Edmonton Oilers News

Home

Quizzes

Newsletter

Jun 3, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman along with Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch are seen during media day in advance of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images

Oilers Fans’ Confidence in Front Office Surprisingly Low in Latest NHL Survey

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Rupert McDonald | Last updated Aug 22, 2025 8:55 AM ET

If there’s one thing that’s for certain, it’s that Edmonton Oilers fans have extremely high expectations. That is often the case for any fan base in professional sports, particularly when it comes to any Canadian market in the NHL. Factor that in with having two of the game’s best players on your team in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and it’s easy to see why Oilers fans expect nothing short of greatness from their team.

From an outsider’s perspective, one would likely think that Oilers management, both current and past, have done a good job building this team. After all, they’ve had several great playoff runs over the last half-decade, including back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Final . Despite the strong track record, however, fans in Edmonton continue to lack confidence in the front office, which is now led by general manager (GM) Stan Bowman.

Oilers Management Scores in Bottom Half of League

Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic has been putting together listicles throughout the offseason, which are always interesting for fans to keep tabs on. Some of those lists have included the worst contracts in the league, as well as the best-positioned teams from the value of all the contracts on their books. In his latest column, however, he allowed fans to have their say, giving them a survey that asked how they feel about their respective team’s front office.

This is a category the Oilers haven’t scored particularly strong in as of late. In fact, they finished 25th in last year’s survey, despite coming off of a Game 7 loss in the Stanley Cup Final. A year later, they’ve been able to climb that list, though very marginally, conside ring the fact they made it all the way to the Final once again. This time around, they ranked 21st of all 32 NHL organizations.

“Last year’s offer-sheet debacle has turned into a full-blown disaster with the leaps Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg took with the [St. Louis] Blues,” Luszczyszyn wrote. “It’s fair to wonder whether the Oilers might’ve won it all with both on their roster and while it was understandable for the team to let Broberg go at that price, it remains unbelievable that the team didn’t match Holloway’s paltry cap hit. Beyond that, the Trent Frederic deal doesn’t inspire confidence and the team’s continuing goaltending issues are also a sore spot” (from ‘Dom Luszczyszyn: NHL front-office confidence rankings: How fans feel about every team in 2025,’ The Athletic, 8/20/25).

There is zero denying the fact that letting both Broberg and Holloway even get to the point where they could be signed to offer sheets was a failure . That said, it doesn’t fall on the shoulders of Bowman, but former GM Ken Holland as well as interim GM Jeff Jackson (who remains a part of the front office).

What Bowman did do, however, was make the final decision in letting Holloway join the Blues on a two-year, $2.29 million cap hit. The move was puzzling at the time, and is now an outright disaster with the 23-year-old putting up 63 points last season.

That said, while the Broberg and Holloway debacle was certainly ugly, it’s not fair yet to pass judgment on the Frederic deal. It was very apparent that he was playing at less than 100 percent in the playoffs, meaning fans should expect him to be much more impactful going forward. Perhaps it does end up being an ugly contract, but as of now, it’s not fair to label it as such.

As for the goaltending situation, that is the second-biggest failure from the front office, both current and former, behind the offer sheet debacle. While there haven’t necessarily been a ton of clear upgrades available in recent years, elite GMs find a way to get these types of moves done. The Oilers haven’t been able to do that, and appear to be entering another season with a tandem of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard.

Oilers Have Made Some Good Moves

Though it’s often easy to focus on the negatives, it’s worth mentioning all the good the Oilers’ front office has done over the years. Whether it was the Zach Hyman signing , choosing to bring in Evander Kane, or acquiring the likes of Mattias Ekholm and Jake Walman on the blue line, there are many moves the organization has made over the years to give them an opportunity to hoist the Stanley Cup. While coming in at 21st on this list is certainly harsh, it’s quite evident that Oilers fans are growing tired of their team wasting the prime years of McDavid and Draisaitl.