We’ve officially hit the 2026 portion of the 2025–2026 season. After an up-and-down start to 2025, the Edmonton Oilers seemed to have mostly righted the ship headed into the new year.

And what better why to start a new year with some new bold predicitions? From bottom-six resolutions to future hot takes, let’s make five bold predicitions for the Oilers as they begin the rest of their season.

1. Jake Walman proves his worth

Following his surprise acquisition from San Jose before last season’s trade deadline, Jake Walman proved his worth as an important part of the Oilers top-six on their march to another appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. Walman was able to parlay this level of play into a summertime seven-year, $49M contract extension that ensures he’s part of the future in Edmonton.

Unfortunately, Walman hasn’t played since November 20 since suffering an undisclosed lower-body injury. As a result, the Oilers defence has struggled. Although Spencer Stastney has been solid since arriving from Nashville and Alec Regula has played above his head, the defensive corps clearly misses Walman. Once he returns in 2026, I’m willing to bet he makes a big impact in solidifying the play on the blueline.

2. The Kids show they’re alright

There’s something of a bubbling youth movement in the Edmonton forward corps. Matt Savoie’s extended run in the top-six has been encouraging, but the real movement is coming from the AHL. Quinn Hutson and Isaac Howard have been tearing the league apart, with Joshua Samanski, Viljami Marjala, and Roby Jaraventie not far behind.

Perhaps the appearance of a “Kid Line” featuring Howard-Savoie-Hutson at practice is a sign of things to come in 2026. So long as they get playing time, I’m predicting the kids to show they belong at the NHL level, which might encourage some roster moves to trade away some older players who haven’t performed up to expectations. Which leads me to point #3…

3. SOMETHING fixes the bottom-six

The Oilers current bottom-six production is currently best described as a “holy nightmare.” Andrew Mangiapane, Trent Frederic, and Adam Henrique are rocking plus/minus ratings of -17, -10, and -9 respectively.

Mattias Janmark has fewer points than Ty Emberson. It’s not a great time to be a bottom-six player in Edmonton.

Mangiapane has been reportedly given the green light to seek a trade, and although Henrique carries a no-move clause, his $3M AAV is tradable.

Change is coming to the bottom-six, so whether it’s through trade moves, young players taking some jobs, or divine intervention from above, I think the Oilers will find some way to right the ship in the lower part of the lineup to at least ensure the third and fourth lines can keep their heads above water.

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4. The Oilers acquire another forward through trade

For a team that has such a logjam at the forward position, it seems strange to predict Edmonton will get MORE players there. However, I think the team will be looking for two main areas, those being top-six winger and third line centre.

Alex Tuch’s name was out there for months, but given Buffalo’s recent heater and his reported contract demands, I don’t see him being a fit in Edmonton. Third line centres are always en vogue during deadline season, and Adam Henrique doesn’t have the ability to play that position anymore.

I think there will be two ways of action for the Oilers. They will either move Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to 3C and go after someone to play on the wing with Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman (Jared McCann maybe?), or keep Nugent-Hopkins on the top line and get a more capable third line centre (Nic Roy would be my pick). Either way, I think the Oilers will be forward shopping come deadline time.

5. Edmonton lifts the Cup

This might be an expected prediction, considering you’re reading Oilers-centred articles on an Oilers blog, but I really believe it. In 2024 the Oilers were a surprise team that overcame a rollercoaster season to make the big stage. In 2025 the Oilers were expected to get through the West and finish the job.

This year, so much attention has been on the other teams in the West; The Colorado Avalanche having a historic year, the Minnesota Wild getting Quinn Hughes, Anaheim’s emergence as a seeming playoff team.

The Oilers have been able to be underrated so far, but no team has played more playoff games in the last three years except Florida. If Edmonton is able to get more out of their bottom-six, make a couple bolstering moves, and hopefully have a healthy goaltending tandem come April, they’re just as dangerous as any team in the league.

The Oilers wouldn’t even play a Colorado/Dallas/Minnesota until the third round, barring a wild card matchup. With the East seemingly down a de-facto #1 due to the Panthers’ injuries, there might not be a better year for an under-the-radar Edmonton team to get the job done. Third time’s the charm, or so the saying goes.

Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire

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