After the Edmonton Oilers 2026 season ended in unspectacular fashion with their first round exit to the Anaheim Ducks, the process now begins towards retooling this squad for a potential Stanley Cup run next season.
Arguably the biggest weakness of this Oilers team throughout the Connor McDavid era has been the goaltending. Edmonton has never had an elite starting netminder in goal during McDavid’s tenure with the franchise, which has cost them in the meaningful moments come playoff time.
Oilers general manager Stan Bowman was asked about the organization’s goaltending future in the teams recent end of season press conference. Bowman admitted in the interview that the goaltending has not been good enough and that he will be seeking improvement in the position over the offseason.
Oilers Likely to Make Changes in Net
The Oilers clearly need help in net as the rotation this past season did not get the job done. Bowman hoped that Tristan Jarry could be the answer to the team’s goaltending woes after acquiring him from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Stuart Skinner. This was not the case as Jarry performed even worse than Skinner.
Bowman also brought in Connor Ingram over from the Utah Mammoth as another potential answer to the goaltending equation. While Ingram performed better than Jarry, his numbers still weren’t strong enough to provide that stability the club has been searching for in net.
There will likely be turnover in net with Ingram’s contract coming to an end this summer along with 3rd stringer Calvin Pickard. Jarry has two years left on his deal, so there’s a good chance he sticks around. With only one NHL goaltender under contract so far for next season, Bowman will have to add in net unless he decides to resign the rest of the tandem. However, that would not line up with his stated wish of making an upgrade in goal.
“Average” Won’t Cut It In Edmonton
For the standards that have been set in recent seasons, this 25-26 Edmonton group did not live up to expectations as they regressed in form. In the words of McDavid, this was an average team with respects to the middling regular season record and early postseason exit.
Bowman agreed with McDavid’s statement calling the Oilers an “average” team. He also brought up much of the same points coach Kris Knoblauch previously spoke about in regards to fatigue/injuries playing a heavy factor in the team’s struggles.
Whatever excuse Oilers management wants to bring up, there is no positive spin on this story. This is a team that was expected to go on another deep playoff run as they have grown accustomed to in the 2020s. They failed to do so, losing to a team with nowhere close to the playoff experience that they have.
With only two more years of McDavid on the Oilers books, now is the time to win in Edmonton. Bowman will need to have a legacy offseason to get this team back where it needs to be in a position to fight for the Stanley Cup.
Stan Bowman Addresses Oilers Goaltending Woes