The 2025-26 NHL season has ended for the Edmonton Oilers and it is not a shock to say that it was a major disappointment. There were plenty of issues and blame to rest at everyone's feet but it all culminated earlier this month when the club chose to fire head coach Kris Knoblauch after just three seasons behind the bench.
Taking a couple weeks to look at the season that was and taking a step back to assess the roster and it's construction, there are some clear flaws that the Oilers have. An issue that has plagued the team for years is their lack of legitimate scoring depth and once again, that was an issue this season.
Many casted blame on former head coach Knoblauch for not properly utilizing his bottom-six lines, especially his young players but in his defence, the team is not exactly bursting at the seams with high end talent from top-to-bottom.
To illustrate this, let's first assess and grade how the Oilers' forwards performed this year.
Oilers' top six forwards
First and foremost, the two big fish in the market, captain Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were fantastic as per usual. McDavid turned the clock back, capturing the Art Ross Trophy as the league leader in points with 138 along with the lead in assists with 90. Although Draisaitl did not break the century mark, he racked up 97 points in 65 games, putting him on pace for over 120.
This is where it begins to drop off into the second tier of forwards. 32 year old Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a solid season overall scoring 20 goals, 36 assists for 56 points in 72 games. While Zach Hyman, who missed the first chunk of the season due to a wrist injury sustained in the 2025 Western Conference Finals did not miss a beat on his return. In 58 games he scored 31 goals and 21 assists for 52 points. This is where it drops off again.
The 'top six' is more like a top eight with a consistent cast of four; McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins, and Hyman. Followed by a recurring cast of four that can be slotted in and out on a game-to-game basis. This next crop would be made up of; Matt Savoie, Vasily Podkolzin, Kasperi Kapanen, and Jack Roslovic.
Oilers top nine forwards
As previously mentioned, the upper echelon of this next group would be the players who find themselves slotting in as complimentary pieces inside the top-six at times but at other times, on the third line.
Although, it should be noted that to end the season, the rookie Savoie seemed to firmly cement himself as a top-six capable player, developing some real chemistry with the Oilers stars. Going forward I expect him to slot into that spot more permanently, especially as some of the Oilers veteran pieces start to decline.
Savoie struggled quite substantially to begin his NHL career but after the Olympic break, he really came into his own. He finished the season with 47 points (18 goals, 19 assists) in 82 games played. This is the exact same total (just flipped goal and assist numbers) as Podkolzin who had a career year himself this season.
Then, one-year cost effective depth forward Roslovic who slowed as the season wore on, scored 21 goals and 15 assists for 36 points in 69 games. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and Oilers GM Stan Bowman will have to consider whether they re-sign him or not. Finally, rounding out this group is Kapanen with 17 points in 41 games who provided some strong play as a supplemental offensive piece and helped to provide some defensive responsibility using his speed and energy.
Rounding out the top nine forward group for the Oilers is young German two-way centre, Josh Samanski and veteran shutdown centre acquired at the trade deadline, Jason Dickinson. Samanski has quickly soared up the depth chart inside the Oilers organization becoming a bottom-six mainstay for the club down the stretch playing 24 games with four points while Dickinson played 17 games with four points.
The rest of the Oilers forwards
The simplest way to summarize the remainder of the Oilers forward crop are veteran, defensively responsible energy forwards. This would pretty well sum up all of; Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark, Curtis Lazar, Max Jones, and probably even Trent Frederic. Then there are some intriguing youngsters with upside in Isaac Howard and Colton Dach.
Henrique played a variety of slots in the bottom-six, amassing 15 points in 65 games and provided some veteran stability. He will also be a UFA this offseason and after his decline in play will surely cost less moving forward. Mattias Janmark suffered a serious injury, ending his year early but was played in a mostly shutdown fourth line role, scoring eight points in 43 games.
Then, Oilers lightning rod up front in Frederic who put up seven points in 74 games followed by a fan favourite and fourth line analytics darling, Lazar with six in 45 games. As well, 2025 trade deadline acquisition in Jones with five points in just 21 games.
The 2025 Hobey Baker winner, Howard played almost exclusively third line minutes, amassing only five points in 29 games played spending a significant chunk of the year in the minors with the Bakersfield Condors. As well, the young Dach who was acquired along with Dickinson at the deadline played just eight games in an Oilers uniform, scoring four points.
Edmonton Oilers 2025-26 report cards
All-in-all given their production, usage, expectations, and overall performance relative to expectations, these are how the Oilers forwards grade out for this season.
Connor McDavid: A+
Leon Draisaitl: A+
Zach Hyman: A
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: B
Vasily Podkolzin: B
Matt Savoie: B-
Jack Roslovic: B-
Kasperi Kapanen: C+
Adam Henrique: D
Mattias Janmark: D
Trent Frederic: F
Curtis Lazar: B-
Max Jones: C
Isaac Howard: D
There is a pretty clear divide between the top and bottom of the Oilers roster, this is bound to happen when you have legitimate stars on your team like McDavid and Draisaitl but the sudden drop off hurts the club's scoring overall.
Despite having the Art Ross winner, the Oilers only ranked seventh in goals for leaguewide with 282. Looking at just the even strength numbers, lowers the club to 10th in the league. This puts a lot of legitimacy to McDavid's end of season quote, calling the Oilers an 'average' team.
It will be up to Bowman and Oilers management to improve their depth. They can do this by hiring a coach that will prioritize their secondary scoring while also making moves through trades and free agency.
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