Three games into the season and already Edmonton Oilers fans have freaked out about an opening night loss to Calgary, goaltending, the schedule, line combinations, injuries, roster spots and whether McDavid and Draisaitl should be playing together or apart.
In other words, life is normal around here.
Asking people to pace themselves emotionally when it comes to the Oilers is like asking kids to pace themselves on Halloween night — you can try, but there is no avoiding the uncontrollable frenzy that comes from a good sugar buzz.
Now, imagine that sugar buzz lasting nine months. That’s an Oilers season in Edmonton.
Anyway, here are some tips to help level off the psychological peaks and valleys of an 82-game season and beyond:
Stop freaking out about Stuart Skinner
Sometimes he posts a 30-save shutout and sometimes he stares at a puck in his feet while a Calgary player cruises in from the blue line and taps in the tying goal like he was doing line rushes against a mannequin. That’s the life cycle of a middle-of-the-pack NHL goalie.
There are going to be 5-0-1 runs in which he’s a star and there are going to be 0-3 droughts where he looks like Jack Campbell. The bottom line is he’s outplaying his $2.6 million contract by about $4 million, freeing up valuable cap space elsewhere.
Would you rather have playoff patsies like Jake Oettinger at $8.25 million, or Connor Hellebuyck at $8.5 million?
Accept who Evan Bouchard is
He is going to make spectacular giveaways that lead directly to goals against and sometimes he’s going to display all the defensive urgency of a tired sloth.
Evan Bouchard (2) of the Edmonton Oilers, celebrates a first period goal against the Florida Panthers in game two of the Stanley Cup final at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Friday June 6, 2025.
Live with it. The good outweighs the bad by a considerable margin and he’s proven enough in the playoffs to get all the slack he needs. Bouchard, in back-to-back post-seasons, elevated his game in the biggest moments like few defencemen in recent NHL history.
In the last three playoffs he has 72 points in 59 games. The next closest defencemen are Miro Heiskanen at 32 points and Aaron Ekblad with 27. His six game-winning goals over that span are more than the next seven defencemen combined.
So relax when he coughs one up on this road trip. He’ll be there when it matters.
Stop crying about non-calls
It’s not going to change. Opponents are going to pull on McDavid’s arms like he’s a slot machine and officials are going to ignore it most of the time.
When referees are allowed to decide which rules they want to enforce, and when they want to enforce them, this is what you get. And when you’re about the sixth-most popular league in the United States, why change?
Complaining doesn’t help — the culture of hockey has always been that superstar players shouldn’t be allowed to excel at the expense of less talented players, so less talented players are allowed to cheat a little.
It doesn’t make sense, and it’s miles behind how the NFL and NBA see things, but that’s life. Next time McDavid gets tackled by Conor Garland and referees look the other way, take a drink, savour the beauty of our game and remember “We’re Number Six!”
It just doesn’t matter
There is a level that good teams get to in their evolutionary arc when they know at the start of every season that they are no longer on the playoff bubble. The Oilers are there right now. They know they’re making the playoffs. It’s a good feeling, but it also strips the regular season of its drama.
So don’t get caught up in it. Don’t lose you’re mind over a four-game losing streak (the Oilers went on a 3-8 nose dive last February, gave up 38 goals in that stretch, and still made the Cup Final).
And enjoy the winning streaks, but remember to keep it in perspective: 10 of the last 12 Presidents’ Trophy winners lost in the first or the second round of the playoffs.
Nothing is wrong with the power play
These things go in cycles. It’ll be fine.
Edmonton Oilers Isaac Howard (53) skates with the puck against the Vancouver Canucks during first period NHL action on Saturday, October 11, 2025 in Edmonton.
Enough with the lines
Stop obsessing over line combinations. Have you you ever watched a hockey game? These things change by the shift. How many mornings have been spent analyzing new line combinations only to discover they’ve all been changed again by the middle of the first period?
“Oh my God! Trent Frederic got moved! RNH is a centre instead of a winger? AAAAAGH, I Gotta tweet something before my head explodes!!!”
Sometimes McDavid and Draisaitl are going to play together and sometimes they’re going to play apart. It works either way, neither alignment is permanent and that’s the benefit of having two of the best three players in the world.
Stop for a second and consider that a coaching staff pouring over game film, watching practice and talking to the players every day might have some idea what it’s doing.
The rookies are rookies
Ike Howard and Matt Savoie are going to have their ups and downs. The NHL is a hard league and nobody jumps right in without some growing pains. We’re not talking about a couple of Jesse Puljujarvis here. If you see one of them in the press box or the AHL, don’t read too much into it. They’re 21.
You’re not paying Darnell Nurse
You almost think that Darnell Nurse’s $9.25 million salary is coming out of the fan base’s RRSP the way they agonize over it. It’s not your money so relax. He’s a big, tough, minute-munching blue liner who adds a necessary and important element to Edmonton’s back end. And it’s not like he’s making $9.25 million too much. He’s maybe $2 million over budget.
If contract value is so important, shouldn’t Skinner’s $2.6 million be the focus of his discussion?
Think of it this way if it will help ease the pain: $11.85 million for a starting goalie and a top three defenceman is fair market value.
E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com
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