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Edmonton Oilers fans’ survival guide for the 2025–26 season

Originally posted on The Oil Rig | Last updated Oct 6, 2025 1:27 PM ET

It seems like just yesterday the Edmonton Oilers season ended in a second straight disappointing Stanley Cup Final loss, but here we are on the eve of the new season.

Given this relatively short break, you may not have had a chance to recover (emotionally and/or physically) from last season and subsequently prepare for this upcoming one. If that is the case, fear not, as I will give you a rundown on what to expect this year and how as a fan you can prepare yourself to ensure you are able to survive for another hopefully lengthy season.

Get ready for the annual slow start

Death, taxes, and the Oilers having a slow start to the season are the only guarantees in life the last couple of years.

Last season, the Oilers dropped their first three games by a combined score of 15–2, and it took until game 12 on November 3 to get above 0.500. The year before that they dropped their first two games, then had two four-game losing streaks after that, culminating in a loss against the lowly San Jose Sharks which put the Oilers in a tie for last place with said Sharks. It took them until game 26 on December 12 to get above 0.500, before subsequently falling back. It took until game 32 for the Oilers to get above 0.500 and stay there for the rest of the season.

That was a change from the two previous years, and especially from the 2021–22 season when the team started the season with five straight wins.

So sure, it is possible that the Oilers will not have a disastrous start for the third year in a row, especially since it seems that the Oilers are acutely aware of that by starting the season with the “break glass in case of emergency” strategy of having Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together at even strength.

But as the Boy Scouts say, “always be prepared.” So set your expectations for a weak start, especially since the first two games are against the team’s biggest rivals in the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks. After all, if you expect disappointment you will never get disappointed. And if the Oilers do manage to not limp into the start of the season, it will be just that much sweeter.

Plus, the last two years the team made it to the final notwithstanding the poor start, so is it really a big deal if they don’t come out guns blazing? Hell, maybe we don’t want them to come out hot.

Get ready for never-ending McDavid leaving chatter and drama

We have already seen the media circus around McDavid not having signed an extension by the time training camp started; you can bet that if he remains unsigned by puck drop of game one the narrative is going to be amplified exponentially.

Every loss will have pundits pointing to it as proof of roster construction flaws and how the writing is on the wall that McDavid is going to leave. Hell, even every win will probably have them musing that if he hasn’t signed despite the team success must show that he wants out of Edmonton regardless.

Plus, let’s be honest, as much as the hockey world outside Edmonton is talking about it, every Oilers fan is having those same conversations inside their own head.

So how can you block out that noise (both external and internal)? Well there is the obvious option:

But in case living in denial doesn’t work, the biggest thing is to just live in the moment and focus on the game and season at hand (I think my therapist calls that “mindfulness”).

So don’t listen to 32 Thoughts or any other rumour mill podcasts (other than the Fuel and Fire Podcast, of course). Stay as far away as possible from non-Oilers Twitter and message boards, and cut off contact with your non-Oilers fans (which, if they are Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames or Vancouver Canucks fans, you probably should have done already?).

Ensure you have a sufficient stockpile of crow for the season

If you are an Oilers fan, chances are you have strong opinions on the team, whether it be with respect to the players, the coaching, the management, or even the jerseys. Those opinions are also likely made and voiced in a knee jerk fashion over the first inkling of information received.

We have already seen that this training camp, with Oilers fans becoming irate with management for not picking up goaltender Connor Ingram off waivers, only to change their tune a few days later when the Oilers traded nothing for Ingram who both had salary retained and now the ability to start in the AHL.

There are plenty of possible scenarios that would put crow on the menu for Oilers fans this year. Maybe Stuart Skinner does bounce back under the tutelage of a new goalie coach and becomes the starting goalie the team needs to get the job done. Perhaps Darnell Nurse lives up to his contract with the benefit of being paired with a solid, legitimate top-four defenceman in Jake Walman. And it is a very real possibility that the much maligned new third jersey becomes beloved after seeing it in action.

Granted, there is also the very real possibility of crow being eaten by the overly positive opinions and predictions as well. Are Matt Savoie and Isaac Howard NHL ready or will relying on two rookies to pick up the slack of top six scoring be a doomed strategy? If Skinner does falter, will Ingram be the saviour he is currently being anointed, or will he just be more of the same? What if the third jersey is actually ugly and you have immediate buyers remorse from your three beer deep influenced purchase at Rogers Place?

(There is also the “McDavid doesn’t actually sign” crow possibility, but see the above section for how to deal with that one.)

So yeah, clear out that freezer because chances are you are going to be meal prepping a lot this year regardless of what your opinions are.

Look forward to the 2026 Winter Olympics

For the first time since 2014, the Winter Olympics will include NHL players, meaning the true return of best on best hockey after we got a little appetizer last year in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

We will also get to look forward to watching some of our Oilers players in the tournament as well. McDavid and Draisaitl have already been named to Team Canada and Team Germany, respectively, and there are definitely a few other Oilers who could be representing their country in February. Not to mention some former Oilers you forgot about that could be representing the “underdog” teams, like Yohann Auvitu who has already been picked to play for France.

What this means is that, in addition to seeing a Connor McDavid at his hungriest for his first Stanley Cup, we will also get to see him try to get his first Olympic Gold Medal in the same year. It could be a really fun spring guys.

Enjoy the ride as a fan

Yes the Oilers have lost two years in a row in heartbreaking fashion. But they still have been the second last team standing, meaning we have gotten to enjoy nine months of Oilers hockey both years.

We all love the sport not (just) because of the end result, but to actually watch it. There is no sport more fun and exciting to watch, and when you add in that the Oilers have the best player in the world and arguably the second best player too, we are pretty darn lucky here in Oil Country. So make sure to take some time to actually take it all in and enjoy.

This article first appeared on The Oil Rig and was syndicated with permission.

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