Edmonton Oilers depth updated review

So far, the Edmonton Oilers have made plenty of moves this offseason. They have brought in new goalies, defencemen, and forwards to help build a championship-winning team. They even moved on from Darnell Nurse, who desperately needed a change of scenery. With all of this in mind, the Oilers will have a fairly different-looking roster to start next season. The team fell far below their goal in the 2025 playoffs, losing in the first round to the Anaheim Ducks. Changes needed to be made, and Stan Bowman made some.

With new acquisitions being made at all positions, let’s take a look at how the depth looks on the current roster.

Forward core

Howard – McDavid – Hyman

Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Savoie

RNH – Dickinson – Kapanen

Joseph – Samanski – Frederic

Extras: Janmark and Dach

The forward core continues to be the strong point of the Edmonton Oilers. They have the main superstars, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and secondary stars with Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. After years of having no solid prospects, the Oilers finally have some young blood in the lineup. Isaac Howard and Matt Savoie serve as the future for the organization. Both are great young players with solid NHL potential.

Outside of that, the team has some extremely solid depth pieces who helped out last season. Kasperi Kapanen, Jason Dickinson, and Vasily Podkolzin all played significant roles in the playoffs. They were also the team’s best performers in the small sample of playoff action. Kapanen and Podkolzin will return to their former roles, while the team will see a full season of Dickinson.

The fourth line consists of Mathieu Joseph, Josh Samanski, and Trent Frederic. Joseph is the newest face of the forward core and can help bring some speed to the fourth line. Samanski will hopefully get a full NHL season under his belt. The young forward showed signs of promise last season. Lastly, Frederic remains on the fourth line with his awfully long contract. Some extra forwards at the moment are Colton Dach and Mattias Janmark.

Looking at the AHL squad, the Oilers still have some other depth options available. Some good choices include Quinn Hutson, Connor Clattenburg, and Max Jones. Hutson has the most skill out of these forwards. He nearly had a point-per-game season in the AHL and was an all-star. On the other hand, Clattenburg and Jones are fourth liners who can help set the tone each night.

Overall, the forward depth is awesome. It is built with star power, young talent, and solid depth. Considering how poorly this team did in the 2025 playoffs, I expect them to be firing on all cylinders early in the upcoming year.

Defence core

Ekholm – Bouchard

Walman – Murphy

Shea – Mukhamadullin

Extras: Stastney and Emberson

As of right now, the Oilers have a surplus of defencemen. However, this is how it looks with the best players available. The obvious first pairing is Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm. An amazing offensive defenceman alongside a veteran defensive defenceman is a no-brainer. They are the two best D-men on the team and will run the back end next season.

The second pairing consists of an interesting duo of Jake and Connor Murphy. Walman serves as the secondary offensive defenceman to Bouchard, while Murphy has solidified a top-four role as an Oiler. He originally joined the team last year at the trade deadline and fit in fairly well. He blocks a lot of shots and will be a solid full-time addition on the penalty kill. The second pairing is very balanced, just like the first pairing.

The bottom pairing is not as easy to break down. Considering that Ryan Shea and Shakir Mukhamadullin are both new and have never played together, it is tough to predict how they will perform. Shea is coming off a breakout season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. If he can perform like he did last year, the Oilers have got themselves a great third pairing. Mukhamadullin is a good skater who stands six feet four inches tall. Hopefully, the former first-round pick can fit in as a solid offensive option with a great shot.

Do not forget, the Oilers still have Spencer Stastney and Ty Emberson available. I think that Emberson could be the odd man out, considering the Oilers just resigned Stastney. They currently have one too many defencemen for the NHL roster.

This is easily the best defensive core the Oilers have had in quite some time. The depth is great, and they have guys who could move up and down the lineup. Is this a Stanley Cup-winning calibre d-core?

Goaltending depth

Tristan Jarry

Frederik Andersen

Devon Levi

Going into next season, the Oilers have completely changed the outlook of their goaltending. They still have Tristan Jarry, whom they acquired last season for Stuart Skinner. Bowman has also brought in Frederik Andersen from free agency and Devon Levi through a trade. Andersen is coming off a Stanley Cup victory with the Carolina Hurricanes. He had a fantastic playoff run until he fell apart in the Stanley Cup Final. He is likely near the end of his career, but he remains a great goalie.

A significant addition was acquiring Levi. He is a younger goalie at age 24, but has struggled at the NHL level. He did not appear in any NHL games last year, but played in nine during the 2024–25 season. In that stretch, he posted a .872 SV% and a 2–7 record. These basic stats are really underwhelming, but I think Levi still has some NHL potential. Acquiring him also makes perfect sense, as the Oilers have lacked goaltending depth for the last ten years.

Overall, the goaltending depth has certainly improved in the organization. They have three goalies who are capable of playing in the NHL, and they have Connor Ungar coming up from the AHL. Hopefully, this is a positive sign for the Oilers, as goaltending has always been their crucial downfall.

Is this a goaltending core that can help bring home a Stanley Cup? Where does the roster still need improvements?