Oilers’ 2026 Offseason Checklist

After getting eliminated by the Anaheim Ducks in Round 1 of the playoffs, the Edmonton Oilers have some decisions to make. This was an extremely frustrating season in Oil Country, and anything other than a Stanley Cup is a failure.

Management needs to be bold and creative if they hope to improve the team. They need to crawl out of the mess they’ve created. If the Oilers make the right moves this offseason, they could once again be considered Stanley Cup contenders. Here is the Oilers’ offseason checklist.

Fire Kris Knoblauch & Hire Bruce Cassidy

The first item on this checklist has been completed. On Thursday morning (May 14), the Oilers announced that they’ve relieved Kris Knoblauch of his head coaching duties. Knoblauch helped Edmonton get to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, but things didn’t go well this season. He was set to begin a new three-year contract. The former coach seemingly lost the trust of the fan base and the front office. A change was needed.

The Oilers must hire Bruce Cassidy as Knoblauch’s replacement. Cassidy will help improve Edmonton’s defensive structure, which was lacking under the previous coach. The whole team needs to buy into the system and play that way consistently. This team needs a hard-nosed coach who will improve Edmonton’s regular-season play. They’ve taken the regular season for granted, and that shouldn’t happen under Cassidy.

Before Knoblauch was fired, it was reported that the Vegas Golden Knights didn’t permit Edmonton to interview Cassidy for the head coaching job. This information was leaked to the public, and there was no going back. Edmonton had no choice but to fire Knoblauch after that, because that relationship was ruined.

Now, the Oilers are in a tough spot. On the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman chimed in on the situation. “As far as I’m concerned, Edmonton has no choice but to drop bags of money on him and make sure they get their man. I mean, that’s kind of the situation they’ve been put in,” the NHL insider stated. If they don’t land Cassidy, this team is in a lot of trouble. This was a messy situation, so hopefully they get their coach.

Re-Sign Connor Murphy & Jason Dickinson

The Oilers acquired Connor Murphy and Jason Dickinson in two separate deals from the Chicago Blackhawks before the 2026 trade deadline. Both players filled two separate needs for this team. Murphy is a defensively minded top-four defenceman who kills penalties and is tough to play against. Dickinson is a defensive third-line centre who also kills penalties. The Oilers needed more structure, and these players provided that.

Murphy and Dickinson are pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs), along with Connor Ingram, Kasperi Kapanen, Jack Roslovic, Adam Henrique, Curtis Lazar, and Max Jones. Out of those players, Murphy and Dickinson should be brought back. The other UFAs can be replaced internally or by cheaper options.

Murphy and Dickinson were valuable, and if you lose them, you’ll need to replace them in free agency or via trade, which will cost more assets. The free agent class is thin, so you likely aren’t finding an upgrade. Plus, with the free agent class so weak, you’ll likely need to overpay, which the organization can’t afford to do with its limited cap space.

Re-Sign RFAs

The Oilers need to lock up their pending restricted free agents (RFAs), more importantly, Colton Dach and Spencer Stasney. Dach doesn’t have arbitration rights, so his negotiating rights are limited. Therefore, he won’t cost much to re-sign. He has the potential to be an effective fourth-line player next season because of his energy and physicality. The Oilers need cost-effective players in the bottom six.

Stasney has arbitration rights. Despite that, he also shouldn’t cost much to re-sign. He fell out of the top six and hasn’t played a game since March 19. He was relegated to the seventh defenceman. The organization can’t have enough depth, especially on the blue line. He’s still young at 26 and can step in at any moment. If he’s your seventh defenceman, the Oilers are in a good spot. If the Oilers trade one of their more expensive defencemen, he can jump back into the top six.

Trade Darnell Nurse & Tristan Jarry

This is where things get tricky. The Oilers need to find a way to move on from Darnell Nurse and Tristan Jarry. Nurse is entering year five of an eight-year deal with a $9.25 million contract. He also has a full no-movement clause, which turns into a modified 10-team no-trade list in the summer of 2027.

The Oilers could convince Nurse to waive his no-movement clause this offseason by giving him more control over his new destination. Next summer, the Oilers can trade Nurse to 22 different teams. He won’t have much say where he plays. So, he could waive this offseason with the promise of being traded to a team of his choice.

The Oilers could also retain salary on Nurse to help facilitate a deal. At his $9.25 million cap hit, he’s a negative asset, but if they retain $3 million, a $6.25 million Nurse becomes more palatable. The free agent class is weak. Therefore, teams might be willing to acquire Nurse with a retained salary rather than overpaying in free agency. Then, the Oilers would clear up some much-needed cap space. There’s a path to trading Nurse this summer.

This one might be harder, but the Oilers need to find a way to dump Jarry and find a legitimate upgrade. The Oilers got fleeced when they traded Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak, and a 2028 second-round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Tristan Jarry and Sam Poulin. They got a more expensive netminder who’s not an improvement, while giving up valuable assets.

Jarry has been atrocious since joining Edmonton, posting a 3.86 goals-against average (GAA) and an .858 save percentage (SV%) in 19 games (16 starts). He has two more years left on his deal with a $5.375 million cap hit. He lost the starter’s job to Ingram and has become a very expensive backup. The Oilers need to make a move. They must improve the goaltending this offseason, even if that means attaching a draft pick in a Jarry trade to make that happen.

Acquire a Goaltender

We’ve been saying this for years, but the Oilers still need a number-one goaltender. The Oilers only have one goalie under contract next season, unless they re-sign Ingram. However, if they let Ingram walk and trade Jarry, they can enter next season with an entirely new tandem.

The free agent goalie class is weak, so they will likely need to explore the trade market. The pending UFA netminders include Sergei Bobrovsky, Frederik Andersen, Cam Talbot, and Stuart Skinner. Three of those goalies are over 36 years old, and the Oilers have been there and done that with Skinner. However, there are enticing options on the trade market.

The Oilers could look to acquire 23-year-old Sebastian Cossa from the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings have a crowded goalie pool with prospect Trey Augustine almost ready to make the jump to the NHL. Cossa is NHL-ready and could be expendable, but he would be a gamble.

The Oilers could also add more experienced goalies, which is ideal. Linus Ullmark could be available from the Ottawa Senators. However, he’s entering year two of a four-year contract with an $8.25 million cap hit. It would be hard to clear the money, but he would be a clear upgrade.

Edmonton could also target Filip Gustavsson from the Minnesota Wild. Jesper Wallstedt is the guy in Minnesota who got the bulk of the playoff starts. Gustavsson inked a five-year deal with a $6.8 million contract that hasn’t kicked in yet. If Wallstedt is the future, the 27-year-old could be expendable and would also be an upgrade for Edmonton. At the end of the day, the Oilers must address their goaltending.

Acquire a Top-Six Forward

Finally, the Oilers could add an impactful top-six winger. The only one available via free agency is Alex Tuch. However, he will likely be out of Edmonton’s price range. Therefore, the Oilers need to trade for one. They have $16.49 million of protected cap space, and if they trade Nurse or Jarry, they will have more. They have the space to add a scoring winger, and they need to go all-in. Who’s available remains to be seen, but they need to find someone to play with Leon Draisaitl, especially if Kapanen doesn’t return.

This is arguably the most important offseason in franchise history, and they must pull out all the stops to bring the Stanley Cup to Edmonton while Connor McDavid is still under contract. The front office has work to do.

What should the Oilers do this offseason? Keep following The Hockey Writers for all your NHL content throughout the rest of the playoffs and into the offseason.