Which Edmonton Oilers earned passing grades int the playoffs

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Published Jun 20, 2025 • Last updated 10 minutes ago • 4 minute read

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McDavid Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid speaks to media after losing to the Florida Panthers in Game 6 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final in Edmonton on Thursday, June 19, 2025. Photo by JASON FRANSON /THE CANADIAN PRESSArticle content

Through the NHL regular season and The Stanley Cup Playoffs at The Cult of Hockey we assigned grades from 1-10 after each game to every Edmonton Oiler who played an official game.

In that spirit, this article assigns a final “grade” to each man reflecting their over-all post-season performance. Peak performance is an “A+”. And an “F” is, obviously, a failing grade.

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Keep in mind this is over four series and twenty-two games. Recency bias might ignore fine performances earlier (or, conversely, poorer ones).

Here we go.

Stuart Skinner. C. 7-7, 2.99 GAA, .889 SV%. 3 Shutouts. Skinner got this team back to the Cup Finals. But inconsistency is the operative word here. At times, Skinner was at the top of his game. But too often he either allowed a softie, or failed to produce the big save when his teammates needed it most.

Calvin Pickard. B. He went 7-and-1. 2.85 GAA, .886 SV%. It would have been difficult to ask much more of your backup.

Evan Bouchard. A-. 7-16-23 in 22 GP (576 minutes TOI). Seventy shots. You may not be sold on his defence. And there were those moments. But he also led the team with eighteen takeaways. And there simply has not been a more productive defenceman in the playoffs the last three years than Bouchard. XGF 22.39 (second).

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Mattias Ekholm. C-. 1-5-6 in 7GP. Hobbled by injury, my guess is that he played at about fifty-per-cent capability. Reasonably productive but had some uncharacteristic struggles in coverage.

Darnell Nurse. C. 3-5-8 in 22 GP. At times Nurse looked like he did in the regular season which had been very positive. But arguably struggled when it mattered most. High Danger Chances Against 87 (second).

Brett Kulak. B+. 1-4-5 in 22 GP, +9. The Oilers most consistent defender, game-in and game-out.

Jake Walman. B+. 2-8-10 in 22 GP, +9. Sixty-six shot blocks led the Oilers. xGF 20.38 (fourth). At times high event, Walman’s presence was a huge factor in Ekholm’s absence.

John Klingberg. B-. 1-3-4 in 19 GP. While he faded late, les we forget how much praise was heaped upon Stan Bowman for this signing.

Troy Stecher. C. Performed admirably when called upon, Then, the coaching staff abruptly soured on his game, and he was not the same after that.

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Ty Emberson. C-. Was decent in the heavy going but struggled to effectively move the puck.

Josh Brown. D. His one game went about as well as most people expected except for the Oilers’ coaching staff.

Connor McDavid. A-. 7-26-33 in 22 GP (537 minutes of TOI). Eighty shots led the club but a shooting percentage of just 8.8%. xGF 23.2 (first) There is no avoiding that McDavid & Co. did not reach the finish line. And he had some defensive lapses. But 97 was frequently terrific and played heavy minutes.

Zach Hyman. A. 5-6-11 in 15 GP, +10, 111 Hits to lead the club. One of the three or four best Oilers in the entire postseason and he did not even get to play in Round Four.

Corey Perry. A. 10-4-14 in 22 GP. Delivered, and then some. Led the club in 5vv CF (60%), 59.4% Fenwick.

Leon Draisaitl. A. 11-22-33 in 22 GP. xGF 20.03 (fifth). He was the only Oilers player to receive Conn Smyth votes. Draisaitl had become a favorite to win the MVP award in the playoffs, but he and his teammates could not finish the job. Four game winning goals.

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Evander Kane. B-. 6-6-12 in 21 GP. Ninety-five hits. That Kane was able to play at all was a major accomplishment and for much of the post season he was impactful. But whether it was a lack conditioning due to the injury or not, he faded down the stretch.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. B+. 6-14-20 in 22 GP. Among the Oilers most reliable performers in all situations, despite an injury that limited him. Solidly productive.

Adam Henrique. B. 4-3-7 in 22 GP. Did yeoman’s work in the faceoff circle (51.8% led all centers) and was dependable defensively 5v5. The whole PK unit struggled, though.

Vasily Podkolzin. B+. 3-7-10 in 22 GP, +7. One hundred Hits. A consequential player throughout the postseason. Brought it each night.

Kasperi Kapanen. B-. 3-3-6 in 12 GP. His post-season reflected his NHL career. At times, Kapanen appeared to be a Top six guy. At others, he was a scratch.

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Mattias Janmark. C-. 3-1-4 in 22 GP. Part of a struggling PK team.

Connor Brown. C. 5-4-9 in 20 GP. Productive early then faded after injury. Shared responsibility for the PK’s shortcomings.

Trent Frederic. B-. Eighty-five hits. Slowed by a high ankle sprain, Frederic nonetheless delivered a physical presence and highly responsible defensive play.

Viktor Arvidsson. C-. 2-5-7 in 15 GP. In and out of the lineup, in-part due to inconsistent play.

Jeff Skinner. C+. In limited duty Skinner had a positive impact with the puck, along with a couple issues without.

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

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Which Edmonton Oilers earned passing grades int the playoffs

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