A pair of moves this week could leave NHL fans in Canada feeling squeezed, and Edmonton Oilers followers are right in the middle of it.
The biggest change came with Prime Video landing a 12-year sub-licensing agreement with Rogers Communications to carry Wednesday Night Hockey in both English and French. Prime will also have two first-round playoff series and one second-round series.
There is no mystery about why the broadcasters did it - there is an economic benefit there - but for fans the math is brutal. To get every game, you now need two subscriptions instead of one.
That stings even more with Hockey Night in Canada on CBC no longer part of the picture. Say what you like about HNIC, but it was free and easy to access.
Streaming may be the immediate future for live sports, and pretending otherwise is pointless. For now, that is where the industry is headed.
The problem, though, is what that creates for fans. The NHL is effectively splitting its audience into two groups: the ones who can pay to watch everything, and the ones who cannot. The league dresses it up with language like “premium product,” but the translation is simple: we think you will pay more for it.
That same cost-cutting logic showed up in Columbus, where the Blue Jackets will simulcast their televised games on radio after play-by-play voice Bob McElligot did not have his contract renewed. From the perspective of someone who has spent nearly forty years in broadcasting, there are really only two reasons to do that: either the product is getting better, or money is being saved. In this case, it is the latter.
And that hurts fans, because radio and television are not interchangeable. TV play-by-play works alongside the pictures and often gets out of the way.
Radio play-by-play has to be the pictures, built through detail and description. Turn off the TV sometime and listen to how much gets lost when the voice is treated like an accessory.
Back in Edmonton, there is still plenty of hockey business to sort through. Connor McDavid should, barring injury, pass Jari Kurri for second place in franchise history in even-strength goals at some point this season.
McDavid starts 2026-27 with 300. Kurri had 336.
Wayne Gretzky remains the leader at 403, leaving McDavid 103 back of that mark.
There was also some good personal news for Oilers goaltender Tristan Jarry and his wife Hannah, who are expecting a baby. The reminder matters: these players are people too, and they go through the same life moments everyone else does. Wishing them well.
On the prospect side, Tommy Lafreniere is spending his summer with Team Canada at the World Junior Summer Showcase in Windsor, Ontario. It is his first taste of international hockey.
Edmonton took the Hornby Island, B.C. native 83rd overall in 2025, and last season in Kamloops he posted 41-36-77 in 67 games. He shoots right.
Another young Oilers name worth watching is Nathaniel Day. He has been something of a forgotten man in an organization that suddenly has a lot of goaltenders.
After a strong junior career, he has started well in the ECHL, but the next step in his development really requires AHL minutes. The issue is simple: there are three goalies at both the AHL and NHL levels, and for now Day looks blocked.
There is also the ongoing debate around Mat Savoie’s next contract. A segment of the fan base wants an extension done now, but there is no rush.
Savoie went 18-19-37 in 82 games for the Oilers last season, though he had just one assist in six playoff games. The offence is only part of the picture; he is ahead of schedule defensively.
He is entering the last year of his ELC, and while it makes sense to avoid dragging things out too long, there is also no need to force the issue before seeing how he is used under the new coaching staff. With the cap rising, giving up a little money in exchange for more certainty could make sense, but letting it linger past Christmas would not be wise either.
And then there is Mike Babcock, whose hiring has generated plenty of discussion. Leon Draisaitl had not spoken publicly about him until now, despite being part of the leadership group that met with the new head coach.
His comments, via TSN, were straightforward: “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 matters because Draisaitl’s voice carries real weight in Edmonton. If Connor McDavid were not an Oiler, Draisaitl would be the captain. The willingness of stars like that to be pushed cuts against the idea that they are just pampered millionaires.
Babcock’s defensive reputation is going to be tested quickly, especially on the penalty kill. Edmonton’s PK was 77.8% last season, which was below league average.
His record in Toronto offers a mixed picture: 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 and different eras make this an imperfect comparison, but the bottom line is clear: that area will need to be better in Edmonton.
In Other News...
Canucks Prospects Got A Harsh World Juniors Reality Check
The World Junior Summer Showcase wrapped up in Windsor with a reminder of how thin the margin can be for young players trying to separate themselves. Canada fell 7-2 to the United States at the WFCU Centre, and for the Canucks side of the roster, Braeden Cootes and Caleb Malhotra both finished without a point in the finale as the tournament closed with plenty of evaluation still to do.
For Vancouver, the bigger takeaway may have been the level of competition more than the score itself. American prospect Rogowski lit up the event with three goals, while the showcase also offered a closer look at where the Canucks prospects fit in against elite peers, from their positions to the way they handled the game flow. It was a harsh final snapshot, and the kind that can linger as camp decisions and future roster questions start to come into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Evander Kane Leaves Canucks Fans With One Last Debate
Evander Kane got through a full season with the Canucks, and for a player whose arrival came with plenty of discussion, he ended up giving Vancouver a workable middle-six presence. He finished with 13 goals and 31 points in 71 games, the kind of production that does not dominate a headline but does matter over the grind of a season, especially for a team looking for depth scoring and some edge in the lineup.
Now the question is what comes next, and it is already sounding like Kane may be willing to take a different path to stay in the league. A professional tryout could be in play, with Winnipeg mentioned as a possible landing spot, which would give a club interested in veteran leadership and secondary scoring a low-risk look. For Canucks fans, it leaves one more familiar debate lingering: whether his year was the start of something stable or just a brief stop on the way somewhere else. [Read more 🡒]
Braeden Cootes Is Forcing A Canucks Lineup Debate Already
Braeden Cootes has already done enough in his first year in the organization to make Vancouver think about a decision it probably hoped to put off. The 15th overall pick in the 2025 draft has looked strong in both the NHL and the WHL, and the Canucks now have to weigh how aggressively they want to handle his development heading into the 2026-27 season.
There is no simple answer on the roster side, either. Vancouver can keep Cootes in the NHL or send him to its AHL affiliate, and if he stays up, he is the kind of player who starts pushing for a meaningful role rather than merely filling out the bottom of the lineup. That kind of choice has ripple effects, especially for players like Aatu Rty and Filip Chytil, and it is already turning Cootes into one of the more interesting lineup questions on the Canucks' radar. [Read more 🡒]