The Oilers open their 2026-27 season tonight against the Vancouver Canucks, and the spotlight already feels bigger than a normal opener. This has the makings of a season people will remember for a long time, whether it becomes Connor McDavid’s Stanley Cup year or his final run in Edmonton.
There’s also a tactical wrinkle worth watching right away. Leon Draisaitl could move to center at some point during the game, especially if the Oilers’ third and fourth lines start getting pinned back. Vancouver isn’t exactly a killer matchup, but Edmonton’s bottom-six center situation is thin on NHL experience, and that could force Mike Babcock to adjust quickly if things get messy.
A lot of the early attention is landing on Owen Michaels, a player Babcock clearly trusts. The coach has been unusually positive about him, though the sample size is still small enough that nobody can say much for sure yet.
Edmonton has seen this kind of thing before, where a coach latches onto a player who doesn’t quite deliver when the games start to matter. Toby Petersen and Lennart Petrell are two names that come to mind.
Michaels’ preseason numbers at five-on-five paint a mixed picture: 46 minutes, 4 shots, 2HDSC, 4 giveaways, 4 blocked shots, 19 wins and 23 losses in the dot. His on-ice numbers sat at 47 percent shots, 0-1 goals, 35X goals, and 2.88 X-GA 60. The bigger question isn’t what Josh Samanski failed to do; it’s why Leon is still on the wing.
That’s where the lineup choices get hard to ignore. Jason Dickinson is out, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is on the second line, Colton Dach is on the third line, and Michaels is set for his first NHL shift. If the Oilers look out of sync early, the case for reshuffling becomes pretty hard to dodge.
There’s another angle, though: Michaels is 24, older than Colton Dach and Ike Howard, and this might simply be his moment. He had a strong offensive season a couple of years ago, and he doesn’t need to be a 15-goal scorer to matter on the fourth line. His NHL equivalency sits at 25 points in 84 games, which at least gives him a case to make.
Stan Bowman knows Michaels well, which cuts both ways. It’s good because that’s part of his job - identifying useful free agents - but it can also go sideways if the organization starts leaning too hard on familiarity. For now, the read is straightforward: Samanski looks like the better fit, Babcock prefers Michaels, and Dickinson should be back soon.
The broader prediction here is a strong one for Edmonton. The projected stretch includes home games against Vancouver, Seattle, Mammoth, Minnesota, Carolina, Toronto, Detroit and Calgary, plus road trips to Vancouver, Anaheim, San Jose, Los Angeles, Mammoth and the New York Islanders.
The forecast lands at 9-4-1, which would mean 19 points in 14 games. The actual record, of course, starts at 0-0-0.
For tonight, the expectation is an Oilers win. The main concerns are Connor Murphy, whose wheels won’t turn, and the third- and fourth-line centers. But the Glimmer Twins and Evan Bouchard are expected to carry the load, and the goaltending will need to handle the routine chances while stealing a few tougher ones, too.
As for the roster decisions, the names on the list make the recalls and the cutdowns fairly obvious. The real test starts now.
In Other News...
Oilers May Be Eyeing A Risky Bet They Cant Afford
The Oilers are again being linked to a name that comes with as much uncertainty as upside. NHL insider Frank Seravalli reported Edmonton has interest in Canadiens centre Kirby Dach, a player whose size and skill still make him intriguing if a team believes there is more to unlock. For a club always searching for help down the middle, that alone makes the fit easy to understand.
Dachs path in Montreal has been complicated by injuries, and his recent performance has not matched the promise he showed when he first arrived with the Canadiens. Martin St. Louis has also publicly stressed the need for Dach to stay alert and work hard during games, a reminder that any team betting on him is buying into potential as much as production. For the Oilers, the question is whether that kind of gamble is worth the risk. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Identity Under Babcock Is Already Showing In One Key Area
Mike Babcock did not wait long to put his stamp on the Oilers in preseason, and one of the clearest signs came in the simple but often overlooked matter of faceoff location. In Edmontons game against Vancouver, the focus was less on one flashy shift than on structure, with the coaching staff clearly paying attention to where different groups were starting their work and how those choices could shape the flow of the game. It was the kind of detail that can look minor in September and matter a lot more once the points count.
The setup also hinted at how Edmonton wants to build confidence throughout the lineup, giving certain units a chance to attack from favorable spots while others handle more defensive responsibility. Faceoffs after stoppages, especially following TV timeouts, became part of that larger rhythm, with the Oilers trying to turn those moments into momentum rather than just another restart. It is early, but the way those draws are being deployed suggests this teams identity under Babcock may already be taking shape in the margins. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Cap Crunch Could Create A Tough Roster Squeeze Soon
The opening of the season has already pushed Edmonton into a familiar kind of early-schedule bookkeeping, with the roster deadline now behind it and the club juggling a tight cap picture. The Oilers are carrying $2.85 million in dead money, including Jack Campbells buyout, and only a sliver of breathing room under the ceiling, which means every roster move carries extra weight for a team trying to stay competitive while managing injuries.
That pressure has only grown with a cluster of players on injured reserve, including Mattias Janmark, Alec Regula, Frederik Andersen, Jason Dickinson and Matt Savoie. How the Oilers navigate those placements and any related call-ups or transactions will matter not just now, but over the course of the season, with the cap situation likely to shape decisions well before the trade deadline. [Read more 🡒]