The Edmonton Oilers have no one to blame but themselves for being where they are after being eliminated by the Anaheim Ducks in six games in Round 1 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. While players like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl take ownership of this season's failure, it really starts with General Manager Stan Bowman and President and CEO Jeff Jackson.
The Edmonton Oilers timeline began in the 2023-24 season, when the team did not extend its then GM and current Los Angeles Kings GM, Ken Holland. Holland has been a lame duck for the season. All teams know the schedule: the last possible date for the 2024 Stanley Cup Final was June 24, 2024, with the NHL Draft on June 28 and 29 and free agency starting on July 1.
It's an important season for the Edmonton Oilers
Regardless of what the organization thought of Holland, they needed a GM in place on July 1st. If the organization had known they were leaving Holland before his contract was up on June 30, 2024, you'd think they would have been looking for a replacement before then. Letting Jeff Jackson handle free agency was a mistake.
And if waiting for Stan Bowman to be reinstated by the NHL for his role in the Chicago Blackhawks scandal was always the plan, that's an even bigger mistake, and it's showing. Jackson and Bowman's decisions put the Edmonton Oilers further away from the championship than ever before.
Let's start with the 2024 moves highlighted by the offer sheets of St. Louis Blues for Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway. These two players were drafted and developed by the Edmonton Oilers. Management can mishandle the development process for both players leading up to the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, both players were successful for the Oilers during their run to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, especially Broberg, who ate up minutes on the backend and played solid defense.
The first order of business for incoming General Manager Stan Bowman is to evaluate those players without knowing them. He decided to take the goods and let the two players go. 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 counting. That's what good managers or good management teams do.
Changes are coming to the Edmonton Oilers
Instead, Arvidsson and Skinner were brought in, as Broberg and Holloway were out the door, and they were joined by Cody Ceci, Vincent Desharnais, Warren Foegele, Derek Ryan, and Ryan McLeod. McLeod was traded to Matt Savoie. The depth the Oilers had in 2024 is gone. Not to mention the move to get Desharnais out and Ceci shelled out 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, returning to the Stanley Cup Final.
Despite their six-game losing streak, the series wasn't that close, as the Oilers lost to the Florida Panthers again. The depth the Oilers once had was no match for the Panthers, so many changes were coming in Bowman's first full off-season as GM. Last off-season, he had to deal with Leon Draisaitl's extension; during the 2025 offseason, he had to deal with McDavid's extension.
Anaheim Ducks Exploit Edmonton Oilers Defensive Weaknesses
McDavid put Bowman and company on the clock as he only signed a two-year extension that kicks in on July 1. It was signed before the season. However, damage was done to the roster as Viktor Arvidsson was traded to Boston for relief. Connor Brown signed with New Jersey. Evander Kane was traded to Vancouver for a reliever. Corey Perry signed in Los Angeles.
The Edmonton Oilers depth was dwindling before their eyes. Evan Bouchard got a big extension again. But to make matters worse, despite wanting to improve their goaltending, Bowman traded Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak to Pittsburgh for Tristan Jarry and his full roster.
Kulak was then traded by the Penguins to the Colorado Avalanche and recently sent his new club to the Western Conference Final with an overtime winner. In addition to that move, Bowman also offered a 2027 first-round pick, a 2027 third-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick, and a 2029 second-round pick in trades for Connor Murphy, Colton Dach, and Jason Dickinson with the Chicago Blackhawks, as well as moving the contract of Andrew Mangia.
Is The Window Closing To Keep Connor McDavid In Edmonton?
As Bowman said in his year-end press conference, he hopes to re-sign Murphy and Dickinson. There is no hope; you need to find any reason to send the Edmonton Oilers back and away from the Stanley Cup Championship. And guess who paid the price, head coach, Kris Knoblauch.
Knobaluch left before the start of his three-year contract extension because Bowman went behind the coach to replace him. Now he had no choice but to fill his place. 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 Connor McDavid staying in Edmonton. These trades and moves are valid 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, and Bowman made them worse.
The same thing is playing out in Edmonton. This is the greatest offseason in franchise history. It's like what happened in Toronto. But it's true for the Oilers. When poor decision makers are at the forefront, poor decisions are made. Hence, why the Edmonton Oilers have taken steps backwards, not forwards, this season.
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