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Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl (Perry Nelson-Imagn Images)

Oilers’ Olympic snubs might be blessing in disguise

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Brian Swane | Last updated Jan 6, 2026 11:40 AM ET

There was a time not that long ago when it looked like half a dozen members of the Edmonton Oilers would be competing in men’s hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina, Italy, next month.

But now that all men’s Olympic hockey rosters have been announced, the list of Oilers that are going to the Winter Games consists of only forwards Connor McDavid (Canada) and Leon Draisaitl (Germany).

That places Edmonton among the NHL teams with the fewest number of Olympians. There will be 134 NHL players at the 2026 Winter Games, which works out to an average of more than four per team. Every NHL team has at least one Olympian, while the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning lead the way with nine apiece.

The lack of Italy-bound Oilers is perhaps an indictment of what has so far been a subpar season for their team. Through its first 42 games Edmonton is just 20-16-6, and the Oilers players that were once projected to be part of Olympic lineups saw their stock drop because of either poor play (Evan Bouchard of Canada and Mattias Ekholm of Sweden, both defencemen) or injury (Canadian forward Zach Hyman).

But while it’s obviously a tremendous disappointment that none of these players will get to represent their respective nations on sport’s greatest stage, it might be a huge positive for the Oilers. Here’s why:

Olympics Will Be Exhausting for Players

The NHL Olympic break runs from Feb. 6 to Feb. 24. Depending on the location in North America, flights to and from Italy range from eight to 14 hours, with a time change between six and nine hours.

Men’s hockey at the 2026 Winter Games gets underway on Feb. 11, but some teams, including Canada and Germany, don’t play their first game until Feb. 12. The gold medal game is on Feb. 22. That leaves just two days between the end of the Olympics and the resumption of the NHL season, a continent away.

Each team will play three preliminary round games, and as many as four games in the playoff round. That means there is potential for some teams to play seven times in just 11 days. And every one of those games will have the escalating intensity of a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Playoff series.

Edmonton plays its final pre-Olympic game on the road against the Calgary Flames on Feb. 4. The Oilers return to action on Feb. 26 against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center, beginning a stretch a three road games over four nights in California, which happens to be the most time zones removed from Milano Cortina of any NHL locale.

Toss in everything else that comes with being part of a global event of the most massive scale, and it goes without saying that this will be an exhaustive experience for all NHL Olympians, especially the likes of Draisaitl and McDavid. And as soon as they get back to their respective teams, they will begin a seven-week sprint to the playoffs, followed by what they hope is a four-round journey to the Stanley Cup.

Oilers Have Played a Lot of Games

Considering that in each of the last four seasons, Edmonton has played more than 100 games spanning preseason, regular season and playoffs, the Oilers could use a break.

From 2021-22 to 2024-25, including regular season and playoffs, Edmonton played a total of 403 games, the most among Western Conference teams by a wide margin, and second in the NHL to only the Florida Panthers.

In 2023-24 and 2024-25, the Oilers and Panthers each played a total of 211 games in the regular season and playoffs. Besides the Dallas Stars (203 games), no other team played more than 190 games over the last two regular seasons and postseasons combined.

Zach Hyman and Evan Bouchard of the Edmonton Oilers celebrate a goal during the second period against the Vancouver Canucks in Game Six of the Second Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images)

From the start of the 2021-22 season through Sunday (Jan. 4), including regular season and playoffs, Bouchard has played 443 games, the most by any NHL player over that span, while Draisaitl ranks seventh with 429 games, and McDavid is 11^th with 422 games. All told, six of the 30 players who have suited up for the most games over that span are current members of the Oilers, including Hyman (399 games).

That’s an awful lot of hockey, and given how lethargic the Oilers have looked at times this season, one can’t help but think that all those minutes on the ice, all those end-to-end rushes, and all those hits thrown and bodychecks absorbed, have taken their toll.

Cup Contenders Could Be Affected by Olympics

Through Sunday, the top four teams in the NHL’s overall standings are the Colorado Avalanche (69 points), Dallas Stars (58 points), Minnesota Wild (58 points), and Tampa Bay Lightning (53 points). All have at least six players going to the Olympics.

Then there’s the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers, who will have four defenseman and five forwards in Italy. That’s about 40% of the skaters on a team that has played the most games in the NHL over the last few years.

But will having such a significant portion of their rosters competing at the Olympics adversely affect these teams, all of whom are legit championship contenders? Based on history, that’s hard to say.

Of the five previous times that NHL players competed at the Winter Games, the number of players on the team that went on to win the Stanley Cup has ranged from just four (Detroit Red Wings in 1998, Carolina Hurricanes in 2006) to a whopping 11 (Red Wings in 2002).

Rest Will Benefit Oilers

It is, however, safe to say that the likes of Hyman, who is still not that far removed from surgery after suffering a severe wrist injury in the 2025 postseason, and Ekholm, who at age 35 no longer has the same incredible level of endurance that he did even just a couple years ago, could probably benefit from a bit of rest.

Along with Bouchard, Draisaitl, McDavid and others, Hyman and Ekholm will be critical to Edmonton’s 2026 Stanley Cup Playoff hopes. And if the Oilers and Panthers meet in the championship final for a third consecutive year, the difference just might come down to whatever team has more gas in the tank.