It is forty-four days until the National Hockey League regular season begins.

And if we could just look forward to the exciting new year instead of debating the past, life would be grand.

But hey…life seldom works that way. Nor does hockey.

That and more in the latest edition of…

9 Things

9. I 100% expect Connor McDavid to sign an extension in Edmonton before the puck drops on Game One of the 2025-26 regular season.

8. It is fun to spend time researching and writing on the Oilers prospect pool at The Cult of Hockey. But only two names are likely to impact the Oil this season. If Matt Savoie and Ike Howard can make the team on ELC’s, that is a huge plus on the cap side of things.

7. Adam Henrique laced ‘em up for charity this past week, playing in the Hockey Night in Muskoka event. It helped raise money for the Muskoka Hospital. I will always maintain, if fans knew even half of what most players give back to their communities they would be surprised. Most are humble and keep their contributions quiet.

6. Single game tickets for the 2025-26 NHL season for the Edmonton Oilers go on sale this Thursday. While a star-studded lineup on the ice and deeply committed ownership drive this franchise, the loyalty of the fans gives the Oilers an unshakable base to operate from that few others (if any) can equal. Simply put, the club could not do it without them.

5. Oilers prospect Will Nicholl had upper body surgery this past week. Expected recovery time for him is four to six months. The 2024 Round Seven pick is an interesting player for #196 overall. The left-shot Center was off to an excellent start with London of the OHL this winter. But clearly the injury contributed to his second-half fall back.

4. It may be a while before we clearly see all the facets of the new CBA. But a significant clarification came from the NHLPA this past week which may have a significant impact on how the Oilers (and all clubs) might operate over the next two seasons. The maximum term contracts (seven and eight years) will remain the same as they are presently through 2026-27….a full year longer than thought.

3. A change on the Edmonton radio front that affects the Oilers and their listeners. Brenden Escott will take over the Host chair of Oilers Hockey on 880 CHED this season. He also retains his Inside Sports gig. When then-host Bryn Griffiths needed time off during the playoffs, Escott stepped in and to my ear delivered a strong product in challenging circumstances. We will now get to hear how he performs in a “marathon” setting compared to that post season “sprint”. Hmmm. Is that three Oilers Now! Producers that have gone on to even bigger roles. If the Oilers had only drafted and developed like Bob Stauffer seemingly has, lol. Incidentally, Ayden Ganam will now do post-game interviews and help produce Oilers Now!

2. It is difficult to be too critical of an Oilers Power Play that has executed at historic highs the past five years. But I did think it was a shade predictable at times last season. I have zero issue with McDavid, Draisaitl and even Bouchard playing most of the 2:00. But I think a subtle shift in personnel part way through the man advantage can offer a fresh look, and even brief rest for a guy like Nugent-Hopkins who plays in all situations. Swapping a Perry or Kane in for Hyman would have been a useful wrinkle. With both now gone I wonder if Adam Henrique can be a productive option in that way? He has a good touch around the net in tight. And if you sub out Nugent-Hopkins for Jake Walman, then you have an option of handedness back on the blueline as The Nuge takes a breater. Food for thought.

1.I guess we will just keep on re-litigating the Philip Broberg-Dylan Holloway offer sheet ad nauseum. A recent article published on profootballnetwork.com positions the year-old transaction as a “$13.7m mistake that has snowballed into a full-blown disaster”. I am not so sure how you can defend characterizing the offer sheet that way when the Oilers have just made consecutive appearances in The Stanley Cup Finals and the second berth was after Broberg and Holloway departed. You do not just snap your fingers to accomplish that. The last team to win back-to-back Western Conference Finals were the 2009 Detroit Red Wings. And how does the Edmonton post-season record the last few years stack up to their Canadian cousins, in terms of series won? Pretty good. But have they won it all, yet? No. Fair.

I have never absolved the Oilers of all blame in the Broberg/Holloway situation. But the fact is that Phillip Broberg had demanded a trade out of Edmonton six months earlier, when Ken Holland was still G.M. As I have written often, Mr. Holland did numerous good things for the Edmonton franchise. But mis-managing the Broberg file was not one of them. Friendly head’s up, there, Kings fans. If there was only an easy way of GOOGLE-ing when Stan Bowman became General Manager in Edmonton. Meanwhile, how do some of these other writers keep conveniently ignoring the other factors.

Such as the Edmonton Oilers did not know Evander Kane’ health status on August 20, 2024. Stan Bowman had to assume that Kane could be back (maybe in just a few months) and taking up the full $5.125m on the cap. That was also well before Kane’s set-back which ate up the rest of the regular season. And even then, the league tracked that one like a bloodhound. It made matching on Broberg all but impossible. The math just did not work. That was not Stan Bowman’s fault. But it was his problem.

Fast forward to this week when Chicago’s Frank Nazar inked a $6.59m deal. You don’t think Dylan Holloway’s next deal with his new agent (and guess who else he represents, first ninety-six guess don’t count) will be over $7m? The two players have about the same draft pedigree. And Holloway had better numbers. I am on record as being a Dylan Holloway fan. But how exactly were the Oilers going to afford that? Yet Bowman did not just sit on his hands.

He immediately went to work patching holes. Bowman went on to acquire Jake Walman, Trent Frederic, Ike Howard, Vasily Podkolzin, and Ty Emberson. Four of those men are already on value deals. And I expect Walman (a top four D-man all day) to sign an extension soon. Those five guys added by Bowman are expected to take a regular shift in 2025-26 for the defending Western Conference Champions.

Look: I liked Broberg and Holloway, too. But the end result simply does not meet the definition of ‘full blown disaster’. The Oilers remained and are a top team. And its getting tedious for me to keep recounting all this.

I can only imagine how tiring it must be for Stan Bowman.

Now on Bluesky @kurtleavins.bsky.social. Also, find me on Threads @kleavins, Twitter @KurtLeavins, Instagram at LeavinsOnHockey, and Mastodon at KurtLeavins@mstdn.social.

This article is not AI generated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Bruce McCurdy, 1955-2025.

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