The Edmonton Oilers are on a four-game losing streak dating back to their 5-4 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 7. The majority of the team had a two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off, and they should’ve come out refreshed and energized. Instead, they look listless, disinterested, and kind of like they looked when they started the 2024-25 NHL season by losing three straight games.
Go back to the previous season in 2023-24, and they had a horrible losing streak to start the season, going 3-9-1. It was a slump that got former head coach Jay Woodcroft fired. New head coach Kris Knoblauch guided the team to a 16-game winning streak from Dec. 23, 2023, to Feb. 6, 2024, and eventually led them to Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Final.
For those with a short memory, the Oilers’ 16-game winning streak in 2023-24 came to an abrupt halt right after the NHL All-Star break. Now it seems history is repeating itself after another layoff between games, and the solution isn’t to fire the coach, nor is it to break up the core of the team by the March 7 2025 Trade Deadline. So what can Oilers general manager (GM) Stan Bowman do?
Oilers GM Bowman Has a Short Time to Fix Long-Term Problems
Bowman seems to be putting on his best poker face when it comes to talking to the media. He told Frank Seravalli that he believes both his goaltenders Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard have been playing well.
Meanwhile, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector reported that Bowman would not rule out exploring the goaltending market prior to the March 7 deadline, but when asked about his level of concern, he sounded very much like a guy who collected Stanley Cup rings with Chicago teams playing in front of guys named Antti Niemi and Corey Crawford.
Related: NHL Trade Bait List for 2025 Trade Deadline
Unless Bowman is gifted an incredible deal for a goalie, there’s a good chance that the Oilers will go into the playoffs with Skinner and Pickard as their tandem. As much as fans would like to see a guy like John Gibson of the Anaheim Ducks or Karel Vejmelka of the Utah Hockey Club come to Edmonton, there’s probably a small chance of that happening. Darren Dreger of TSN mentioned a possible trade for Team Canada 4 Nations hero and St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, but realistically that’s probably not happening–especially after what Blues general manager Doug Armstrong did with his offer sheets to Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg last summer. If Ken Holland were still Oilers GM, I would believe a Binnington deal could happen, but I’ll believe it when I see it when it comes to Bowman and Armstrong making a deal.
Oilers Forwards and Defence Playing Like Passengers Instead of Drivers
In the last four games, the Oilers forward group has looked old and slow, and the defensive core has looked lost. Knoblauch inserted some youth and speed into the lineup with Matthew Savoie but has been reducing his ice time since his recall from the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League. The team also made forward Jeff Skinner a healthy scratch before their 4-1 loss on Feb. 25 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. This is perplexing considering Skinner has been playing well at both ends of the ice and is one of their best forwards at producing goals at five-on-five. There’s more of a story as to why Skinner is being benched but we may never know what the real reason is.
When it comes to the defence core, Evan Bouchard is taking a lot of heat for his giveaways and lacklustre play. Yes, it’s an issue at the moment, but Bouchard has snapped out of slumps like this before.
The Sky Is Not Falling on the Oilers
Negative reaction among Oilers fans is growing louder and louder with every loss. The Oilers don’t have a lot of options when it comes to the trade deadline as they await the news about Evander Kane’s injury prognosis and whether they will have Long-Term Injured Reserve money to play with. If Bowman is going to swing a deal, who does he move out, and who should he bring in? Only he knows that answer.
One thing the Oilers organization will do is remain patient. There’s too much talent on this roster not to turn this losing streak around and right the ship. Knoblauch mentioned in his postgame comments against the Lightning that, “We’re a fragile group right now. Confidence is a little hard right now.” That most likely means the answers lie within and not with some earth-shattering deadline deal. If you’ve ever read the book Think & Grow Rich you’ll know the answers always lie within. It’ll be interesting to see if Bowman believes his current team has the answers or whether he has something else up his sleeve.
