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The Edmonton Oilers and their Plus-Minus Problem

Originally posted on Oilersnation | By Phil Johnson | Last updated Nov 17, 2025 11:00 AM ET

The man in the picture is Andrew Mangiapane, and I will get to why that is later. Remember when I mentioned that the Oilers have one of the worst goals against totals in the entire league so far this season? I thought it would be worth diving deeper into that.

Right now, the Oilers have 16 players with a negative plus-minus rating. Yes, you read that right. There are a whopping 16 Oilers in the red. See for yourself. That is absolutely horrendous, and if this team wants to get back to being a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, they need to bring that number down to four at the absolute most. Even at that point, no player should finish worse than minus-five.

Some of the names on that minus list are surprising. Mangiapane, Ryan Nugent Hopkins, Trent Frederic, Adam Henrique, Brett Kulak, Darnell Nurse, Mattias Ekholm, Evan Bouchard, Kasperi Kapanen, Curtis Lazar, and even Connor McDavid are all included. These guys have been around long enough to know better. They are all well past the 200-game mark in their careers, which means we know exactly what type of players they are.

Matt Savoie, David Tomášek, Isaac Howard, and Alec Regula are also on the list. However, they are early in their careers, and we do not yet fully know what they will become. I am willing to give those four more rope because of their inexperience, even though the stat line is still ugly. They need more reps and more games to tighten up their defensive play.

Andrew Mangiapane takes the boobie prize for worst plus-minus on the roster right now, dethroning the tie between Nugent Hopkins and Evan Bouchard. Nuge is currently injured, and Bouchard has been improving, but Mangiapane has sunk to a brutal minus sixteen. Combine that with the fact that he has not been a pest at all this season and that he has produced only four goals and two assists through 20 games, and we are looking at a player who has been a disappointment so far. Not exactly the type of start you want from a major off-season signing. That is why he is the man in the photo. He is the poster boy for this stat in all the wrong ways.

Even some of the plus players are still a bit puzzling. Leon Draisaitl leads the team at plus-eight, which is good, but he finished last season at plus-32 and the year before at plus-26. We know he can do better than this.

There are some positives…

The good news is that some players are clearly turning in the right direction. Draisaitl was plus one when I started tracking this and is now plus eight. Evan Bouchard has improved from minus eleven to minus five. The kick from Kris Knoblauch seems to have done something. Darnell Nurse was minus eight and is now minus six. Connor McDavid was minus four and is now minus one. At least the core players are starting to move back to where they should be.

Getting Zach Hyman back has also helped. Hyman is essential in every area, from scoring to checking to special teams. His presence alone helps calm some of the chaos defensively.

There was also the moment recently where Knoblauch lost his cool at practice and let the team hear it. When a coach who is usually very chill raises his voice and unleashes a handful of F bombs, that tends to get a team’s attention. Moments like that can wake a group up.

So the picture is not all doom and gloom. Some important players are trending upward, and getting more veterans back from injury will help stabilize things further.

Oct 23, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Montreal Canadiens at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

How do the Oilers fix this?

For starters, they need to keep doing the things they have actually been good at this season. The penalty kill has been strong, and their shot blocking has been solid. Those are two key elements of defensive success, and they need to remain priorities.

They also need to get more physical. Playing physically helps generate turnovers, forces mistakes, and draws penalties. They need to be more aggressive on both the forecheck and the poke check. Their so-called pests, specifically Mangiapane and Trent Frederic, need to start playing like pests again. Corey Perry used to draw penalties constantly. Evander Kane did too. That element has been missing.

There are also too many moments where players are standing still while the opposition controls the puck. Where are the hip checks? Where are the surprise pokes? Where is the pressure? As long as you are not targeting the head and you keep your stick discipline, you are not likely to take a penalty. You are breaking up plays instead of watching them develop.

It may sound ironic, considering the focus on defense, but the Oilers also need more depth scoring from their bottom-six forwards and bottom-pairing defencemen. The more players who can put the puck in the net, the less time the team spends defending. That has always been part of Edmonton’s identity when they are at their best. During the dynasty years, the bottom six players, like Kent Nilsson and Craig MacTavish, could chip in offensively rather than just grind.

Last season, especially during the playoffs, this team was hard to play against. They swarmed the puck carrier, closed down space, finished checks, and took away time. That version of the Oilers needs to reappear.

The biggest issue, though, is mental. The Oilers need to stop moping around because it is the regular season and not the playoffs. You cannot play at playoff intensity only when the playoffs begin. You have to qualify for the playoffs first, and even then, home ice advantage matters. It is not everything, but it helps. You need to earn it.

It might help to bring back the mental skills coach who worked with the team last season. He was listed on the Oilers website last year, but does not appear to be there now. Considering how mentally flat the team has looked at times this season, that might be more important than people realize.

This team is struggling right now, no question, but it is still early enough for them to turn things around. They have the talent, the depth, the coaching, and the experience. They just need to commit to playing with urgency again, clean up the details in their own end, and get back to the habits that made them hard to play against last season. It is not time to panic yet, but it is time to wake up.

This article first appeared on Oilersnation and was syndicated with permission.

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