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Oilers are in trouble if Knoblauch’s only plan is demanding more from McDavid and Draisaitl
Edmonton Oilers Kris Knoblauch
Photo credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images
Zach Laing
Nov 10, 2025, 16:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 10, 2025, 16:29 EST
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The Edmonton Oilers have spent the better part of the last decade being a two-man team.
Connor McDavid and Leon Drasiatil. The Dynamic Duo. A pair that was destined to lead the franchise back to the promised land.
The proof is in the pudding that those two played a massive role in Edmonton’s back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Finals over the last two seasons, but what differed in those years was the supporting cast assembled around them. The Oilers, for once, finally had 16 other skaters that could lineup alongside them night in and night out as solid contributors.
They had depth scoring, a blue line punching above its weight class, physical presences who would punish opposing players, the ability to roll lines, a blue line that could hold its own, and a power play as potent as there has ever been in the league. When you think back to the team over these two years, that’s what the identity of the team has been.
They’ve been deep. They’ve been able to roll with the best of them. They’ve been dominant in nearly every facet of the game. It got them to two finals with Kris Knoblauch as the head coach.
He pushed the right buttons for the team, but in the early going of the 2025-26 season, the Oilers look like an absolute shell of their former selves. Roster turnover be damned, the core of this team has remained the same.
And on Monday morning, during a pre-game press conference as the team prepares to host the Columbus Blue Jackets, Knoblauch, unprompted, showed his hand of how he views this team.
Question from Bob Stauffer: There’s a lot of money put into your defence on the back end. Do you think you’ve got anything close to what you expected at the start of the season with your group on the back end?
Knoblauch: No, I think we’ve got off to a slow start, our defence group included. And you know, there’s stretches where one guy was playing poorly and then the next guy and then collectively just not all giving everything they got. Not that they don’t care, that’s not that it at all, but just it’s a lot of it is the confidence on getting the job done and you know, we feel our strength. Obviously, Connor and Leon are the identity of our team. When you think of the Edmonton Oilers, those are the two names that pop out. But right after that it should be our six defencemen that are playing each night because we feel that they can be among the best in the league every single night.
“Connor and Leon are the identity of our team.”
It’s a telling quote, and the amount of ice-time both are playing early on this season reflects it. Both McDavid and Draisaitl have seen a significant increase in their ice-time. McDavid is playing one minute and 45 seconds more per game, and Draisaitl is playing two minutes and three seconds more per game. Together, they’re also averaging nearly a minute and a half more at five-on-five together than over the previous three seasons.
When you look across the league, the duo is playing more hockey than nearly anybody else. McDavid’s average time on ice ranks first among forwards, and Draisaitl’s second, while the players in third through fifth are playing less: Kirill Kaprizov (22:10), Auston Matthews (21:54), and Mikko Rantanen (21:39).
McDavid and Drasiatil’s ice-time is akin to their average numbers in the playoffs, not numbers we should be seeing 16 games into a regular season after two years where the team got to Game 6 and 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Inexplicably, Knoblauch has turned them both into penalty killers this season, as each has seen nearly a minute more per game in that situation, taking roles and minutes away from depth players on the roster. The idea is to give opposing power plays something significant to keep an eye on, given McDavid and Drasiaitl’s ability to score, and while it’s worked as they’ve outscored opposing teams 1-0 in 19 penalty kill minutes together, it’s clearly adding to an already massive workload. Are the returns worth it? It’s hard to say yes, given the significant dip in Edmonton’s five-on-five results.
Seemingly, Knoblauch — fresh off a three-year contract extension — has completely lost the plot to start the season.
Is he trying to send a message to management that he’s not happy with guys like Connor Brown, Corey Perry, and Evander Kane getting shown the door while David Tomášek, Andrew Mangiapane, Isaac Howard, and Matt Savoie entered the mix? Is trying to highlight the massive deficiency they have in the goaltending department? Do the Oilers miss the injured Zach Hyman that much?
Whatever it is, one thing is crystal clear: if Kris Knoblauch views Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as the identity of this team, the Oilers are in serious trouble.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.

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