you the benefit of me taking this contract so you can go and strengthen the team in your way.&#8217; So, it&#8217;s clear. The mandate is clearly on Stan Bowman and on the management team.&#8221;</blockquote>
The cap-strapped Oilers were relatively quiet in terms of pursuing outside talent during the offseason, aside from signing Jack Roslovic on the opening night of the team&#8217;s season. Button reflected on the players Edmonton let slip through its fingers.
<blockquote>&#8220;I keep going back to 2024, the summer of 2024. They had [Dylan] Holloway. They had [Philip] Broberg. They had [Ryan] McLeod. Drafted players, two first-round draft picks. They had an opportunity with Warren Foegele. It seems that once they let those guys go, all they&#8217;ve been doing is chasing, trying to find players that can replace those guys. And to this point in time, it&#8217;s fallen short.&#8221;</blockquote>
It doesn&#8217;t help that<a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-blowing-another-lead-leon-draisaitl-goal-jack-roslovic"> Edmonton has squandered 2-0</a> leads in back-to-back games, losing to the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-goaltending-woes-continue-loss-st-louis-blues">St. Louis Blues</a> on Monday before falling to the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/the-day-after-15-0-edmonton-oilers-need-to-show-theyre-learning-from-this-after-another-bad-loss">Dallas Stars</a> the following night.
<blockquote>&#8220;You see them in fits and spurts. You see some good, you see some negative. But most importantly, you see them not being able to sustain a really good, strong level of play. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, postgame, talked about, &#8216;Yeah, we do some things well. And then we sit back and we let the team carry the puck and they gain some confidence and whatnot.&#8217; That hurts them. They got some real issues.&#8221;</blockquote>
Button also brought up concern over how patient McDavid will be with the team, given the Oilers&#8217; window to be a championship contender.
<blockquote>&#8220;Connor McDavid isn&#8217;t going to wait for time. He&#8217;s not here to fiddle with the dials. We saw in 2024 in that series for the Florida Panthers, post-series, how angry he got. I would suggest, if this team doesn&#8217;t show signs, and I&#8217;m talking about the management team, show signs, that they&#8217;re going to work to improve this team, you might get an even angrier Connor McDavid.&#8221;</blockquote>
The Oilers (6-5-4) <a href="https://oilersnation.com/schedule">are off until Saturday</a>, when they host the Colorado Avalanche.

Edmonton Oilers Stan Bowman Kris Knoblauch

The rough starts for the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/">Edmonton Oilers</a> are nothing new. For the past couple of years, the team from Alberta's capital has struggled out of the gate, but managed to turn it into deep playoff runs, including advancing to each of the past two Stanley Cup Finals.



However, there's a growing sense that this year is different than previous campaigns. The Oilers have won just six of their first 15 games of the 2025-26 season, and the team sits tied for 25th in goals against, surrendering 5.2 goals per game.

The level of concern might also be coming from the pressure the team has regarding McDavid's future. No. 97 <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-connor-mcdavid-extension-two-years-no-increase-cap-hit">signed a two-year extension</a> just before the start of the regular season, with a cap hit of $12.5 million, making it clear that he wants to win in Edmonton, putting the pressure on general manager Stan Bowman.

On Wednesday, <a href="https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/2025/11/05/does-the-oilers-slow-start-put-gm-bowman-on-the-hot-seat/">TSN's Craig Button explained</a> how McDavid's words have put Bowman on notice.
<blockquote>"Connor McDavid was very clear," Button stated. "He said, 'I have no problem staying in Edmonton if we have a team that can win and win and win again.' A very clear message. Then his actions spoke even louder. He said, 'Hey, listen, I'm going to give you the benefit of me taking this contract so you can go and strengthen the team in your way.' So, it's clear. The mandate is clearly on Stan Bowman and on the management team."</blockquote>
The cap-strapped Oilers were relatively quiet in terms of pursuing outside talent during the offseason, aside from signing Jack Roslovic on the opening night of the team's season. Button reflected on the players Edmonton let slip through its fingers.
<blockquote>"I keep going back to 2024, the summer of 2024. They had [Dylan] Holloway. They had [Philip] Broberg. They had [Ryan] McLeod. Drafted players, two first-round draft picks. They had an opportunity with Warren Foegele. It seems that once they let those guys go, all they've been doing is chasing, trying to find players that can replace those guys. And to this point in time, it's fallen short."</blockquote>
It doesn't help that<a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-blowing-another-lead-leon-draisaitl-goal-jack-roslovic"> Edmonton has squandered 2-0</a> leads in back-to-back games, losing to the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-goaltending-woes-continue-loss-st-louis-blues">St. Louis Blues</a> on Monday before falling to the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/the-day-after-15-0-edmonton-oilers-need-to-show-theyre-learning-from-this-after-another-bad-loss">Dallas Stars</a> the following night.
<blockquote>"You see them in fits and spurts. You see some good, you see some negative. But most importantly, you see them not being able to sustain a really good, strong level of play. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, postgame, talked about, 'Yeah, we do some things well. And then we sit back and we let the team carry the puck and they gain some confidence and whatnot.' That hurts them. They got some real issues."</blockquote>
Button also brought up concern over how patient McDavid will be with the team, given the Oilers' window to be a championship contender.
<blockquote>"Connor McDavid isn't going to wait for time. He's not here to fiddle with the dials. We saw in 2024 in that series for the Florida Panthers, post-series, how angry he got. I would suggest, if this team doesn't show signs, and I'm talking about the management team, show signs, that they're going to work to improve this team, you might get an even angrier Connor McDavid."</blockquote>
The Oilers (6-5-4) <a href="https://oilersnation.com/schedule">are off until Saturday</a>, when they host the Colorado Avalanche.

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