An Edmonton Oilers fan’s Christmas wish list

With Santa almost here, there is certainly a couple of items that most Edmonton Oilers fans have on their list for the good ol’ St. Nicholas. There is plenty of uncertainty for Oilers fans right now too, because of inaction, inconsistency, and inability.

Let’s take a look at what some of those items on an Oilers fan’s Christmas list might look like.

1. Just a bit of goaltending consistency

It is no secret that goaltending has been the Achilles heel for the last couple of years. Something needed to change, as back-to-back finals proved that neither Stuart Skinner nor Calvin Pickard was going to backstop the Oilers to a Stanley Cup win.

This prompted a desperate trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins (and a rumoured one with Buffalo). Enter Tristan Jarry. Who then plays three decent enough games for the Oilers, helping secure three wins for the club. After an unfortunate injury to Jarry, he’s now out for a couple of weeks.

Enter former NHL vet Connor Ingram, who gets called up from the Bakersfield Condors. Ingram has struggled greatly in Bakersfield all season, posting a .856 across 11 games.

With no goaltender able to even break the .900 mark in the 2025–26 campaign, there remains no definitive answer for the Edmonton Oilers in net.

Across all of December, the Oilers have set a new franchise record with four different goalies getting wins. What the Oilers need is just a consistent tandem instead of a mix-mash of goaltenders. It may not be a good gift under the tree, but it could be a sweet gift between the pipes for Oilers fans everywhere.

2. Clattenburg to find a new permanent home in Edmonton

It is no secret that the hard-hitting 20-year-old has become a fan favourite in his very short time in Oil Country. This cult status is in large part due to him playing entertaining, high-energy, relentless hockey that both old-school and new-school fans alike have grown to love.

Connor Clattenburg also looks to be a solid play disrupting answer on that fourth line that both Kris Knoblauch and management combined have been looking for. After a strong start, his first goal, and first fight the young forward has been off to a decent start of his NHL career.

Everyone wants the agitator and hard-nosed Clattenburg to stick around. Ideally, after the rookie returns from his eye injury, he finds a good deal on a house in Edmonton. Perhaps this is something that Santa can help with.

3. A win streak for once

The Oilers have finally emerged as a playoff team in the NHL’s Pacific Division. They’ve accomplished this feat despite the lack of a single extended winning streak all season. The Alberta-based club has yet to win more than two games in a row.

Oilers fans have a sense of relief after the rough start to the season, because the club currently sits tied for second in their division. Stringing together even a three- or four-game win streak could give the club and fans alike some breathing room.

More points for the Oilers means less anxiety for the organization and fans. Having less anxiety is always a good thing, and Oilers fans deserve a good Christmas sleep.

4. More consistent forward development

The injection of youth into the Oilers lineup has been limited, as younger forwards like Isaac Howard, Quinn Hutson, and Clattenburg have only seen a handful of games in the Oilers bottom six. Knoblauch and company have opted for underperforming or inconsistent vets Mattias Janmark, David Tomasek, Trent Frederic, Curtis Lazar, and Adam Henrique instead.

At the same time, Matthew Savoie has made progress but shows inconsistent ice time. If the Oilers want to extend their cup window, they need to find a more consistent manner of integrating youth into their lineup.

This is especially potent as the “same old” bottom-six has been an area of weakness for the club in terms of secondary scoring and effectiveness/engagement on the ice. The hope that the same players will work this time echoes Edmonton’s mentality towards goaltending over the past couple of years.

Limiting opportunity and development is never a good thing, especially when it might provide the exact answer the club is looking for.

A nice gift for Oilers fans would involve a trade of Janmark or Frederic, which would hopefully force Knoblauch’s hand and help the development of the plethora of NHL-ready forwards on the Condors. The gift of more youth might bring extra gifts in the form of goals for the Oilers secondary scoring units.

5. More consistent defensive play

Admittedly, this one and the consistent goaltending are two parts of the same puzzle. The Oilers have struggled to keep the puck out of their own net, which is a result of a franchise-low save percentage, and equally poor defensive positioning.

Despite allowing the ninth fewest shots on net in the league, the Oilers find themselves with the fourth most goals against of 3.38 GAA in the entire NHL. Another part of their defensive play is having the 10th worst penalty kill percentage for the 2025–26 season.

Much like everything else on this list, another gift for the fans would be just more consistency. Can Santa teach defensive awareness and goaltending? Let’s just wait and see.

New Year’s resolutions on the horizon

There’s also a chance that some or none of these get to Santa in time. If these issues can’t be solved by Christmas, they may become New Year’s resolutions for the team instead. If the Oilers have any chance of being contenders or a guaranteed spot in the playoffs, these are the issues that fans need closure on.

After all, it is the season of giving, so here’s hoping management will give Oilers fans what they want.

Is there anything else that should be on an Oilers fan’s Christmas list?