Oilers top first round of NHL Power Rankings

We’ve made it to the beginning of the 2025-26 NHL season, with three games on the schedule for Tuesday.

With that, Daily Faceoff’s Scott Maxwell and Mike Gould are back with their NHL power rankings to preview the season. To kick things off, they’ve divided teams into nine tiers from Cup Contenders all the way down to Lottery Contenders, before returning to the standard 1st-32nd ranking next week.

Landing squarely in the Cup Contender category are the Edmonton Oilers, who are looking to put up a big season after back-to-back losses in the Final:

Scott: As long as Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and even Evan Bouchard are on the Oilers and healthy, this team will be a Cup contender. McDavid’s looming contract extension may change that beyond this season, but this year, they’re still one of the teams to beat. Edmonton hasn’t upgraded their goaltending, but I’m intrigued to see if the upside to players like Ike Howard and Matt Savoie can give the team a mini-youth boost like what Matthew Knies has given the Leafs.

Mike: Howard is getting more than a little overrated — guys who win the Hobey Baker as juniors almost never turn into impact NHLers — but I do think Savoie has a decent chance to help out. The Oilers really need Mattias Ekholm to get back to his previous form after his shaky, injury-hampered performance in last year’s playoffs. He’s not getting any younger.

Scott: Yeah, the “if” is carrying a lot of weight for me for Howard and Savoie. If Ekholm is Ekholm next season, I think their blueline is the best it’s ever been for the Oilers during McDavid’s tenure.

Just hours after the piece was published, Connor McDavid’s two-year contract extension was signed, giving even more swagger to this hungry group to start the year. Add to that the additions of two prospects, Ike Howard and Matt Savoie, and there’s no denying they’ll be a fun team to watch this year. Goaltending questions remain, so that will be one of the primary factors to pay attention to as the season plays out.

Landing alongside the Edmonton Oilers in the top category are the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Vegas Golden Knights. Listed as Cup Hopefuls one tier below are the Carolina Hurricanes, the Colorado Avalanche, the Florida Panthers, and the Toronto Maple Leafs.