No Room for Error: Oilers’ Offseason Must Be Near Perfect

As the Edmonton Oilers plot a path forward this offseason, Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic highlights five crucial areas that GM Stan Bowman must address — none more pressing than avoiding costly mistakes in talent evaluation and asset management.

The Oilers are staring down a future where Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, Darnell Nurse, and (presumably) Connor McDavid will eat up roughly half the team’s cap space by 2026-27. That leaves virtually no room for error with the rest of the roster. All the while, McDavid is watching like a hawk, making sure the organization gets the team closer to winning than farther away.

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While players like Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins currently offer good value, even one more contract misstep could derail their Cup window and walk their captain into a short-term extension.

In other words, the Oilers can’t have another repeat situation like the one they faced with Dylan Holloway.

Edmonton Can’t Let Good, Young Players Walk

Letting Holloway walk after an offer sheet from the St. Louis Blues — for just $2.29 million AAV — in exchange for a third-round pick is a decision that already looks disastrous. Holloway exploded for 26 goals and 63 points in his first full NHL season, thriving in a top-six role the Oilers desperately could’ve used him in. Instead, they gambled on aging, underwhelming forwards like Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson — and lost.

Skinner won’t be back. Arvidsson has reportedly agreed to work with the Oilers on a trade. Freeing up the cap space is beneficial, but this was a mistake of monumental proportions due to the opportunity cost.

The takeaway? With so little financial wiggle room, Edmonton cannot afford to let promising young talent walk out the door for pennies on the dollar. Every prospect — like Matt Savoie or Sam O’Reilly — must either be developed with care or traded for real value. There’s no middle ground anymore. Players like Vasily Podkolzin — here for one more season on a dirt-cheap contract — have to be used to their best ability. Edmonton needs to get the deal right on Trent Frederic. Trades should include proven players who are not too old, coming back.

As Nugent-Bowman warns, “the Oilers simply can’t afford to make many evaluation errors—or maybe even any-if they want to keep McDavid in the fold and truly contend.”

If Edmonton hopes to stay relevant in the McDavid-Draisaitl era, the front office must learn from its Holloway mistake — and fast.

Next: Oilers Forward with No-Move Clause Open to Trade in Right Deal