A pair of moves around NHL broadcasting and a familiar push for better team defense are front and center in this week’s Oilers notebook, but there are a few other Edmonton storylines worth tracking too.
The biggest roster-side development is still the same one that has been hanging over the Oilers for a while: Connor McDavid keeps climbing the franchise goal chart. Barring injury, he should move past Jari Kurri for second all-time in even strength goals sometime this coming season.
McDavid enters 2026-27 with 300, while Kurri finished at 336. Wayne Gretzky’s mark remains out in front at 103 more than McDavid’s current pace.
There was also happier off-ice news around the organization. Goaltender Tristan Jarry and his wife Hannah are expecting a baby. That sort of announcement usually stays outside the hockey discussion, but it’s worth pausing on the simple fact that players are “people too”, and their lives away from the rink carry the same milestones everyone else experiences.
On the prospect side, Tommy Lafreniere is spending a summer unlike most. He is with Team Canada at the World Junior Summer Showcase this week in Windsor, Ontario, getting his first taste of “International” hockey.
Edmonton took the Hornby Island, B.C. native in 2025 at #83 overall. Last season in Kamloops, the right shot put up 41-36-77 in 67 GP.
Another young Oilers name, Nathaniel Day, is in a tougher spot. A recent Cult of Hockey Prospects profile pointed out that he has become something of a forgotten man in an organization suddenly loaded with goaltenders.
Day followed a strong junior career with a very solid start in the ECHL, but the next step in his development really calls for AHL minutes. That’s the problem: there are three goalies at both the AHL and NHL level, so for now he looks blocked.
Mat Savoie is drawing a different kind of attention. Some in the Edmonton fan base want his extension done right away, especially with the winger entering the last year of his ELC.
He posted 18-19-37 in 82 GP for the Oilers last season, though he had just one assist in six playoff games. The offense matters, but it doesn’t tell the full story, and the view here is that he is ahead of schedule defensively.
The smarter play may be to wait and see how he fits under the new coaching staff. With the cap rising, giving up a little money for more certainty on Savoie’s future could make sense.
Still, letting it drift too far past Christmas would be risky.
Mike Babcock’s arrival has already produced plenty of discussion, and Leon Draisaitl finally offered his view. Draisaitl was part of the leadership group that met with Babcock, and his comments add useful context to the hiring.
As he said to TSN: “I think he’s the right guy to get us to where we want to get to. Obviously, it’s a different look, a change in personality, but very excited to learn from him, work with him”.
That kind of response matters, especially coming from a player whose voice carries real weight in the room.
The biggest on-ice test for Babcock may be whether he can tighten things up defensively, especially on the penalty kill. Edmonton’s PK sat at 77.8% last season, below league average.
Babcock’s numbers with Toronto were mixed: 81.6% in 2015-16, 82.5% in 2016-17, 81.4% in 2017-18, 79.9% in 2018-19, and 77.7% in 2019-20 before he was fired on November 20. Different rosters, different seasons, different circumstances - but the bottom line is that his Maple Leafs penalty kill was not a runaway success.
If Edmonton wants that area fixed, it will need better results.
There’s also an example from elsewhere in the league that says plenty about where hockey broadcasting is headed. The Columbus Blue Jackets will simulcast their televised games on radio after radio play-by-play man Bob McElligot did not have his contract renewed.
From a broadcaster’s perspective, that kind of move usually comes down to cost cutting, not better service. And for fans, the loss is real, because television play-by-play and radio play-by-play are not the same craft at all.
That theme carries right into the NHL’s latest media deal. Prime Video has signed a twelve-year sub-licensing agreement with Rogers Communications to carry Wednesday Night Hockey in both English and French.
Prime will also carry two first-round playoff series and one second-round series. There is obviously an economic upside for the broadcasters, but for fans the effect is plain: getting every game now means two subscriptions instead of one.
That matters even more with the shutdown of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, which at least was free and easy to access. Rogers Sportsnet has also raised its annual fee again.
Streaming is clearly the direction live sports are going, at least for now. The issue is who gets left behind while the industry keeps charging more. The league dresses it up with language like “premium product”, but the translation is simple enough: pay more if you want in.
In Other News...
Oilers Rumors Put Edmontons Faith In Its Young Forwards Under Fire
Speculation around Edmontons forward group has started to carry more weight as talk turns to whether the Oilers could chase a name like Patrik Laine or Vladimir Tarasenko. On the surface, the appeal is obvious: proven scoring help is always tempting for a team trying to stay in the hunt. But any move of that kind would also send a pretty clear message about where the organization stands on its younger forwards, especially Isaac Howard, Vasily Podkolzin and Matt Savoie.
The Oilers are already working within a tight cap picture and roster constraints, so bringing in another veteran scorer would not be a small cosmetic tweak. It would look more like a judgment call on the clubs internal pipeline, a sign the front office may not be fully convinced those prospects are ready to carry more of the load. Whether Edmonton chooses to trust its young talent or make room for a more established winger, the decision is likely to say plenty about how the team views its own future. [Read more 🡒]
Stan Bowman Has A Real Oilers Opportunity Before Camp Gets Messy
The Oilers have put themselves in a rare late-summer spot: cap space to work with and no obvious emergency on the roster. With a projected 23-man group that already includes three goalies, nine defensemen and 15 forwards, Stan Bowman is carrying about $4.7 million to play with before camp opens, which means this is less about filling a hole than deciding whether there is a meaningful upgrade worth chasing before the roster picture gets crowded.
That is where the intrigue comes in, because the names floating around are the kind of players that can change the conversation if Bowman decides to act. Shane Wright has been mentioned among the possible targets, along with Kirill Marchenko, and any addition of that caliber would force the Oilers to sort out a cleaner roster path on the other side, including players who could end up on waivers or squeezed off the team if everyone stays healthy. [Read more 🡒]
Connor McDavid's Next Oilers Deal Could Define Edmonton's Cup Window
Connor McDavid is still playing under the two-year, $25 million deal he signed with Edmonton, but the conversation around his next contract is already looming over the Oilers future. With the salary cap set to keep climbing and recent NHL megadeals reshaping the market, any extension would instantly become one of the leagues defining pieces of business and a major marker for where Edmonton believes its Cup window really stands.
There is also a familiar wrinkle in McDavids situation: he has signed below his market value before, and the Oilers would certainly welcome a repeat if they can keep convincing him they are built to contend. For Edmonton, this is about more than a number on a cap sheet. It is about whether the franchise can present a case strong enough to keep its captain aligned with the same urgency that has defined the teams push to stay in the championship mix. [Read more 🡒]