What does a successful 2025-26 season look like for Oilers’ Mattias Ekholm?

However, hopefully, he was able to recover this past offseason and can get back to the standard of play he’s used to. But Father Time can slow healing, and at 35, it’s reasonable to believe that he might not fully reach that level. Additionally, if age or health becomes a factor, he may even drop down from his usual spot on the first pairing with Evan Bouchard — where they’ve been dominant at times — to one of the bottom two pairs.

Considering his health and age, I’m comfortable saying that a minimum 30-point campaign should be a conservative estimate for the Swedish defender and could still be seen as a successful season. On the other hand, with this being a contract year and a little extra motivation in the tank, a 40+ point season still isn’t out of the question by any means.

Continue Steadying the Oilers’ Blue Line with Strong Analytics

A lot of the steadiness Ekholm brings to the lineup is measured by the eye test — die-hard Oilers fans can tell when the blueliner is ‘feeling it.’ He’s shutting down entries into the Oilers’ zone, winning board battles, making a crisp first pass, and holding his ground in front of the net.

That said, the D-man’s reliable play, as seen on the eye test, aligns well with his advanced analytics also. Among blueliners in the NHL who played at least 400 minutes at 5v5 last season, Ekholm ranked as follows according to Natural Stat Trick:

• 1st in shots-for percentage (59.95 SF%)
• 1st in high-danger chances for percentage (58.51 HDCF%)
• 3rd in Corsi for percentage (59.76 CF%)
• 3rd in scoring chances for percentage (58.67 SCF%)

Touching on one of those metrics, the 59.76 CF% Ekholm posted last season means the Oilers were attempting nearly 60% of all shots while he was on the ice — a clear sign he helps tilt the ice in Edmonton’s favour. That high CF% alludes to the fact that when he’s on the ice, he’s driving possession, moving the puck cleanly out of the zone, and putting pressure on the opposition in their end more than half the time.

Even if the blueline Viking’s point totals drop this upcoming season, strong advanced analytics would show that the Swedish D-man is still providing his signature steadiness, and he’ll be counted on to deliver those impressive metrics, where he’s been among the NHL leaders the past couple of seasons, once again.

Continue Being a Leader for the Oilers on and off the Ice

I can’t imagine it’s easy for a player to join a team with superstar talent like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and still step up in interviews by being so candid and to the point, while also defending teammates in the media spotlight. Yet, the 35-year-old blueliner has done exactly that since day one of repping the orange and blue silks, which speaks volumes about his confidence and leadership, and there are a few recent examples that really stand out to me.

After the Oilers lost  Game 7 to the Panthers in 2024, McDavid and Draisaitl received some criticism for not producing as expected in the final few games, and Ekholm had his teammates’ backs in an interview afterward, saying:

“It was quite ironic because we had a guy who broke one of Wayne Gretzky’s records in the playoffs. For him to then be criticized for not delivering… Sure, I understand that he didn’t score in the last two games or whatever it was, but we would never have been in the Stanley Cup final without those two.”

Additionally, in the Oilers’ first game back after the Four Nations Faceoff last season, they lost 6-3 against the Philadelphia Flyers. When the blueliner was asked what he would say to people who thought goaltending was the team’s biggest issue in the game, Ekholm had his goaltender, Stuart Skinner’s back, saying, “They should probably rewatch the game and see where the problems started. I don’t think there’s a goalie in the league that would have saved many of those.”

Moreover, after last season’s loss to the Panthers in the Cup Final for the second year in a row, Ekholm responded to the media while searching for answers. He avoided pinpointing blame on any specific players or positions (like goalies or scorers), saying, “It’s a team thing. It’s a team sport; that’s what this is.” He added, “We win as a team and we lose as a team.”

All in all, Ekholm has been the complete package on the blue line, including being a vocal leader, which helps keep the locker room tight. This upcoming season, especially with veterans like Corey Perry and Evander Kane gone — players who usually face tough questions — Ekholm might have to take on an even bigger role in that department as well. And who knows, with a McDavid extension still unsigned at the time of this writing, it might be the big veteran Swede fielding the tough questions, if the extension remains unsigned, to help keep the calm in Oil Country.