Bowman says Oilers will have different team - BERITAJA

EDMONTON – Saying Saturday was not a time for large decisions aliases announcements, Edmonton Oilers wide head Stan Bowman did concede adjacent season’s squad will “not beryllium the aforesaid group arsenic today.”

Two days aft the Oilers were eliminated successful six games successful the first information of the NHL playoffs, Bowman told a media convention location are positives successful young players for illustration Matt Savoie, Josh Samanski and Vasily Podkolzin, but changes to the roster are decidedly needed.

“We do request immoderate caller players. I don’t cognize if we’re going to person a dramatically different roster adjacent year,” Bowman said. “We don’t request to rewrite everything but we do request adjustments.”

He did work together that immoderate awesome decisions he made successful adding players this play “did not activity out,” pointing to goaltender Tristan Jarry and guardant Andrew Mangiapane.

Bowman is facing difficult choices this summer. He has to woody pinch a number of free agents while figuring retired really to revamp the roster to amended its goaltending and reside glaring protect deficiencies.

Asked his thoughts connected really to amended the squad defensively, caput coach Kris Knoblauch said the rumor was chiefly “the mentality of wanting to play bully protect hockey.”

“I thought we were trending successful the correct direction,” he said. “You look astatine really we played the past fewer weeks of the regular season, it looked for illustration we had bought successful and were wished to play a good, protect game. In the playoffs we sewage distant from the measurement we played the past fewer weeks and played much for illustration we did about of the season.”

Both Bowman and Knoblauch agreed that skipper Connor McDavid was wholly correct erstwhile he said the Oilers were an “average team” this season.

“That was an meticulous portrayal of our play … we were not capable to get immoderate momentum during the season,” said Bowman. He said injuries that plagued the squad each twelvemonth played a important domiciled successful that but added it would beryllium “hard to handicap” if the squad was declining.

Bowman and Knoblauch some pointed to injuries being a facet successful the playoffs, noting that some McDavid and Jason Dickinson played pinch fractures successful their foot/ankle areas.

The Oilers went from a squad that was 1 extremity distant from a Stanley Cup triumph successful 2024 to losing the last successful six games successful 2025 to not getting past the opening information this year. And the Oilers, who mislaid to an Anaheim squad that was younger and faster, are not getting immoderate younger. Leon Draisaitl conscionable completed his 12th play and will beryllium 31 early adjacent play while McDavid is 29 and has played 11 seasons.

Knoblauch said McDavid’s appraisal aft the squad was eliminated by Anaheim Ducks was “a very adjacent remark … we were not an elite squad … we struggled to find our identity.”

Addressing McDavid’s vexation and his stated committedness to winning successful Edmonton, Bowman said he is connected the aforesaid page arsenic his prima subordinate whose two-year interaction hold kicks successful adjacent season.

“We’re pushing difficult … it’s not for illustration we’re building for 5 years from now. Now is the clip we want our squad to win, we’re not looking down the road,” said Bowman.

“Regardless of Connor’s contract, the timepiece is ticking,” said Knoblauch. “You spot really agelong windows past … correct now it is triumph now. It’s highlighted a small much pinch Connor’s situation.”

This study by BERITAJA was first published May 2, 2026.