The Edmonton Oilers’ early record says one thing. The complaints about their depth say another. Right now, the tension comes down to a simple question: are they really a three-man team, or are they just patching together a lineup that’s missing too many regulars?
Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic clearly isn’t sold yet. He argues that the difference between Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard and everyone else has “never looked wider.” His numbers back up the concern at five-on-five: when none of those three is on the ice, Edmonton has been outscored 8-3 and owns just 33 percent of the expected goals.
But there’s an obvious piece of context here. Three of the Oilers’ top-six forwards are out injured.
Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Matthew Savoie are all sidelined, with Hyman expected back imminently. That matters.
It also changes how fair it is to judge the rest of the roster when players are being pushed into jobs they weren’t built for.
Luszczyszyn does note the injuries, but his bigger point is that this keeps happening no matter who is coaching. In his view, Edmonton has once again leaned on its stars far too heavily, even though the organization was supposed to be building something more balanced.
“This season, with Mike Babcock behind the bench coaxing more out of the rest of the roster, was supposed to be different,” he writes. “The goal was to find an identity outside three of the best players in the world and to become more of a team.
A deeper team that can win it all.”
He adds, “There is obviously still a lot of time to make that happen,” though the framing sounds a little odd for a club that’s sitting at 5-0-1.
There are reasons for caution, no doubt. The Kings game showed some shaky stretches, especially in the second and third periods.
Babcock and the rest of the group will have to clean that up. Still, the sample size is tiny, and 11 goals can distort a story fast.
A couple of good nights from the supporting cast would make this look a lot less alarming.
That’s especially true because the Oilers’ injury situation will not stay this thin forever. Once Hyman, Nugent-Hopkins and Savoie are back, the lineup should settle down and the pressure on the stars should ease. The numbers without McDavid, Draisaitl and Bouchard may have looked ugly so far, but that’s not the same thing as proving the roster is broken.
There is also the matter of what happens to players currently thriving in bigger roles. Vasily Podkolzin has given Edmonton real production in his spot, and if Hyman returns and knocks him down the depth chart, the Oilers could lose some of what has been working. That kind of shuffle always carries risk.
So yes, the concern is real enough to watch. Edmonton’s minutes without a star have been a problem for several seasons, and the bottom-six question is still hanging out there.
But with a patchwork lineup and six games on the books, it’s too early to label this team a three-man operation. The next stretch, once everybody is healthy, is where the argument gets serious.
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Oilers Linked To Bold Tom Wilson Idea With One Big Catch
The Oilers have a familiar kind of offseason daydream attached to them again, this time involving a player whose style would fit their needs in a very obvious way. Tom Wilson brings size, edge and enough offensive punch to change the tone of a lineup, which is exactly why a right-shot winger of his type gets linked to a team like Edmonton when people start sketching out bold trade possibilities.
The catch is that the path to even making the idea workable runs through another club and another need entirely, with Tristan Jarry and the Rangers entering the picture because of their unsettled goaltending situation. Washington would also have to be open to considering Wilson only if its season went sideways, and even then the framework described is still just speculation, with draft picks and prospects part of the conversation but no confirmed trade talks to hang it on yet. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Fans Are Dreaming Big About One Rumored Flyers Blockbuster
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Still, the source behind the chatter is unverified, and there is no evidence the Oilers and Flyers have actually discussed anything along these lines. That has left most of the reaction in familiar territory for rumor season, with plenty of skepticism about the credibility of the report and plenty of debate over what such a move would mean for both clubs if it ever moved beyond social media speculation. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Face An Early Test With One Lineup Choice Looming
The Oilers return to Rogers Place with Utah on the schedule, and the attention is not just on the opponent but on how Edmonton chooses to line up around it. The game brings another chance to sort through the numbers, the recent form, and the possible line combinations that could shape the night, especially with matchups likely to matter early and often.
Edmonton has spent plenty of time weighing how best to deploy its forwards, and this one feels like an early test of how the coaching staff wants to balance skill, pace, and matchup responsibility. Even the broader conversation around the team has been lively, with a recent sports talk show breaking down a range of topics, but for the Oilers the immediate focus is simpler: which lineup choice they make before puck drop, and what it says about how they want to attack Utah. [Read more 🡒]