7 bold Edmonton Oilers predictions for the upcoming season
The 2026-27 season is just over a month away, and the Edmonton Oilers are hoping for a big season.
It’s been a summer of change in the Alberta capital that will see a revamped goalie tandem with Tristan Jarry, Devon Levi, and Frederik Andersen, a new coach in Mike Babcock, and the absence of one of the team’s longest-tenured defencemen, with Darnell Nurse being traded to the San Jose Sharks.
Edmonton will also have the benefit of having a much longer offseason to rest and recover, something that they hadn’t had after two lengthy Stanley Cup Final runs in 2024 and 2025. The pressure, however, remains as high as ever as the Oilers need to get results if they want to ensure Connor McDavid’s long-term future with the franchise.
Hope springs eternal every fall across the NHL, and that is no different for the Oilers.
Here are seven bold predictions for the team heading into the new season…
1. Devon Levi emerges as starting goalie
Devon Levi remains one of the biggest wild cards for the Oilers this upcoming season.
The 24-year-old goaltender was acquired by the Oilers in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres this summer with the intention that Levi will play NHL games this season. He was once regarded as one of the brightest young up-and-coming goalies but has failed to break into the league over the past few seasons.
Levi has put up some great AHL numbers over the past two seasons and has finally earned an extended look at the NHL level. He will be insulated with two veteran goalies in Tristan Jarry and Frederik Andersen, meaning Edmonton will be able to ease him in.
That, along with some improved defensive play, will allow Levi to take the starting goalie reins midway through the season, finally realizing his potential and giving the Oilers some long-term clarity at the position for the first time in a long time.
2. McDavid and Draisaitl both score under 110 points
The Oilers will enter the upcoming season with an emphasis on improving team defence, and that could come at the sacrifice of some goals.
Edmonton did not have trouble finding the back of the net last season, scoring 282 goals for the sixth-most in the NHL. The issue is that they allowed 265 goals-against, which was the eighth-most in the league.
It sounds likely that Babcock and assistant DJ Smith will look to change that up in a hurry, and it could wind up leading to fewer minutes for both McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, as well as some key changes to the team’s structure. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be too shocking for the two superstars to see their point totals decline.
However, you can only handicap players of this calibre so much, so keeping them 110 points seems like the most realistic option.
3. Evan Bouchard wins the Norris Trophy
One of the more shocking omissions from last year’s NHL Awards was Evan Bouchard not even making it as a finalist for the Norris Trophy.
The 26-year-old led all defencemen with 95 points last year, which was 14 more than the second-place, and eventual Norris winner, Zack Werenski. Still, voters opted to go for Werenski, Cale Makar, and Rasmus Dahlin as the nominees.
That will change next season, as Bouchard will find a way to continue putting up the points while making a noticeable effort to clean up his defensive blunders. That will be helped along by a more stable defensive system being put in place by Babcock, as well as a concerted effort from Bouchard himself to be more defensively responsible.
Will that mean putting up a bit less than 95 points? Likely, but he should still be among the league leaders in that category as well.
4. Oilers trade Tristan Jarry at the deadline
Entering the trade deadline, the Oilers will want to finally narrow down the goaltending situation to two names.
Running a three-goalie rotation has its benefits, but they should have a good idea which two goaltenders are giving them the best chance to win on a nightly basis. With Devon Levi breaking out and Frederik Andersen carrying over his playoff magic, Tristan Jarry will be the odd-man out come deadline time.
GM Stan Bowman will test the market and eventually find a good enough deal to offload the last season and a half of Jarry’s contract. The Edmonton native will end his Oilers tenure failing to have secured the starter’s job.
The Oilers will head into the postseason with Levi and Andersen manning the pipes.
5. Mike Babcock gets Jack Adams votes
There seems to be an expectation that the Oilers hiring Babcock will either be a tremendous failure or a rousing success, with no in-between.
His controversial past has overshadowed his previous successes at the NHL level, and his hiring was one of the most controversial things to happen across the league this summer. The 63-year-old will have a lot to prove this season, and he’ll get off to the right start.
McDavid will be proven right about the Oilers being a perfect fit, and Babcock’s abrasive nature will be exactly what Edmonton needed to take that extra step. That will be represented by a great start to the season and a much more consistent year for the Oilers than last season.
It won’t be enough to get Babcock into the top-three, but he will get his fair share of Jack Adams votes to finish in the top-five.
6. Oilers make blockbuster trade for top-six winger
The Oilers will enter the trade deadline firmly in a playoff spot and will be looking to utilize their newfound cap space with a big-ticket addition.
With the defensive core and goaltending basically set, GM Stan Bowman will shift his focus to bolstering the top of the forward group. The Oilers will headline the deadline, making a blockbuster deal for a top-six scoring winger to pair with either McDavid or Draisaitl.
It remains to be seen who that acquisition could possibly be, but Alex DeBrincat of the Detroit Red Wings could be among the possibilities.
7. Oilers make it back to the Stanley Cup Final
With the goaltending figured out and the defensive play stabilized, the Oilers will find themselves back in familiar territory this Spring.
Edmonton will also have a renewed hunger to regain their status after such a disappointing first-round exit this past season. If they can stay healthy, there is no reason why they wouldn’t be able to advance to their third Stanley Cup Final in four seasons.
Will they finally exorcize their demons and win it all this year? Well, we won’t go that far quite yet. Just making it back to the Stanley Cup Final will be hard enough.