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No defence, no Stanley Cup for the Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton Oilers goal celebration vs San Jose Sharks

Photo credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

By Liam Horrobin

Aug 11, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 11, 2026, 13:03 EDT

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Stan Bowman appeared on the TSN panel during the intermission of one of Canada’s games at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. The Edmonton Oilers general manager stated that it’s unlikely they add anyone of significance before training camp. He continued to say that he was “happy with where the team was at right now.”

A standard answer and not surprising they don’t want to add. While there are still good players out there — Vladimir Tarasenko, Michael Bunting, Eeli Tolvanen— Edmonton has a full training camp list. Furthermore, they showed patience with Jack Roslovic last season, signing him in the intermission of their home opener, and that worked out. Perhaps that’s the plan here too. The prices are too high now, so wait it out and see who gets desperate.

So, if the plan is to move forward with the current roster, what needs to change from last season? It was a disappointing 41-30-11 regular season, essentially a .500 record, incredibly below the standard for a team with Stanley Cup aspirations. The standard set over those 82 games bled into the playoffs, which we won’t get into.

However, now that book is blank with another new coaching staff as they head into part four of the Connor McDavid era. Arguably the most pivotal of the saga.

While they’ll rely heavily on the stars to lead them again, as they should, defending has to be the main focal point. Two hundred sixty-nine goals against last season, with many pathetic defensive displays mixed in there. You remember.

How bad was the Edmonton Oilers’ defence and goaltending last season?

Two hundred sixty-nine goals was the most Edmonton has allowed since the final season of Peter Chiarelli in 2018-19. That season they finished seventh in the Pacific Division, with only the Los Angeles Kings behind them. It’s truly mind-blowing that the Oilers had better defensive seasons during the Decade of Darkness than the year after they went to the Stanley Cup Final.

Goaltending obviously plays a factor in all of this, but it’s not fully to blame. Connor Ingram was fine for Edmonton. He had good and bad moments. His .899 save percentage and 2.60 GAA were both above league average, which is what fans suggest is all Edmonton needs to win a Cup. Acquiring Tristan Jarry was obviously a mistake, and Bowman has tried to correct his error by acquiring Devon Levi and signing Freddie Andersen. However, Jarry takes too much of the blame for what happened.

He obviously had woeful moments. Jarry came to Edmonton from Pittsburgh with a 2.66 GAA and a .909 save percentage in 14 games. After his acquisition, in 19 games for the Oilers, he had a 3.86 GAA and a .858 save percentage. Again, he fronts some of the blame, but it goes to show how poor the level of commitment to defence in Edmonton was.

The good news is that the Oilers are only a year removed from being a strong defensive team. In all situations, they ranked well in goals against per 60 and high danger shots against. The core of this team is still in place to help reestablish that defensive mindset. Additionally, with Connor Murphy and Jason Dickinson here for a full season, and the addition of Ryan Shea, Edmonton have more players with a solid focus on shutting down rather than trying to win games 5-4.

	GA Per 60	High Danger Shot Against
2025-26	3.2 (8th)	283 (13th)
2024-25	2.84 (18th)	256 (28th)
2023-24	2.85 (23rd)	243 (30th)

Numbers provided by Moneypuck.com.

How much does the Edmonton Oilers’ penalty kill need to improve?

Bowman made another strong point in a previous press conference on special teams.

While it’s great to have a power play that can get you a goal per game, it’s useless if your penalty kill gives it right back. Edmonton’s penalty kill finished at 77.8 per cent, which is one of their worst rates since the lockout. It completely collapsed in the playoffs too, wrapping up at 50 per cent and was a huge reason why their summer began early.

They don’t need an elite regular season penalty kill to win the Stanley Cup. They just need to bring it back to a consistent and respectable level, which is around 80 per cent.

Over the past 10 seasons, three teams have won the Cup with a penalty kill lower than 80 per cent. Two of those three finished with 79.7 per cent and 79.8 per cent. Edmonton hasn’t had a penalty kill higher than 80 per cent since 2021, when they were at 82.5 per cent. They played incredibly well in the 2024 playoffs, but that feels like a mirage considering how poor it has been for years.

		PK%	League Ranking
2026	Carolina	80.50%	11
2025	Florida	80.70%	19
2024	Florida	82.50%	6
2023	Vegas	77.40%	19
2022	Colorado	79.70%	15
2021	Tampa Bay	84.20%	4
2020	Tampa Bay	81.40%	14
2019	St Louis	81.50%	9
2018	Washington	80.30%	15
2017	Pittsburgh	79.80%	20
2016	Pittsburgh	84.40%	5

Offence isn’t something Edmonton ever needs to worry about. Everyone knows Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will get their points. The question is, can they help prevent them? It’ll be a team effort that helps them steer the boat in the right direction; however, it needs to be bought into from day one.

While Mike Babcock wasn’t a welcome hire by some in Oil Country, hopefully he can set the standard from day 1 as Edmonton look to climb back to the top. The players are there, its now about execution.

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