Edmonton Oilers fans have never been shy about letting players hear it, and this season figures to bring another round of scrutiny.
That’s part of the deal in a market like this. The fanbase is loud, invested and quick to notice mistakes.
But there’s also a line, and once criticism turns personal, it stops being fair. The vast majority of fans understand that.
A small number don’t.
A few names have already worn the heat in recent years: Darnell Nurse, Stuart Skinner, Tristan Jarry, Trent Frederic, Evan Bouchard and Jake Walman. Nurse and Skinner have both been traded away in the last year, but the spotlight keeps moving, and there are still current Oilers who will be judged closely.
Tristan Jarry is one of them.
Jarry arrived in a trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 12th, 2025. He started well in his first few games, then got hurt and never fully found that early form again.
There were also rumblings that teammates weren’t thrilled with his practice habits. Bob Stauffer said, “I watched him yesterday in practice, and he was getting beat in practice, and finally one of the leaders, you could see him [say], ‘You’ve got to push it more.”
DFO Edmonton’s Jason Gregor added on his show, “I watched practice yesterday, and I know it’s only practice, but I was watching drill after drill and Jarry was getting lit up in practice. I haven’t seen a goalie give up that many goals for awhile.”
That frustration made sense for some fans. Jarry was brought in to steady the goaltending, but he wasn’t fully healthy and he was playing behind a shaky team defense.
The hope now is that he can rediscover his game under new coach Mike Babcock’s more defensive system. The Oilers’ current number one goalie is confident he will get back on track.
Trent Frederic is another player who has drawn attention.
The Oilers got him from the Boston Bruins on March 4, 2025, after he had established himself as a useful forward there. Frederic scored 17 goals in 2022-23 and 18 in 2023-24, while also bringing the kind of edge that makes life miserable for opponents.
He could bother top players, play physically and still chip in offensively, which is exactly why Edmonton wanted him. In June 2025, the Oilers locked him up on an eight-year deal worth $3.85 million a year.
Frederic came in with an ankle injury, though, and it took him time to settle in. He discussed that with Bob Stauffer over the summer.
There were signs last year, but plenty of fans still want more. His contract, meanwhile, looks different after Leo Carlsson signed a mind-blowing offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Anaheim Ducks matched it and will pay their young centre $18 million a year for the next eight years. With the NHL’s cap picture also rising more than expected, Frederic’s deal looks much better now.
The only real question is whether he can bring it consistently.
Evan Bouchard sits in a different category altogether.
He has taken heat for his defensive game at times, but the numbers still place him among the league’s elite blue-liners. Last season, he posted 21 goals and 74 assists in 82 games.
That’s a 95-point defenseman, and most teams would celebrate that without hesitation. His contract is also looking like a steal.
Yes, Bouchard has been guilty of turnovers. But he’s on the ice constantly and touches the puck more than most defenders, so those mistakes come with the territory.
The league’s best defensemen also cough it up. In that sense, the criticism can feel a little over the top.
Here are the top 10 defencemen in the league last year by giveaways:
Rank Defenceman Team Giveaways
1 Zach Werenski Columbus Blue Jackets 125
2 MacKenzie Weegar Calgary Flames 124
3 Evan Bouchard Edmonton Oilers 123
4 Dougie Hamilton New Jersey Devils 119
5 Cale Makar Colorado Avalanche 108
6 Erik Karlsson Pittsburgh Penguins 104
7 Noah Dobson New York Islanders 101
8 John Carlson Anaheim Ducks 99
9 Rasmus Dahlin Buffalo Sabres 96
10 Mike Matheson Montreal Canadiens 95
Edmonton’s market doesn’t give much breathing room, though. Small errors become big talking points fast, and the city’s hockey audience is deep enough that criticism rarely stays buried.
Bouchard is also an introverted player, much like the team’s last coach, Kris Knoblauch. He doesn’t wear his emotions on his sleeve and keeps a lot to himself.
In a North American sports culture that often rewards the loudest personalities, that can lead to people reading him the wrong way. Silent can be strong.
Jake Walman is the final name in the mix.
The Oilers acquired him from the San Jose Sharks on March 6, 2025, and he fit in right away. His two-way game made an immediate impression, and he was already close with one of the team’s leaders, Zach Hyman. The two grew up playing hockey together in Toronto.
Walman brings skating, shooting and a hard-working style. NHL Edge has his top skating speed in the 98th percentile.
But after an injury, his 2025-26 season went sideways. His minus-17 told the story; only one other Oilers player had a worse plus-minus.
Even so, he may have been the team’s best defenceman in the playoffs. He had four assists in six games against the Anaheim Ducks and looked like he was turning the corner again.
His contract also looks a lot better after the NHL’s wild summer. The Oilers will be hoping that version of Walman shows up again this year.
With a fan base this vocal, someone is always headed for the microscope. The only real question is who gets there next.
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The Oilers search for help down the middle keeps coming back to Dylan Larkin, a name that fits the need in Edmonton almost too neatly. With the regular season approaching, the Red Wings center remains a logical fit on paper as a second-line option beside Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman, giving the Oilers another high-end center to balance out their forward group.
But any path toward a deal looks far from simple. Larkin is still in Detroit while working his way back from an upper-body injury, and the trade chatter around him has been complicated by the fact that he is believed to have a limited group of teams he would consider joining. For Edmonton, that means the appeal is obvious, even if the logistics are anything but. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Shea Is Suddenly In The Middle Of Edmontons Biggest Blue-Line Test
A recent addition to Edmontons blue line has already forced his way into a conversation the Oilers did not necessarily expect to be having this early. Ryan Shea made a strong first impression in a preseason game against Winnipeg, and now he is getting a look on the top defensive pair alongside Evan Bouchard, with the clubs best forwards in the mix around him.
For a player trying to carve out a role, the opportunity is as large as it gets. Sheas path in Pittsburgh offered a useful clue that he can hold his own with elite talent, and Edmonton is now asking whether that translates to a spot on a unit that has to look more stable than flashy. The intrigue is obvious, because if he fits there, the Oilers may have found a much-needed answer in an unexpected place. [Read more 🡒]
Devon Levi Suddenly Has A Huge Opening With The Oilers
Devon Levi arrives in Edmonton with a real opportunity in front of him, and the timing could hardly be better. The Oilers acquired the young goaltender from Buffalo on July 1, giving him a fresh start after 39 NHL games with the Sabres and a chance to push for a bigger role than the one he had before.
Levi has already said he is ready for the competition, and his path has been shaped as much by his time in the AHL as by his brief NHL experience. With the starting job in Edmonton suddenly there to be won, his development now meets a far more immediate test, and the next stretch will go a long way toward showing how close he is to taking hold of it. [Read more 🡒]