How busy will the Oilers be this summer

The Edmonton Oilers are dealing with a doomsday clock — it’s Connor McDavid’s contract, set to expire at the end of the 2027-28 season. With that, the impetus to make every roster move count is greater than ever, especially after falling out of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2026. 

As general manager, Stan Bowman looks ahead to the longest Oilers offseason in recent years, and he will face critical decisions about how to get the franchise back to the Stanley Cup final with McDavid and finally get over the hump. 

On Monday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host of The Sheet, Jeff Marek, joined co-hosts Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton to break down just how busy the Oilers might be this summer. 

Tyler Yaremchuk: The Oilers had their media availabilities over this weekend, and Leon Draisaitl once again lumped in coaching and management as part of the reason why the Oilers had a disappointing season, saying they took a step back in every area. Is this summer going to be a busy one, like Kris Knoblauch gone and wholesale changes? What’s your read on it?

Jeff Marek: I think a lot of things are on the table now that haven’t been before. If the idea of: we can’t pay someone not to coach is even a consideration,’then fold the tent at this point; it is the cost of doing business. You are this close to the Stanley Cup with two of the best players a game has ever seen, so you cannot nickel and dime this thing. If you think Bruce Cassidy should be coaching this team, or if Jon Cooper is somehow no longer part of the Tampa Bay Lightning, well, guess what: that is the cost of doing business.

I think every team is going to be out there in the trade market this summer. The only way to improve your team outside of internal progression right now is through trades. The free-agent market isn’t good…If you want to move your program forward, you have to do it by trade. 

Attached to every decision is the doomsday clock, and each day that ticks off the Oilers not getting better is just another day ticking into uncertainty. I don’t think it’s 100% that Connor McDavid is gone after the expiration of two years, but I do think that right now, this is over to the general manager to show that, much like we talked about with Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs, is like, show us you can get better. I think the same thing here for the others in Edmonton. 

You can catch the rest of the Oilers conversation and Monday’s full episode here…