Looking back at Key Moments from the Oilers’ 2024-25 Season

He added another point on Nurse’s overtime winner and also became the fourth youngest player to reach 1,000 points, behind Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Steve Yzerman. Let’s hope he’s an Oiler for life.

McDavid scores overtime winner in 4 Nations Face-Off

For the first time since 2016, the National Hockey League had a best-on-best tournament, as the league took a near two-week pause in February. Unsurprisingly, McDavid made Team Canada’s roster and was okay through the first three games, but was not the most noticeable player.

On February 15, Canada played the United States in Montréal, and the stakes were at an all-time high. Not only was it a bitter hockey rivalry, but the game came smack dab in the middle of the tariff war and the 51st state nonsense.

In the opening nine seconds, there were three separate fights. Matthew Tkachuk squared up with Brandon Hagel, Brady Tkachuk squared up with Sam Bennett, and J.T. Miller punched himself in the face in his fight against Canada’s Colton Parayko.

Eventually, the fighting stopped, and the United States came out on top 3-1. The two teams met in Boston for the finals five days later. Nathan MacKinnon scored five minutes into the game, with Brady Tkachuk scoring with just four minutes left in the opening frame. Canada and the U.S. traded goals in the second period, setting up a do-or-die five-on-five overtime.

Jordan Binnington came up with a few massive saves in the extra frame, setting up the stage for McDavid’s version of the Golden Goal , beating Connor Hellebuyck to win the game for Canada.

Next February, we’ll have best-on-best in the Olympics for the first time in 12 years. Can’t wait.

Oilers make multiple additions ahead of the trade deadline

The Oilers needed upgrades at the 2025 trade deadline, and they were able to do just that. 

A couple of days before the March 6 deadline, the Oilers traded the second-round pick they got in compensation for Philip Broberg, a 2026 fourth-round pick, and prospect defenceman Max Wanner to the Bruins for Trent Frederic and Max Jones. Additionally, the Oilers traded the rights to Shane LaChance to New Jersey for them to retain 25% of the overall contract.

The day before the deadline, the Oilers sent their 2026 first and prospect Carl Berglund to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Jake Walman, a top-four defenceman the Oilers desperately needed with Mattias Ekholm’s health in question.

Trent Frederic played one regular season game but returned to the postseason, where he scored on goals and four points in 22 games. It was clear he was still battling that high ankle sprain. Hopefully, he’s good to go next season, as he signed an eight-year extension with the Oilers, as they truly believe in him.

Walman had much more of an impact, scoring a goal and eight points in 15 games. In the postseason, the left-shot defenceman scored two goals and 10 points in 22 games. Walman was one of the Oilers’ best defencemen through the first three series before running into the Panthers.

Unlike Frederic, Walman wasn’t an impending free agent. In 2025-26, the defender has a cap hit of $3.4 million, a steal of a contract for how good he was last season.

Connor McDavid reaches 100 points (again)

On March 20, McDavid suffered an apparent injury late in the second period of a game against the Winnipeg Jets. He proceeded to miss the next nine games and was in danger of failing to reach the 100-point mark for the third time in his career.

In his return against the St. Louis Blues in the 78th game of the season, the world’s greatest player picked up three assists on the Oilers’ four goals. Two days later, the Oilers played the Blues again, with McDavid picking up four assists on all four of the Oilers’ goals. In a 4-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets, McDavid picked up two assists, bringing his total to 99 points. He sat out Game 81 against the Los Angeles Kings but returned for the season finale against the San Jose Sharks, where he picked up his 100th point of the season.

In his career, McDavid has failed to reach 100 points just twice. The first time was in his rookie season, as he missed half the season with a broken clavicle, ending with 48 points in 45 games. In 2019-20, McDavid suffered an injury in February and missed six games. Then the global pandemic happened, with McDavid finishing with 34 goals and 97 points in 64 games.

That said, McDavid was able to score 33 goals and 105 points in just 56 games during the shortened 2020-21 season.

Leon Draisaitl wins his first Rocket Richard Trophy

Coming into the season, Leon Draisaitl was one of two active players with three or more 50-goal seasons. Take a guess who the other one is. Despite being one of the league’s most prolific scorers, Draisaitl didn’t have the Maurice Richard Trophy.

Well, that was until he scored 52 goals, seven more than the next player. The thing is, Draisaitl scored 52 goals in just 71 games, as he also suffered an injury. If he remained healthy and played a full 82-game season, Draisaitl was on pace for 60 goals, which would edge out his career-best of 55 in 2021-22.

If he had hit 60 goals, there’s also a solid chance that he would have won the Hart Trophy, something he arguably should’ve won anyway.

Oilers beat Kings, Golden Knights, and Stars in playoffs

The playoff run was bittersweet. After two high-scoring affairs against the Los Angeles Kings in round one (a large part due to all injured players returning at the same time), the Oilers were in a 2-0 hole. They then proceeded to win the next four games for their fourth consecutive round-one victory against the Kings.

They steamrolled the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round, with their last goal coming with 0.4 left in the third period as Leon Draisaitl tipped in the puck. In the next two games, the Oilers played stifling defence for back-to-back shutout victories. Aside from a disastrous third period in Game 1 of the Dallas Stars series, the Oilers also shut them down to win in five games, setting up a Stanley Cup Final rematch against the Florida Panthers.

There are a lot of what-ifs from the six-game series against the Panthers. What if Zach Hyman didn’t miss the series? What if Ryan Nugent-Hopkins wasn’t playing with a broken hand? What if the referees called a fair game? What if that too-many-men penalty was called in double overtime?

It’s sad to think about because this felt like the year. Still, running through the west was a highlight of the season. I’ll never be able to listen to Pink Pony Club without feeling a little sad.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.