Each week, we check in with our readers on social media and e-mail to see what’s on top of their mind, explore the hot topics of conversation and answer hard-hitting questions about the Edmonton Oilers. Here are some of the talking points from the past week:
Edmonton Oilers hockey tonight: boring, lame, tired. Matt Savoie hockey tonight: woke, exciting, thrilling.
— cecidrai (@cecidrais on x.com)
What Matt Savoie has been able to do in his rookie season is commendable. But the club deserves a pat on the back as well, insofar as the approach they’ve taken to his development.
Traded for Ryan McLeod and prospect Tyler Tullio in the summer of 2024, the now-22-year-old St. Albert product was allowed to incubate for an entire season with the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League. No emergency call-ups to fill in for a depleted Oilers lineup, no premature baptism by fire. Just spend a year on the farm and then come back to training camp and show ’em what you’ve got.
He started slow, as did the rest of the Oilers roster this season. But since January, he’s really started taking off, both on the scoresheet and on the penalty kill, which has been a staple of his game he focused on in Bakersfield.
It’s led to Savoie being seen as a dependable piece to the Oilers puzzle by a coaching staff that doesn’t always show patience to young players. And it’s paying dividends.
Nobody get excited about playoffs this year. Gonna be a beating in the first round. Team’s got absolutely nothing.
— TylerDT (@qauckenbush17 on x.com)
The only issue I take with this statement is the Oilers will have to make the playoffs first. And that isn’t exactly guaranteed at this point. Yes, even in the Pacific Division.
But to be fair, if they do punch their post-season ticket, the Pacific is so weak compared to the rest of the NHL that there is a real possibility the Oilers can not only make their way past the first round, but also the second.
What awaits them after that, of course, is the crux of your point, because there will be no getting by the Colorado Avalanche … or the Dallas Stars … or the Minnesota Wild, however the Central Division ends up shaking out.
Edmonton Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, left, flips the puck into the net for a goal past Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews and goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood in the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Denver.
Then again, we have proof positive this week that anything can happen, as the Oilers pulled out a big win over the first-place Colorado Avalanche this week during their jaunt through Murderer’s Row.
But back out west, it’s a different story. Sure, the Anaheim Ducks can run away with the division to hold home ice through the first two rounds, but they’re far from unbeatable. And so are the Vegas Golden Knights, as we’ve also seen earlier this week.
And it might be worth remembering, this Oilers group always waits until its back is right up against the wall before it starts playing its best. We have maybe seen glimpses of them at their best all year, aside from some individual streaks, as the team has but one three-game win streak to its credit, so far.
Would its best be good enough once games start mattering most? Can’t say. But it would at least be better than what we’ve witnessed so far.
YOU SAID IT
Dear Gerry:
I’ve been thinking about this the last while, watching the hyper-competitive standings, the load-’em-up trades, the demise of the Panthers, and McDavid’s season.
The pressure to win — and win now — is real. To make the playoffs, to go as far as you can, to fill the arena seats. It’s all about money.
And it’s killing the players. Of course, they aren’t innocent victims, but they’re victims nonetheless of themselves, their agents, the owners — and of fan expectations.
I can safely say no team will ever again win four cups in a row, let alone five. Not in the salary-cap era, at least. For all the reasons this is true, one of the biggest is the number of season games AND the grueling playoff structure.
Head coach Paul Maurice of the Florida Panthers yells from the bench Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers during the second period in Game 5 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
Look at the Florida Panthers.
Their coach says they’ve had a lot of injuries this year — Barkov and on. True. But the injuries are the result of the human body being asked to play well into June for two years, and without much of a break, start again this year. So, you rebuild. You sell off the broken pieces and start again.
In 2022-23, McDavid had a career-high 153 points (64 goals, 89 assists) in 82 games. Not only did he score but he was one of the best defensive forwards in the league, coming back repeatedly to break up opponents’ attacks. He was the best player in the league by a country mile.
Look at him now. Sure, he still gets the points. He is McJesus after all. But his defensive skills have lapsed. He looks tired and joyless on many nights.
The NHL schedule and playoffs are killing him and the other players in the league.
This is a labour-relations issue. The players’ association needs to take it seriously at some point, because the longevity of a lot of players is now threatened.
— Trevor Harrison
Interesting take here. We all know pro sports are cyclical, especially in the NHL, where teams find themselves in a rebuild a lot more often than they’d care to admit (even if it’s just to themselves). So, when they find themselves on the upswing and pushing for what could be a deep run through the playoffs, clubs will sell off pieces of their future to load up on readily available talent now and go for broke.
Because who knows when the chance might come around again?
For the Oilers, this is Year 5 of their upswing. (Let’s forget for a second it’s already McDavid’s 11th NHL season). And we are seeing the threadbare parts of this well-worn roster.
A bad trade here (Stuart Skinner for Tristan Jarry), an ill-fitting piece there (Andrew Mangiaipane), and whatever the heck you’d call the long-term contracts awarded to the likes of Trent Frederic and Jake Walman, and the problems begin to compound for the core of this Oilers squad who have been to the edge of the world and back again in each of these past two appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals.
It’s a lot of hockey, and it’s already caught up to the aforementioned Panthers, who are all but out of the fight, tied for second-last in the Eastern Conference.
Though, to be fair, they are only a handful of points behind the Oilers, who benefit from being in an anemic Pacific Division, where they have hardly been the only ones underperforming.
It’s a lot on every NHL player, but especially those whose off-seasons get cut as short as can be in back-to-back years.
Connor McDavid #97 of Team Canada controls the puck against Martin Necas #98 of Team Czechia in the third period during the Men’s Preliminary Group A match between Czechia and Canada on Day 6 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 12, 2026, in Milan, Italy.
Toss in a Four Nations Face-Off and an Olympic tournament in that same time frame, and it’s no wonder McDavid appears to have lost a bit of that incredible first step lately.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d still take a less-than-100-per-cent McDavid over most any other option. But the point is, perhaps he shouldn’t be relied on to have to carry this team on his shoulders the way he is still trying to do (and the Oilers appear happy to continue allowing him to do).
The coaching staff has no control over the schedule, even in a brutally condensed Olympic year. But they are in charge of ice time.
Yes, McDavid and the Oilers’ other top guns want to play as much as possible. And they do. But maybe head coach Kris Knoblauch needs to dial back their minutes and give some of his other bench-holder-downers a chance to feel like they can be a part of this team.
For a chance to appear in an upcoming edition, send your questions, concerns and comments on all things Edmonton Oilers-related to:
E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @StarkRavinMod
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