{"id":495210,"date":"2026-03-09T19:36:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T19:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/495210\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T19:36:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T19:36:16","slug":"wayne-gretzkys-one-warning-for-edmonton-oilers-in-25-26-nhl-season-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/495210\/","title":{"rendered":"Wayne Gretzky’s one warning for Edmonton Oilers in 25-26 NHL season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former NHL star Wayne Gretzky<\/a> believes the Edmonton Oilers<\/a> remain in a strong position this season, but he offered one clear warning about the playoff picture. <\/p>\n

Edmonton currently sits third in the Pacific Division with a 31-25-8 record and 70 points. The team also ranks seventh in the Western Conference standings, led by the Colorado Avalanche with 95 points. Despite the shaky result for the Oilers, Gretzky said he expects the Oilers to find their form down the stretch.<\/p>\n

Speaking with Paige Martin and Bob Stauffer before the game against the Vegas Golden Knights<\/a>, the Oilers legend spoke about Edmonton\u2019s outlook. Gretzky said the Oilers should not worry too much about their regular-season position.<\/p>\n

MORE: NHL analyst gives blunt response to Buffalo Sabres\u2019 Stanley Cup chances<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t panic too much,\u201d Gretzky said. \u201cFinishing one, two, or three doesn\u2019t matter. I look for the Oilers to have a nice run.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, he pointed out one matchup the team should try to avoid early in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only thing you don\u2019t wanna do, you don\u2019t wanna finish in that one spot where you have to play Colorado in the first round,\u201d Gretzky said. \u201cIf you can avoid them till the third round, get some momentum. But I think the Oilers are in good shape right now, and they\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colorado has been one of the NHL\u2019s strongest teams in the recent past, specifically this season. They lead the Central Division with a 43-10-9 record. Star forward Nathan MacKinnon<\/a> is once again the team\u2019s star offensive player with 104 points. Additionally, the team averages 3.79 goals per game and owns one of the league\u2019s top defensive records.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the Oilers still rely heavily on captain Connor McDavid<\/a>, who leads the team with 35 goals and 108 points. Edmonton remains dangerous on special teams, and its power play leads the league at 32.8 percent. Furthermore, they are not that far behind in offense, as they average 3.55 goals per game.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Edmonton Oilers right wing Kasperi Kapanen (42) celebrates with center Connor McDavid (97) after scoring an empty net goal against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

However, defensive issues are their biggest concern. The Oilers allow 3.36 goals per game and their penalty kill ranks 23rd in the league at 77.4 percent. Goaltending has also been inconsistent throughout the season, despite rehauling their net with Tristan Jarry and Connor Ingram.<\/p>\n

Edmonton reached the Stanley Cup<\/a> Final in both 2024 and 2025 but lost each series to the Florida Panthers. The team still has the talent to contend again if it finds rhythm before the postseason begins.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories on The Big Lead <\/a>\u2014<\/p>\n

NFL: Predicting the first three 2026 NFL Free Agency signings<\/a><\/p>\n

MARCH MADNESS: ACC Tournament men\u2019s basketball bracket, schedule revealed<\/a><\/p>\n

MLB: Former Blue Jays pitcher, 39, announces he\u2019ll retire immediately after WBC<\/a><\/p>\n

NBA: Boston Celtics reveal massive Jayson Tatum update before NBA Playoffs<\/a><\/p>\n

SPORTS MEDIA: NHL gets TV ratings bump after thrilling USA-Canada clash for Olympic gold<\/a><\/p>\n

VIRAL: NFL star Joe Burrow cozies up with Jessica Alba at Las Vegas casino<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former NHL star Wayne Gretzky believes the Edmonton Oilers remain in a strong position this season, but he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":495211,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5125],"tags":[155,198,146,5300,5,517,4,24,279],"class_list":{"0":"post-495210","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edmonton-oilers","8":"tag-connor-mcdavid","9":"tag-edmonton","10":"tag-edmonton-oilers","11":"tag-edmontonoilers","12":"tag-hockey","13":"tag-nathan-mackinnon","14":"tag-nhl","15":"tag-oilers","16":"tag-wayne-gretzky"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116200905085340371","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495210","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=495210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495210\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/495211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=495210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=495210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=495210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}