NHL1 d ago
Bowman says Oilers will have different team
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From the Center
Global NewsMay 2
Bowman says Oilers will have different team
EDMONTON – Saying Saturday was not a day for big decisions or announcements, Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman did concede next season’s team will “not be the same group as today.” Two days after the Oilers were eliminated in six games in the first round of the NHL playoffs, Bowman told a media session there are positives in young players like Matt Savoie, Josh Samanski and Vasily Podkolzin, but changes to the roster are definitely needed.“We do need some new players. I don’t know if we’re going to have a dramatically different roster next year,” Bowman said. “We don’t need to rewrite everything but we do need adjustments.”He did agree that some major decisions he made in adding players this season “did not work out,” pointing to goaltender Tristan Jarry and forward Andrew Mangiapane.Bowman is facing hard choices this summer. He has to deal with a number of free agents while figuring out how to revamp the roster to improve its goaltending and address glaring defensive deficiencies. Story continues below advertisement Asked his thoughts on how to improve the team defensively, head coach Kris Knoblauch said the issue was mainly “the mentality of wanting to play good defensive hockey.”
USA TodayMay 2
Connor McDavid contract details as Edmonton Oilers continue harsh postmortem
May 2, 2026, 5:19 p.m. ETIt would be kind to call the vibes in Edmonton bad after the Oilers' first round elimination at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks.Following two consecutive Stanley Cup Final losses to the Florida Panthers, the Oilers faced a tumultuous 2025-26 season that ended in a 4-2 series loss to Anaheim where it never really felt like Edmonton had any kind of control or direction. Connor McDavid finished with six points in the series and was held without points in three of those games, whereas Leon Draisaitl had 10 points. It was confirmed after the postseason McDavid suffered a fracture in his lower leg during Game 2, but all the same, McDavid and Draisaitl didn't hold back in their postmortem evaluation of the Oilers' season."We were an average team all year," McDavid told reporters after the game. "An average team with high expectations, you're gonna be disappointed. Um, you know, we just never found it."Looking forward, however, Draisaitl was more concerned about what this season means on a bigger scale for Edmonton."I am concerned about [moving in the wrong direction]," Draisaitl said in his season-ending interview. "And a little bit of that leads into ... we