For hockey fans, September is filled with both anticipation and anxiety, unsure what the upcoming season will bring. After back-to-back Stanley Cup Final finishes with no ring to show for it, the Edmonton Oilers again enter 2025-26 with the same challenging goal.

Over at Daily Faceoff, Scott Maxwell is making the most of summer’s end to write his team previews before training camps kick off this month. On Thursday, he dove into the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2025-26-nhl-team-preview-prediction-edmonton-oilers">year ahead for the Oilers</a> and whether they can finally overcome that ultimate hurdle this year.
First, it&#8217;s about looking at what the team got done this summer. There are a lot of parallels between the past two seasons — sluggish starts, goaltending issues, and deep playoff runs that just fell short. But the off-seasons that followed could not be more different, Maxwell writes:
<blockquote>This summer was a lot different than last summer, as 2024 saw the Oilers bring most of the band back together, short of their younger players in Ryan McLeod, Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. This season, not so much. Plenty of pieces have departed for new teams – some who were disappointments in Edmonton, some who were important pieces. But Edmonton didn’t really replace them, either.</blockquote>
The key departures this summer include Evander Kane, <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/former-edmonton-oiler-viktor-arvidsson-excited-better-fit-boston-bruins">Viktor Arvidsson</a>, Jeff Skinner, Corey Perry, Connor Brown, John Klingberg, and Derek Ryan, while notable additions include Andrew Mangiapane, Ike Howard, Curtis Lazar, and Riley Stillman. Clearly, there&#8217;s some depth scoring lost there, and while the rookie seasons of Howard and Matt Savoie will be exciting to watch, it remains to be seen if they can yet make a meaningful impact at the highest level.
Maxwell also notes the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/a-real-possibility-edmonton-oilers-connor-mcdavid-enter-season-without-extension">uncertainty around McDavid’s future</a> that will continue to be a question mark for this team. Of course, that could still be settled sooner rather than later, with time to get an extension done before the season begins.
Edmonton’s blueline will have a similar makeup this season, and so will the tandem between the pipes, for better or for worse. Goaltending issues seem to catch up with the Oilers every year in the playoffs, but the team continues to run with Stuart Skinner as the starter and Calvin Pickard as the backup. It feels like we are having the same conversation we always do; Maxwell notes that Skinner’s ceiling is higher and his floor is lower, and it is really about finding consistency this year.
In all that, we find the team&#8217;s three burning questions entering the year:
<ol>
<li>When does Connor McDavid extend?</li>
<li>What’s the solution in net?</li>
<li>Do the Oilers have another run in them?</li>
</ol>
Bearing that in mind, Maxwell offers his prediction for the Oilers this season:
<blockquote>
As long as McDavid and Draisaitl exist on this team in their primes, the ceiling for the Oilers is the Stanley Cup. They’ve willed the team far in the playoffs in the past, and the more recent iterations have been good enough around them to get them oh-so-close. But at the same time, they’ve lost a decent amount of that depth, and there are enough question marks around the opening day roster that a step back feels likely.
It’s always tough betting against McDavid, because he will always prove you wrong. But as the West gets tougher and the Oilers get a little bit worse, it feels like they may bow out earlier than the past two seasons. They’re still a surefire playoff team and will probably win a round or two, but until we see how well this group clicks on the ice, it’s hard to see them making the Stanley Cup Final for a third year in a row.
</blockquote>
Three Stanley Cup Final appearances in a row is no easy feat, but each year, the Oilers are counted out, and they still seem to fight their way back again. With two of the best players on the planet leading the way, there&#8217;s still good reason to believe this team can get the job done.
What do you make of Maxwell&#8217;s assessment of the Oilers heading into the 2025-26 season?

For hockey fans, September is filled with both anticipation and anxiety, unsure what the upcoming season will bring. After back-to-back Stanley Cup Final finishes with no ring to show for it, the Edmonton Oilers again enter 2025-26 with the same challenging goal.



Over at Daily Faceoff, Scott Maxwell is making the most of summer’s end to write his team previews before training camps kick off this month. On Thursday, he dove into the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2025-26-nhl-team-preview-prediction-edmonton-oilers">year ahead for the Oilers</a> and whether they can finally overcome that ultimate hurdle this year.

First, it's about looking at what the team got done this summer. There are a lot of parallels between the past two seasons — sluggish starts, goaltending issues, and deep playoff runs that just fell short. But the off-seasons that followed could not be more different, Maxwell writes:
<blockquote>This summer was a lot different than last summer, as 2024 saw the Oilers bring most of the band back together, short of their younger players in Ryan McLeod, Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. This season, not so much. Plenty of pieces have departed for new teams – some who were disappointments in Edmonton, some who were important pieces. But Edmonton didn’t really replace them, either.</blockquote>
The key departures this summer include Evander Kane, <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/former-edmonton-oiler-viktor-arvidsson-excited-better-fit-boston-bruins">Viktor Arvidsson</a>, Jeff Skinner, Corey Perry, Connor Brown, John Klingberg, and Derek Ryan, while notable additions include Andrew Mangiapane, Ike Howard, Curtis Lazar, and Riley Stillman. Clearly, there's some depth scoring lost there, and while the rookie seasons of Howard and Matt Savoie will be exciting to watch, it remains to be seen if they can yet make a meaningful impact at the highest level.

Maxwell also notes the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/a-real-possibility-edmonton-oilers-connor-mcdavid-enter-season-without-extension">uncertainty around McDavid’s future</a> that will continue to be a question mark for this team. Of course, that could still be settled sooner rather than later, with time to get an extension done before the season begins.

Edmonton’s blueline will have a similar makeup this season, and so will the tandem between the pipes, for better or for worse. Goaltending issues seem to catch up with the Oilers every year in the playoffs, but the team continues to run with Stuart Skinner as the starter and Calvin Pickard as the backup. It feels like we are having the same conversation we always do; Maxwell notes that Skinner’s ceiling is higher and his floor is lower, and it is really about finding consistency this year.

In all that, we find the team's three burning questions entering the year:
<ol>
 	<li>When does Connor McDavid extend?</li>
 	<li>What’s the solution in net?</li>
 	<li>Do the Oilers have another run in them?</li>
</ol>
Bearing that in mind, Maxwell offers his prediction for the Oilers this season:
<blockquote>
As long as McDavid and Draisaitl exist on this team in their primes, the ceiling for the Oilers is the Stanley Cup. They’ve willed the team far in the playoffs in the past, and the more recent iterations have been good enough around them to get them oh-so-close. But at the same time, they’ve lost a decent amount of that depth, and there are enough question marks around the opening day roster that a step back feels likely.
It’s always tough betting against McDavid, because he will always prove you wrong. But as the West gets tougher and the Oilers get a little bit worse, it feels like they may bow out earlier than the past two seasons. They’re still a surefire playoff team and will probably win a round or two, but until we see how well this group clicks on the ice, it’s hard to see them making the Stanley Cup Final for a third year in a row.
</blockquote>
Three Stanley Cup Final appearances in a row is no easy feat, but each year, the Oilers are counted out, and they still seem to fight their way back again. With two of the best players on the planet leading the way, there's still good reason to believe this team can get the job done.

What do you make of Maxwell's assessment of the Oilers heading into the 2025-26 season?

Daily Faceoff Team Preview: Can the Oilers finally get over the hump?

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