When a team is knocked down several rungs after falling just short of the summit, it’s reasonable to wonder how many more expeditions to the top they have left in them.The Edmonton Oilers will provide their answer to that question next season. After landing one and two wins short of the Stanley Cup in 2024 and 2025, respectively, their first-round exit to the Anaheim Ducks this spring was a humbling return to base camp.While playoff pain is rationalized by many as a prerequisite to eventual postseason success, the salary-cap era is replete with cautionary tales of teams that missed out on Stanley Cup glory after sustained periods of contention. The San Jose Sharks, Nashville Predators and New York Rangers all come to mind. The Oilers hope to be on a different side of history — one that includes the Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes, recent winners who all faced long and adversarial climbs to the top.
Perhaps no franchise in the NHL stands to benefit more from an early playoff exit than the Oilers, who have played the most postseason games of any club since 2022 (81). That, combined with injuries, goaltending insecurity and a lack of cohesion, meant a reset was needed.It’s been 105 days since the Oilers were ousted from playoff contention, and that number will have stretched to 152 when they host the Vancouver Canucks in their Sept. 29 home opener. That’s 39 more days than the previous summer. For one of the NHL’s most veteran-laden rosters, there might not be a more important offseason takeaway.Still, the 2026-27 club will be different in more tangible ways. Mike Babcock is still on track to coach his first NHL game since November 2019, incumbent starter Tristan Jarry will face competition in the crease from newcomers Frederik Andersen and Devon Levi, and Ryan Shea and Shakir Mukhamadullin will enter camp looking to solidify the Oilers’ blue line, which will be without Darnell Nurse for the first time in 12 years.News has slowed to a trickle now, but the well will be bursting once the Oilers begin training camp in slightly more than a month. It’s time to gauge your thoughts on the summer, and where you think the Oilers are headed next season. Please enjoy filling out this fan survey, which will stay open until Tuesday night. The results will be published next week.(Anyone having difficulty accessing the survey can use this link.)
