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Letters to the Editor: Maybe the Oilers shouldn’t be big buyers at the trade deadline
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Photo credit: Photoshop by Tom Kostiuk
Zach Laing
Jan 11, 2026, 09:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 11, 2026, 03:07 EST
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Got your coffee? It’s time to dig into this week’s Letters to the Editor.

It’s on the players…

The hand-wringing about the bottom-six is getting tiresome, especially when the finger is pointed at the players. Fact is, the bottom-six is where players go to die in Edmonton. We haven’t had a legit one since the 2024 cup run playoffs. And before that, never consistently in the regular season since Brodziak/GlenX/Stortini.
The fact is, every coach through the door runs this as Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and everyone else. Woody got it for a while, when he actually gave everyone a defined role and got some buy in. I don’t need to quote Derek Ryan on this one, we all know it.
The same is happening here. Sure, you can point to well, hey, they’re getting nine to 10 minutes a night, that’s not so bad. But it’s garbage time. It’s never high-pressure time. Barely any special teams time. They’re never depended on, only asked to survive.
It’s the coaches who have made this a two-man (or two-line) team. Maybe it’s a reality of having two of the world’s best players on the same team. Every coach seems to fall for it, but it’s also part of the annual downfall of this team. You need four lines to win the Cup. You can’t just expect the bottom-six to find it in the playoffs when they’ve been cast aside all season.
A talented young man once screamed… DIG THE EFF IN! RIGHT EFFING NOW!
I’d say it’s hard to do when the coach is unwilling to even hand you a shovel.
Matt Ashfield
(The bottom-six has been an issue, no doubt. Could the new third line fix some of that?)

Who are the Oilers?

We are at the midway point of the season and the Oilers are on track to a 90-ish point season. This would usually mean missing the playoffs, but in the Pathetic Division, it is close to the top. It appears that 90 points will be good enough to catch a playoff this season.
But what are the Oilers this year?  All indications suggest a bubble team. Other than the power play, which is the best in the league, the team is somewhere between average and bad.
I like to present some facts to back up my statements. Here’s some of the Oilers ranks at five-on-five per hour last year vs. this year:
24/25
25/26
Corsi For %
4
16
Goals For
14
19
Goals Against
21
28
High Danger For
2
23
High Danger Against
3
7
X Goals For
2
12
X Goals Against
9
12
High Danger Save%
27
31
Save %
23
30
Every aspect of their game has regressed, other than the power play, which has gone from about average to the best in the league.  The Oilers are remaining in contention due to the power play.
Teams in the three previous years had outstanding metrics in almost all areas, other than goaltending, which was below average. Even when the team was struggling, like in the first 12 games or so in the last two years, underlying metrics were strong. And sure enough, things turned around. There seems to be little reason for such an expectation of a similar turnaround this season. This year’s team is not up to the level of the last three years.
So what should Stan Bowman do in the remainder of the season?  Option one is to maintain the Cup or Bust attitude and, once again, bolster the team at the trade deadline.
Option two is to accept that the team might be good enough to make the payoffs in a weak division, and maybe even win a round or two. But a Stanley Cup is a fantasy. A team not worth once again mortgaging the future to waste assets on an impossible task.
There are about just under 20 games until the trade deadline, and we will know more at that time. But option two seems to be the prudent move, or non-move, today. As Kenny Rogers said, “You’ve got to know when to hold’em.”
Ed McConaghy
Edmonton
(I don’t disagree, but what kind of message does that send to McDavid after taking a sweetheart deal?)
Oilersnation wants to hear from you, the reader, in our new weekly “Letters to the Editor” segment. Letters can be emailed to Oilersnation’s managing editor Zach Laing (zach.laing@bettercollective.com), titled “Letters to the Editor.” Please include a letter up to 200 words, including your name, place of residence (city, town, province, or state). Your letters may be edited for length and/or clarity. Letters must be submitted by 6 PM MT Saturday night to be considered for feature on Sunday mornings.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s managing editor, 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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