The Edmonton Oilers have made consecutive appearances in the Stanley Cup Final, yet much of the off-season discussion has focused on what they aren’t good at. It’s perplexing to me.

I covered this team when they were genuinely terrible and missed the playoffs 12 of 13 seasons, including three of Connor McDavid’s first four years in the NHL. This current edition of the team is good — really good — and while I understand some analysts, writers, podcasters, and fans naturally gravitate to negativity, as though it is easier to promote, suggestions that the Oilers aren’t a legitimate Stanley Cup contender are quite misguided from my seat.

Of course, there is no guarantee they will return to a third Stanley Cup Final come spring of 2026, but the Oilers crushed Dallas and Vegas, winning each series 4-1 while outscoring the Golden Knights 16-10 and Stars 22-12, en route to the Cup Final. Have Dallas and Vegas improved significantly more than Edmonton this off-season?

I don’t think they have. They are still good, as are Colorado and Winnipeg, but entering the season, the Oilers are easily one of the best teams in the Western Conference. And one of their biggest strengths is their ability to move the puck and produce offence from the backend.

Over the past three seasons, 56 defencemen have scored 40+ points at least once. The Oilers have four of them in Evan Bouchard, Mattias Ekholm, Jake Walman, and Darnell Nurse — and they are the only team that can make that claim.

Tyson Barrie and Matt Grzelcyk (40 points last year with Pittsburgh) are currently unsigned, while Alex Pietrangelo will be on LTIR all season, and his career is likely over.

Last season, Bouchard ranked sixth among defenders in even-strength points, Walman was 22nd, Nurse was 23rd, and Ekholm was 41st, and he missed 16 games. Having four of the top-41 point producers at even strength, on a team that finished 13th in EV goals, illustrates how active the Oilers’ blueliners are. Walman registered 25 of his EV points with San Jose. However, he still averaged 1.35 points/60 at EV with the Oilers. He had eight points in 15 games, which prorates to over 40 in a full season. With the Sharks, only seven of his total 32 points came on the power play. He produces well at even strength.

Having mobile defenders who can move the puck or transport the puck up ice is a major advantage in today’s NHL, and the Oilers possess the best quartet of puck movers/transporters in the NHL. Edmonton ranked 26th in shooting percentage (SH%) at EV last year, despite ranking first in shots on goal. They were also first in shots at 5×5, while sitting 27th in SH%. The Oilers’ defenders will likely have more assists this season, simply because the Oilers’ SH% will increase.

Kris Knoblauch outlined his plan to have more skill-enhancement practices this season, which, in theory, should increase the Oilers’ ability to bury more of their scoring chances. The Oilers led the NHL in high-danger shots on goal last season with 703, 23 more than any other team. They created a lot of good looks, and finishing more of them will be a focus this season.

And while the Oilers are blessed with mobile puck movers, they can also defend. Edmonton led the NHL with the fewest high-danger shots allowed at 526. That might surprise the crowd who believe the Oilers are porous defensively and guys like Bouchard and Nurse make way too many mistakes.

They do commit a few glaring errors, but people incorrectly connect that to meaning they do it regularly, and the stats show they don’t. It is difficult to change perceptions, and the notion that the Oilers can’t defend well still lingers for some, but last season, Edmonton was quite good at limiting high-danger shots.

They need to improve their penalty kill, and the goalies need to make a few more stops, but overall, the Oilers’ skaters are quite solid defensively. They haven’t fluked their way to consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, and entering this season, the blueline should be a major strength of the team.

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