“I coach to win our next game and look at how we can make our team better each day,” Knoblauch stated during his media availability on Monday, via @EdmontonOilers on X. “When things are going well, there’s very little criticism. When there’s losing, everyone needs to look in the mirror.”

Knoblauch’s statement came after a question about McDavid’s public call-out. While Knoblauch and McDavid are far from engaging in an all-out media war, it’s clear there’s tension in the Oilers’ locker room.

McDavid sets record straight on his comment

According to McDavid, his comments on the Oilers‘ coaching and team functioning were blown out of proportion. Perhaps it was the heat of the moment speaking and the upset tone in his voice that made his words come out much harsher than he intended them. Now, he’s made his argument.

“We’re not taking shots. It’s just everybody can be better myself included. Not sure how it was taken that way. It wasn’t supposed to be that way,” McDavid said about his previous comments, via TSN’s Ryan Rishaug. “I understand how people could look at it that way, but it’s not what I was intending to do at all.”

Signs of frustration in McDavid, Oilers

Still, it’s clear something is bothering McDavid. Whether it is the current losing streak, the fact that the Oilers can’t run away with a Pacific Division that is filled with toothless-looking teams, the weight of last season’s missteps, or a combination of it all, the captain is upset. His comments after the Lightning’s visit to Rogers Place were only a sign that he has some built-up frustration with the organization he is committed to through the 2027–28 NHL season.

For the fans, this may be seen as both a blessing and a burden. Trying times like the ones Edmonton is currently in are what make or break teams and seasons. If the Oilers can push through, then the sky may be the limit. If they don’t, though, then they were never really going to be a threat come the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“[The Lightning] got a great system. They’re perfectly coached and extremely well organized,” McDavid said before hinting Knoblauch must figure out a way for the Oilers to replicate the Bolts’ success, via TSN’s Ryan Rishaug.

“That’s a coaching question. You can ask [Knoblauch] that question. We’re somewhat rehearsed and organized, but not to their level.”

McDavid’s statement was a clear warning to the Oilers. As much success as Edmonton has had in past NHL seasons, its struggles against the top powerhouses has been a recurrent issue. Regular season or postseason, McDavid is sick and tired of coming up short when it truly matters.

What McDavid’s message means for Oilers

The consecutive multi-goal defeats against the Florida Panthers (4-0) and Tampa Bay Lightning (5-2) at Rogers Place raised alarms that are too loud and invasive for the Oilers to look the other way. McDavid certainly didn’t beat around the bush as he addressed the elephant in the room, hoping to spark immediate change within the locker room.

Moreover, McDavid’s comments signal danger for Edmonton. To say there is trouble in paradise would be generous, considering the past defeats in the Stanley Cup Final and the drama around McDavid in the past offseason are far from what any NHL organization would call paradisiacal.

Still, if there was ever any calm in The Gateway to the North, it’s now veering in a different direction. Adverse conditions may be brewing. Although McDavid wishes the Oilers feed off Leon Draisaitl’s injury, it’s clear it won’t be a perfect storm for the Oilers.

What’s left for the Oilers?

If the Oilers can make it out of it in one piece, then who knows where the limit is for this team? If not, though, it might be all she wrote for the championship window of an aging squad that is showing cracks in its foundation.

McDavid raising questions about his head coach is far from an encouraging sign as the Oilers gear up for the home stretch of the regular season. Eleven games separate Edmonton from the Stanley Cup Playoffs—where anything can happen—and an unexpected trainwreck that would send the Oilers into an abyss of uncertainty.

In the blink of an eye, the tide has changed for the Oilers. In the NHL, much can happen in such a short time, and Edmonton is the latest franchise to learn that lesson. On Monday, Knoblauch provided an encouraging injury update on Draisaitl. “It shouldn’t be a really long injury,” Knoblauch said. Less than 24 hours later, he stands corrected.

Regardless, Knoblauch can’t dwell on the fact that he mistakenly assumed Draisaitl’s absence would be brief. More importantly, the head coach in the “Gateway to the North” must find a way to keep the Oilers afloat. Edmonton is hanging on to a playoff spot by the skin of its teeth. Without its second-best player—and Connor McDavid’s sidekick—the climb becomes much steeper.

How many games will Draisaitl miss?

Draisaitl will be sidelined for the last 14 games of the 2025-26 NHL regular season. Moreover, 8 of those 14 outings will come against Pacific Division teams. That means over half of the remaining games will be divisional showdowns for the Edmonton Oilers. Having a star player miss time is never ideal, but when it happens in the home stretch of the campaign, the impact is even greater.

Oilers could be in trouble without Draisaitl

If there’s a silver lining for Knoblauch and the Oilers, it may lie in the fact that they will face the seventh-easiest remaining schedule in terms of strength of schedule, per Tankathon.

On the other hand, concerns may grow, as all six clubs with an easier schedule are in the race for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the West. Moreover, four of them are divisional rivals of Edmonton: the Los Angeles Kings (easiest remaining schedule), Anaheim Ducks (second-easiest), San Jose Sharks (fourth), and Vegas Golden Knights (sixth).

“He went out and he just didn’t feel quite right. The fact that the medical staff said it doesn’t seem too bad and there’s no immediate red flags, it tells me that it shouldn’t be a really long injury,” Knoblauch commented on Draisaitl’s injury, per NHL.com.

Prior to his injury, Draisaitl had broken the tie with a power play goal less than four minutes into the game. Shortly after, he was hit against the boards by Predators’ Ozzy Wiesblatt. Draisaitl tried to shake it off and push through, but he couldn’t and was ruled out of the game before the start of the second period.

Draisaitl’s numbers in 2025-26 NHL season

So far, Draisaitl had appeared in 65 of the Oilers’ 68 games played in the 2025-26 campaign. The German star had taken a personal leave of absence in January, which caused him to miss three outings. Now, he could be set to miss crucial battles for Edmonton because of injury.

Through 65 games, Draisaitl has been on a tear this season. He has found the back of the net 35 times (tied for 8th in the NHL), assisted a teammate 62 times (4th in the league), and amassed a total of 97 points (4th in the NHL).

However, after the latest setback, his chase for the 100-point mark will be put on hold. Draisaitl has scored over 100 points in six of the last seven seasons. The last time he failed to reach that mark was during the shortened 2020–21 campaign.

Silver lining for the Oilers and Draisaitl

Barring an unexpectedly long-term absence, Draisaitl should be back on the ice to help the Oilers soon, and it won’t take long for him to net the three points that separate him from another 100-point campaign. Knoblauch and company know the Oilers must step on the gas during Draisaitl’s absence, but there’s also no reason to panic—at least not yet.

For as long as McDavid and Draisaitl have wreak havoc on the ice for the Oilers, Edmonton has seen its production become one-dimensional. It’s perhaps the most obvious two-edged sword across the NHL. While Connor and Leon can produce just as many points as any other player, relying on them constantly is far from a recipe for success.

For fans in the Gateway to the North, it’s becoming a tale as old as time. Some may think it’s an overreaction, but living and reliving Groundhog Day in the NHL is making fans in Edmonton anxious. The rest of the team must step up, and Knoblauch didn’t mince words on that.

“We need to have secondary scoring,” Kris Knoblauch admitted, via NHL.com. “We can’t rely on Connor and Leon or whoever’s playing with them. We need some bottom-six contributions. Tonight we got some of that, which is good.”

A pending task for the Oilers

For a very long time, the Oilers have vied to build a contending roster around their two centerpieces. However, the offense is still being carried entirely by McDavid and Draisaitl. Day has followed night, night after night, and the Canadian-German duo remains the only source Edmonton turns to for answers.

Edmonton is currently 9-9-4 on the season, sitting in the middle of the pack in the Pacific Division with 22 points. However, to truly be seen as a contender, the Oilers must get everyone in the lineup involved. If their back-to-back defeats in the Stanley Cup Final serve as any reminder, McDavid and Draisaitl can’t do it all themselves. To reach the promised land, Edmonton needs all hands on deck.

McDavid and Draisaitl’s numbers

To no one’s surprise, McDavid and Draisaitl sit atop the stats leaderboards. The former first overall pick in 2015 is second in scoring around the league with 32 points—9 goals and 23 assists. As for Draisaitl, the German star has recorded 26 points (14 goals and 12 assists) through 22 games in the 2025-26 NHL season.

The duo has combined for 58 tallies so far this season. With Edmonton registering 181 points across its lineup, McDavid and Draisaitl account for roughly 33% of Knoblauch’s total offensive production. And while the numbers suggest they make up just one-third of the squad’s output, in reality the duo is virtually the whole team.

It’s still too early to tell, but the Oilers are trending down. With three losses in a row, Edmonton is approaching the bottom of the Pacific Division standings, while other teams assert their dominance near the top. For McDavid and company, the only way is up, but they keep finding ways to dig deeper.

Hosting the always-challenging Avalanche at Rogers Place, the Oilers faced a big opportunity to get back on track with an inspired performance. However, the night couldn’t have gone any worse for the home fans in Edmonton. Being blown out of the water by the visiting Avs in a whooping 9-1 defeat, Knoblauch let his players hear it after the game with a straightforward statement.

“And I think tonight would be, I definitely hope this is, rock bottom for us. I hope this wakes up a lot of guys,” Knoblauch stated, via NHL.com. “This team’s been in trying times several times over the years and they’ve always worked it out. Just because they’ve found a way to play better, step up and I think right now, the last couple weeks I’ve seen we’re just kind of waiting for that moment to happen.”

Took the wind out of their sails

When Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid go head-to-head, all eyes in the NHL take notice. However, as the two former first overall picks went to battle in The Gateway to the North, only the Nova-Scotian delivered. With Colorado taking control of the game, Edmonton crumbled, and the game was over long before there were zeros left on the scoreboard.

“After the first goal, there was a lot of deflation. Especially off the second one, off the face-off, and after that, it was a lot of guys beating themselves up and not playing very well,” Knoblauch added. “A lot of not looking like a cohesive team right now, just not playing very well right now and that’s on the coaching staff, mostly myself, to get that aligned.“

New low

“Right from puck drop, I’d say we were kind of flat. There’s mistakes kind of all over the ice,” Oilers forward Andrew Mangiapane told NHL.com. “I don’t know if we’re just thinking that it’s going to come easy to us. So, it just starts there. Everyone just buying in and just bringing that intensity, whatever that is for you. Each player is different.”

With the final score reading 9-1 in favor of Colorado, Knoblauch recorded his worst loss as head coach in Edmonton. Obviously, the losses in the Stanley Cup Final will always be the most heartbreaking, but in terms of goal difference, this is the first time his Oilers lose by 8 goals—and only the second time the franchise loses by as many at home.

The previous worst loss had been an 8–1 defeat to the Vancouver Canucks during the 2023–24 NHL season opener—Knoblauch’s head coaching debut with the Oilers. If there’s any silver lining to such disheartening losses, it’s that everything turned out fairly well after that horrible debut. Perhaps the Oilers can turn things around again. However, only time will tell. For now, McDavid and the rest of the team will have to endure Knoblauch’s harsh commands after a pathetic showing at home.

As things haven’t been going McDavid and the Oilers’ way as of late, Knoblauch acknowledged just how valuable the victory on the road was. Edmonton held a 2-0 lead in the third period, only to squander it less than two minutes into the final frame. It seemed the Oilers were headed for yet another heartbreaking loss in the NHL. Still, they found a way.

“We don’t get too rattled about how things are going,” Knoblauch admitted, via NHL.com. “When times were tough, we could’ve really unraveled; we could’ve really fell apart. But we stuck with it and our composure was good.”

Can breathe again

In more ways than one, McDavid and the Oilers finally wiped the slate clean. Now, they can get back to work with a big burden off their backs. McDavid scored his first goal of the 2025-26 NHL season. Edmonton’s captain has now recorded points in six of the first seven games of the campaign. However, getting his first tally of his own was a much needed sigh of relief for both McDavid and the rest of the team.

In addition to the captain taking the monkey off his shoulder, the Oilers finally snapped the losing hex. Edmonton had lost three games in a row. Now, Knoblauch’s squad is back in the win column as the Oilers return to Alberta for a quick stop against the Montreal Canadiens before heading west for a back-to-back against Seattle and Vancouver.

Pleasant surprise

Edmonton stayed in the fight, holding off Ottawa’s push. The game headed to sudden-death overtime, where a man advantage put the Oilers in prime position to score the game-winning goal. Everybody at Canadian Tire Centre knew what was coming, but they still couldn’t prevent it. However, the three names involved in the game-deciding tally weren’t the usual suspects for the Oilers.

Instead, Matt Savoie won the draw, Mattias Ekholm left the puck for Jake Walman, and the blueliner—who was making his season debut after battling injuries—obliterated Linus Ullmark’s net with a slap shot from the point. It was exactly what the Oilers needed: a hero. Thanks to the returning defenseman, McDavid and company walked out of the nation’s capital with two points.

Through the first 40 minutes, the Oilers looked competitive, even leading 2-1 midway through the second period. But mistakes piled up—turnovers, penalties, and lapses in awareness undermined their efforts. Despite Stuart Skinner making 21 saves, Edmonton couldn’t keep pace with the Islanders’ relentless attack.

After the game, Knoblauch was blunt. “They were sneaking in behind us, and we didn’t have awareness in picking it up,” he said. “Those guys had a lot of breakaways, probably three or four in the first half of the game, which is just unacceptable.”

Can the Oilers recover from their first reality check?

Bo Horvat’s natural hat trick powered the Islanders to victory, capitalizing on mistakes by Evan Bouchard and the Oilers’ broader defensive lapses. One early giveaway turned into a Mat Barzal breakaway goal, while another led to Horvat’s short-handed strike.

Knoblauch addressed Bouchard directly but kept his tone measured. “I’ve seen Evan play better. Mistakes happen, but you have to address what types of mistakes are happening,” he said. “Evan’s a fantastic player, one of the best in the League, certainly one of the best defensemen in the NHL. Tonight was not his night, but I’ve always seen him respond and play much better after games like this.”

Veteran Mattias Ekholm also defended his partner. “People can be hard on him for the mistakes, but you’ve also got to look at the upside. I’d be careful criticizing him because that’s who he is… I’m sure he’ll be back with force and vengeance,” he said.

What lessons do the Oilers need to take from this defeat?

The loss highlighted a broader team issue. The Oilers were sloppy across all three zones, struggling to adjust when the Islanders increased intensity. “We’ve got to address it as a team. We always talk about things that we’re doing well, and things that we need to improve on,” Knoblauch said.

With another road game on Saturday against the New Jersey Devils, there’s little time to dwell on mistakes. “We’ve got to learn from things that happened,” Knoblauch added, emphasizing that early-season lessons can’t be ignored if they hope to maintain momentum.

Knoblauch took over from Jay Woodcroft on November 12, 2023, and quickly turned the team around. He guided the Oilers to a 46-18-5 record over the final 69 games of the 2023-24 season before falling in a seven-game Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers. In his first full season as Edmonton’s head coach, the Oilers finished third in the Pacific Division with a 48-29-5 record and once again reached the Stanley Cup Final, ultimately losing in six games to the Panthers.

Over his two NHL seasons, Knoblauch owns a 94-47-10 regular-season record and a 29-19 playoff mark. His experience includes head coaching stints in the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, and American Hockey League, making Edmonton his first NHL head coaching role.

What this means for the Oilers’ future

With Knoblauch’s contract secured, Edmonton has removed uncertainty behind the bench, sending a clear signal to Connor McDavid and the rest of the roster. The extension reinforces the organization’s commitment to building around its star captain while maintaining continuity in leadership—a critical factor as discussions over McDavid’s next contract intensify.

When will McDavid sign?

While winning a Stanley Cup remains McDavid’s top priority, according to reports, Dave Jenkins of NHL Trade Rumors suggests family considerations could play a significant role in his decision. The captain and his wife have strong ties to the Toronto area, and the possibility of joining the Toronto Maple Leafs has been highlighted as a potential factor when he becomes a free agent next summer.

The 28-year-old is set to enter the final season of the eight-year, $100 million extension he signed in 2017, which opens the door for McDavid to explore his options as one of the league’s most coveted unrestricted free agents in 2026.

The stakes are high for Edmonton as it opens the season against the Calgary Flames on Oct. 8 at Rogers Place. Fans are eager to see whether McDavid and Draisaitl can replicate their combined firepower while adjusting to a temporary shift in line combinations.

Coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed the plan Tuesday, noting that the duo’s pairing could change as preseason games progress. “This is what our plan is right now, but obviously that can change. We want to see how guys mesh, and without Hyman, we’re a little slim on top-six winger talent,” he said, according to NHL.com.

How will Edmonton adjust to Hyman’s absence?

With Hyman out for at least a month following wrist surgery, Trent Frederic will fill in on the top line alongside McDavid and Draisaitl. Frederic has yet to play a top-six role, but Knoblauch is optimistic. “He has pretty good hands, he can make plays, and he hasn’t had the opportunity to play in the top six ever,” the coach said.

McDavid and Draisaitl’s chemistry has been tested over the past decade, and last season, they combined for 206 points in just 138 games — Draisaitl with 106 and McDavid with 100. The Oilers hope the duo can maximize offensive output while giving other lines more balanced ice time.

Can preseason set the tone for the Oilers’ forward group?

Preseason games, including Wednesday’s matchup against the Seattle Kraken, will be critical for evaluating the team’s depth. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is expected to center the second line, with wingers and role players vying to secure roster spots.

“One thing when McDavid and Draisaitl are playing together, you get a lot more out of the rest of the three lines,” Knoblauch said. “The others get more ice time that is available when those two are playing 21 and 22 minutes apart. There isn’t much ice time left for the third and fourth lines.”

McDavid might have voiced comforting messages throughout the NHL offseason, but everybody knows actions speak louder than words. So far, an extension has yet to be agreed upon, and fans in Edmonton can’t see past that scary fact.

The odds of McDavid leaving are relatively low. It would take a complete trainwreck of a season in the Gateway to the North for the captain to ask out. Still, the chances are never zero—and as long as that’s the case, the Oilers won’t be sleeping peacefully at night. McDavid’s isn’t the only expiring contract in Edmonton, though. Knoblauch’s deal is also entering its final season, and he voiced a sincere message about his expectations.

“I’m in the last year of my contract, and hopefully we will get something done before we start [the season],” Kris Knoblauch commented during Edmonton’s media day, as reported by the Daily Faceoff’s Jason Gregor.

The Oilers will kickstart the 2025-26 NHL campaign on October 8 when the Calgary Flames pay them a visit. Talk about making a statement. The Battle of Alberta is one of the most electric matchups in the league, and the fireworks will be guaranteed.

Tweaks

There is much that needs addressing within the Oilers. Goaltending, scoring depth, reliable defense in every pairing, you name it. However, Knoblauch has set his sight in another aspect of the game: special teams. Specifically, the penalty kill.

“The personnel will change with some new guys in here, but also our philosophy on how we kill is different. Preseason will be about finding which players fit best with our new strategy,” Knoblauch admitted about the PK units.

Struggles

Edmonton’s penalty killing was the third worst out of every team in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. In the postseason, when each man-advantage means even more, the Oilers registered a 67.1% in the PK.

Of course, McDavid and company played more games than any other team except the Florida Panthers, which also affected their percentage. Still, considering the Cats finished with the league’s best mark at 86.4%, it’s no wonder Florida hoisted its second straight Stanley Cup.