The Edmonton Oilers are still in their win-now window, but the edges are starting to show. The core still runs through Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and both should have plenty left. The concern is what happens around them as more of the roster moves deeper into its career arc.
That reality is especially clear with Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Hyman is 34 and at the stage where his next deal would likely need a bonus-heavy structure.
Nugent-Hopkins, 33, has already spent 15 seasons in Edmonton, and both players are beginning to slow. The Oilers, meanwhile, are trying to identify the next wave of Hyman- and Nugent-Hopkins-type contributors who can climb the lineup and eventually take over those jobs.
The age issue doesn’t stop up front. Mattias Ekholm is 36, Connor Murphy is 33, and Frederik Andersen was just signed at 36.
This isn’t just about depth. The Oilers are leaning on older players in important spots, and that changes how the season may have to be managed.
Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal sees that most clearly with Nugent-Hopkins and Ekholm. As he wrote, “Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will be thirty-four by the time the next Stanley Cup Playoffs comes around.
It is between he and Mattias Ekholm that I worry the most about what Father Time will bring in the coming season. These days, NHL Edge puts The Nuge’s skating at just above league average.
Now, Nugent-Hopkins is a very smart player and that can compensate for a lost half-step here and there. But I think his effectiveness in the coming season will come down to usage.”
That points to a reduced workload for Nugent-Hopkins. His average ice time in 2025-26 was 19:04, down from 19:23, and Leavins believes that number should dip again.
As he put it, “The trick is where to find that extra rest time. It will not come from the Power Play.
In fact, it is easy to make the case that Nugent-Hopkins is better on special teams versus 5v5.”
Hyman is in a different kind of spot. He’s not likely to lose much power-play usage, but the way he plays is punishing.
He lives around the net, takes hits, and pays for every inch. He has also missed time over the past couple of seasons, so health is part of the conversation now.
In goal, Edmonton is preparing for a three-man setup. Devon Levi is the young option, Tristan Jarry is struggling, and Andersen is the veteran in the mix. Andersen may open as the starter, but he could wind up playing fewer games than the others.
Leavins thinks the Oilers may lean hard into rest for Andersen, especially given his age and injury history. He said he can picture nights where Andersen plays and then sits the next game in the press box, calling it “severe load management.”
With a difficult road schedule ahead, he predicts Andersen will start no more than 28 of the games between now and Christmas, with Jarry and Levi splitting the other 18. He also raises the question of whether 60% of the load would be too much.
Elite Prospects currently has the Oilers ranked 13th in the league in age, at just over 28 on average. That number would be one thing if it were being pushed up by bottom-six forwards or the sixth and seventh defensemen. Instead, it’s being driven by some of the team’s most important players, and that makes the situation feel a lot more urgent.
In Other News...
Oilers May Be Forced To Trust Unexpected Prospects This Season
The Oilers have not exactly made a habit of getting meaningful rookie help from their recent young players, with Ryan McLeod and Matt Savoie standing out as the rare exceptions. Thats part of what makes this coming season interesting in Edmonton, where the path to NHL ice could open for prospects who were not necessarily penciled in as immediate contributors when camp opened.
Positional need and injuries can change a depth chart fast, and that is where some of the organizations less established young players enter the picture. One right-shot defenseman is in the mix because the Oilers are not exactly overflowing with options on that side, while a right-handed center with size and skill could also get a look if the lineup needs a different kind of forward. Neither has proven much at the NHL level yet, but the circumstances around them may end up forcing Edmonton to trust upside sooner than planned. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Suddenly Have A Real Shot At The Winger Fans Want
The trade market around the NHL has started to feel a lot less theoretical, with big names moving and more asking for changes of scenery. For the Oilers, that matters because they have both the cap space and the kind of future assets that can get a serious conversation started if they decide to chase help on the wing. Edmonton has draft capital to work with over the next few years, along with young pieces such as Matt Savoie and Isaac Howard, which gives the front office more flexibility than it has had in past summers.
What makes this especially interesting is the fit. The Oilers have been searching for a winger who can strengthen the top six without forcing them into a cap crunch, and the current market is finally offering a path that looks realistic. With a restricted free agent situation and team control in the mix, Edmonton can at least explore whether the price is manageable, even if the eventual asking cost still has to line up with what the Oilers are willing to move. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Suddenly Face A Tarasenko Decision Fans Will Debate
Vladimir Tarasenko is still sitting in free agency, and that alone has turned him into one of the more interesting names left on the board for teams still looking to add scoring. After a respectable recent season, his market appears to have cooled enough that a player once carrying a much larger cap hit is now being discussed in a far more modest range, which naturally puts clubs like Edmonton into the conversation.
For the Oilers, the appeal is obvious enough: a veteran winger who could slide into a useful spot in the lineup and give the offense another layer without demanding the kind of commitment that would reshape the roster. The question is whether Edmonton wants to make room for a player with some perceived baggage and whether the fit is worth the debate that would follow, especially if the contract comes in at the kind of bargain level that makes the decision even harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]