EDMONTON \u2014 Connor McDavid meant it as a compliment.<\/p>\n
The best hockey player on earth, speaking the day before his team was scheduled to start what it hopes to be a third consecutive two-month odyssey to the bitter end of the Stanley Cup playoffs, was asked how the 2025-26 iteration of the Edmonton Oilers compares with the past few.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve felt good about each and every group we go in with, honestly,\u201d McDavid said, \u201cand this group is no different.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was the savvy answer. It was the diplomatic answer. It might have even been the correct answer.<\/p>\n
And that last bit is the one that should terrify Edmonton Oilers fans. All parties involved need to hope that something has changed, even after six months of largely uninspired hockey that screamed otherwise. The Oilers finished in second place in the drab Pacific Division, good enough for home ice in the first round against the Anaheim Ducks. McDavid on Sunday called his team\u2019s regular season \u201cmonotonous,\u201d and boy, was he right.<\/p>\n
Despite that, he is, as ever, a singularly unparalleled force in modern hockey, one who finished the season on a post-Olympic, 1.8 point-per-game scoring bender that propelled his team out of danger, nearly propelled him to another Art Ross Trophy and should propel him to a fourth Hart Trophy.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also the same guy who, in October, signed a two-year, $25 million, dual-purpose contract extension. Was it a ludicrously team-friendly move by the player, designed to give general manager Stan Bowman more space to operate? Yes. Was it McDavid telling Bowman, in effect, that he was on the clock? Also, yes.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what the Oilers\u2019 still-in-the-gates 2026 postseason is about, and why there\u2019s a certain sense of dread hanging over the proceedings. They can either close the deal after two straight years of agonizing failure, or they can somehow fall short in a way that doesn\u2019t suggest a team stuck on a treadmill as the stopwatch ticks. The degree of difficulty on both might be equally high.<\/p>\n
It shouldn\u2019t be. For more than a decade, across multiple front offices, the Oilers have relied on a pair of all-time greats to an irresponsible, unfair, unnecessary degree. McDavid and Leon Draisaitl dragged them to the doorstep of the Cup in 2024 against the Florida Panthers, then came nearly as close in last spring\u2019s rematch.<\/p>\n
The summer, in turn, brought nothing of consequence, as Bowman leaned even further into a forward group whose value was dangerously concentrated at the top. McDavid and Draisaitl are elite. Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are quality support. Beyond them, best case was a group of question marks and lottery tickets. Even with Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton\u2019s middle-six forwards entered 2025-26 with a combined Net Rating of minus-12. The rest of The Athletic\u2019s top five teams in projected points all averaged a plus-5.<\/p>\n
Wholly unaddressed were the team\u2019s goaltending problems. Stuart Skinner had followed a below-average regular season by getting pulled in Game 5 of the Cup Final last year, and Calvin Pickard was a career backup.<\/p>\n
By March 13, Andrew Mangiapane, Bowman\u2019s best attempt at adding a depth forward, had played his way onto the waiver wire, and Tristan Jarry \u2014 acquired from Pittsburgh in December for Skinner, a second-round pick and defenseman Brett Kulak \u2014 had taken the goaltending from bad to terrifying.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve been to the Cup (Final) twice because of three or four guys. If you had given them any kind of depth on the forwards or if their goalie wasn\u2019t Stuart Skinner, they\u2019re probably two-time Stanley Cup champions. So what do they do? They go out and get a goalie who might not be as good as Skinner,\u201d an executive told The Athletic<\/a> before the playoffs, in a contender-ranking exercise that put Edmonton between the Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens. \u201cIt\u2019s astounding to me that they haven\u2019t fixed any of the holes.\u201d<\/p>\n Edmonton had started to buckle under that weight, losing four straight going into the Olympic break and five of nine coming out of it. From there, things seemed to devolve. Draisaitl\u2019s regular season ended in a March 15 win over the Nashville Predators. After a 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 22, McDavid correctly noted that poor play across the Pacific Division was the main thing keeping the Oilers afloat.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re fortunate to play in this division,\u201d McDavid said. \u201cA lot of teams are fortunate to play in this division. It\u2019s a bit of a pillow fight right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Post-\u201cpillow fight,\u201d McDavid averaged two points per game (10 goals, 12 assists), and the Oilers went 7-2-2. In five of those wins, he had goals. In another, he had four assists. Relatively improved goaltending and defensive play count for something; McDavid counts for a whole lot more.<\/p>\n \u201cFive or six weeks ago, it was a little bit dire, obviously, with some health questions and fighting for a playoff spot,\u201d McDavid said on Sunday. \u201cWe\u2019ve earned the opportunity to be in this position. Pacific Division or not, we\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed they are \u2014 and their situation, given how things looked a month ago, couldn\u2019t realistically be much better.<\/p>\n