A first look at the Edmonton Oilers 2024-25 schedule
By Zach Laing
2 days agoThe dust is settling on a frantic week in the hockey world, going from the final day of the playoffs, to the NHL draft and the opening of free agency all within a week-one stretch.
But Tuesday brought more news from the NHL, as the 2024-25 schedule was released.
Let’s dive into what the 82-games look like for the Oilers, and what’s notable.
Opens Oct. 9
Edmonton’s season kicks off on Oct. 9th when they play host to the Winnipeg Jets, who will see the Oilers raise a Western Conference Champions banner in Rogers Place.
The game kicks off a four-game home stand for the Oilers, who will also see the Chicago Blackhawks, Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers roll through town.
A quick two-game road-trip will follow as the Oilers pay a visit to the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars, before returning home for two against the Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins. Then, the Oilers will have their first of five road trips longer than three games, skipping through Detroit, Columbus, Nashville and Calgary before returning home in early November.
Running through the Pacific
The Oilers have some frustrating splits in their Pacific Division schedule this year, seeing their closest rivals in terms of distance, the Flames and Vancouver Canucks, just three times. The Oilers will play all of the Vegas Golden Knights, San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings and Seattle Kraken four times, splitting each of those series with two games at home and on the road.
Edmonton, meanwhile, will host Calgary twice while visiting them once, while hosting Vancouver once, and visiting them twice.
I’d much rather see the Oilers play less games against teams like the Ducks and Sharks instead of getting shorted against the Flames and Canucks.
Hitting the road
The longest road trip of the season will come when the NHL gets back from the Four Nation’s Faceoff event they’re running this year.
Between Feb. 22nd and March 1st , 2025, the Oilers will visit the Flyers, the Washington Capitals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes. The game against the Panthers will be their second game of the year, with them visiting Edmonton on Dec. 16.
The Eastern road swing always seems to bring with it some kind of storylines for the Edmonton Oilers, and surely this year will be no different with the trade deadline coming around that time, too.
Notes…
- Edmonton’s schedule is split down the middle in terms of games against playoff teams from last year, and teams who missed the playoffs, facing 41 of each.
- The Oilers will play 14 back-to-backs this season, so look for Calvin Pickard to get half of those. He played 23 games for the Oilers last year and will need to absorb another five that Jack Campbell started. Stuart Skinner played 59 games last year, a number they were targeting for him late in the season. I wonder if the Oilers look to give him a few less, especially late in the year, in hopes of keeping him fresh and ready for the playoffs.
- The final 15 games of the regular season are all against Western Conference teams coming in the last month of the season. Only six are against teams who made the playoffs last season. They face Winnipeg and Los Angeles twice in that stretch, as well as Dallas and Vegas. It includes a six-game in nine-day stretch, and a five-game in eight-day stretch. Busy busy.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
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