{"id":414999,"date":"2026-01-18T23:04:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T23:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/414999\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T23:04:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T23:04:13","slug":"oilers-week-ahead-schedule-storylines-draisaitl-jarry-trade-deadline-and-more-the-hockey-writers-edmonton-oilers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/414999\/","title":{"rendered":"Oilers Week Ahead: Schedule & Storylines – Draisaitl, Jarry, Trade Deadline and More – The Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here are the key storylines for the Edmonton Oilers and their schedule for the week ahead of Jan. 18\u201325, 2026. The Oilers are about to start an eight-game homestand<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Leon Draisaitl\u2019s Leave of Absence<\/p>\n

The biggest news surrounding the team this week is the absence of star forward Leon Draisaitl, who has taken a leave of absence<\/a> due to a family illness in Germany. The team has rallied in his absence, most notably with a dominant 6-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, where depth players like Jack Roslovic and Kasperi Kapanen stepped up. Draisaitl is expected to return sometime later in the week.<\/p>\n

Tristan Jarry Finds His Form<\/p>\n

Goaltender Tristan Jarry, acquired from Pittsburgh earlier in the season, just recorded his first shutout<\/a> as an Oiler (31 saves) against the Canucks on Jan. 17. With Stuart Skinner moved out in the trade that brought Jarry in, stabilizing the net has been a priority, and this performance is a positive sign for the team\u2019s defensive structure.<\/p>\n

Trade Deadline Leverage & Rumours<\/p>\n

With the trade deadline approaching (March 6), the Oilers are reportedly exploring options to improve their depth.<\/p>\n

Calvin Pickard: Rumours suggest the Oilers might move backup goalie<\/a> Calvin Pickard, whose value is high due to injuries on other teams (like the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers).<\/p>\n

Andrew Mangiapane: There is speculation about packaging forward Andrew Mangiapane in a deal to clear cap space or acquire assets.<\/p>\n

Targets: The team is reportedly looking for a third-line centre (Carolina Hurricanes\u2019 Jesperi Kotkaniemi<\/a> has been rumoured) and defensive depth.<\/p>\n

McDavid\u2019s Hart-Caliber Production<\/p>\n

Captain Connor McDavid continues to lead the charge. He just ended a 20-game point streak<\/a> and remains the driving force of the league\u2019s top-ranked power play (operating at ~33%).<\/p>\n

Oilers Schedule Jan 18 \u2013 25<\/p>\n

DateTime (ET)OpponentVenueSun, Jan 188:00 PMvs. St. Louis BluesRogers PlaceTue, Jan 2010:00 PMvs. New Jersey DevilsRogers PlaceThu, Jan 229:00 PMvs. Pittsburgh PenguinsRogers PlaceSat, Jan 2410:00 PMvs. Washington CapitalsRogers Place<\/p>\n

AI tools were used to support the creation or distribution of this content, however, it has been carefully edited and fact-checked by a member of The Hockey Writers editorial team. For more information on our use of AI, please visit our Editorial Standards<\/a> page.<\/p>\n

\"SUBSCRIBE<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here are the key storylines for the Edmonton Oilers and their schedule for the week ahead of Jan.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":355876,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5125],"tags":[275,155,198,146,5300,5,370,4,24,6769],"class_list":{"0":"post-414999","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edmonton-oilers","8":"tag-calvin-pickard","9":"tag-connor-mcdavid","10":"tag-edmonton","11":"tag-edmonton-oilers","12":"tag-edmontonoilers","13":"tag-hockey","14":"tag-leon-draisaitl","15":"tag-nhl","16":"tag-oilers","17":"tag-tristan-jarry"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115918607174713022","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=414999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414999\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=414999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=414999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=414999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}