Fans Reveal the First Change They’d Make to Fix the Oilers

Following another brutal loss on home ice, Sports 1440’s Jason Gregor tossed out a simple question on social media: If you were Stan Bowman, what is the one move you’d make as GM of the Edmonton Oilers right now?

Oilers fans didn’t hesitate to respond and share their ideas. As one would expect, those ideas ranged from intriguing to downright ludicrous, but they unloaded every frustration, fantasy trade, and desperate solution imaginable. The responses paint a blunt picture of where the fanbase’s head is at during another turbulent stretch of the season.

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Goaltending Fixes Dominate the Conversation

Unsurprisingly, most fans zeroed in on the crease. The calls were loud and varied: “Both goalies,” one fan wrote, while another demanded the team “Move Nurse and Skinner.” Binnington’s name popped up repeatedly—some politely, others in all caps: “BINNINGTON BINNINGTON BINNINGTON.”

Others pushed for Connor Ingram, with multiple fans advocating for Skinner to be sent down and Pickard waived. Suggestions ranged from mild tweaks to blockbuster ideas, including one proposal involving Skinner, picks, and retention to bring in Jordan Binnington. More ambitious replies mentioned Juuse Saros, Joey Daccord, and even lamented that Edmonton didn’t pay a second-rounder last year to land Mackenzie Blackwood.

Trade Fantasies, Cap Dumps, and Big Swings

When goaltending wasn’t the target, the suggestion was simple: blow it up. One fan called for waiving Darnell Nurse, while another argued Edmonton should dump Andrew Mangiapane to the Maple Leafs to free cap space. There were wildly unrealistic proposals—like a massive Saros-and-Forsberg-for-half-the-Oilers-roster blockbuster—but that’s standard practice when questions like these get tossed out there on social media.

Some wanted a reset entirely: “Rebuild starts now,” one fan said, proposing Nurse buyouts and clearing out the goalie tandem for “a bag of pucks.” Others urged the team to bring back Evander Kane or call up “any AHL guys” just to shake up the chemistry.

Coaching, Media, and a Dose of Realism

Some respondents skipped roster moves entirely and went straight for the organization itself. A few called for coach Kris Knoblauch to be fired, while one fan sarcastically suggested revoking media credentials from local reporters (the one personally stung a little).

But perhaps the most grounded reply came from someone who poured cold water on the goalie obsession: “New goalie is putting lipstick on a pig… defensively they are terrible and it wouldn’t matter who is in net.” That sentiment echoed a growing belief that Edmonton’s issues run deeper than simply swapping out a netminder.

Another suggested a blockbuster trade that many fans in the thread felt might be more realistic than most other ideas suggested: “To Buffalo- Bouchard, Howard, Skinner, 1st, 2nd To Edmonton- (Devon) Levi, (Bowen) Byram, (Tage) Thompson Gotta give to get. I’m a Bouchard fan. But change is needed.”

A Fanbase Desperate for Answers

If one thing is clear from Gregor’s question, it’s that Oilers fans are out of patience and out of trust. They want change—any change—and they want it now. Whether Bowman sees what any of these fans are seeing is another story entirely.

Next: Fans and Media Sound Off as Rumors Link Jordan Binnington to Oilers