In sports, winning teams are often the best at making the right decision while under pressure.

On the ice, hockey players have to make hundreds of decisions, often in less than a few seconds, that can lead to winning or losing a game and ultimately the championship. Thriving under pressure, remaining calm and level-headed are attributes managers and scouts look for in players. Of course they need skill, but having the ability to make plays under pressure is often what separates good players from great players.

The Edmonton Oilers can’t panic this off-season. Making knee-jerk decisions won’t help them reach their ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup in the near future. There will be tough decisions, but their process can’t be rash or emotional.

President Jeff Jackson and general manager Stan Bowman want to win, and they have pressure to win. Owner Daryl Katz is the ultimate decision maker. He has no one above him, while Jackson, Bowman and head coach Kris Knoblauch do. All of them want to win, and the Oilers’ off-season decisions will start at the top of funnel down.

If there are any changes in management those decisions need to be made first. I’ve heard the Oilers are looking to add to their management team. Kalle Larsson did a lot of quality work this year, and I could see him getting a promotion to assistant general manager. Bill Scott, who quietly has done a lot of great work and gained significant experience over the past 16 seasons with the organization, has had multiple interviews with Nashville for their vacant GM job. He is on the short list of finalists. The Oilers don’t want to lose him, but if he is offered the Predators job he will take it and they will need to replace him.

When a team loses emotions run high. Owners, managers, coaches, fans and media at different levels will call for change. Some will be too emotional and call for massive changes, while others will be more calculated and take some time to analyze every level. Some fans have called for Stan Bowman to be fired. Same as Knoblauch. Let’s look at those scenarios.

Bowman was named GM on July 24, 2024. One of the first decisions under his tenure was to not match the offer sheets for Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway. Holloway just signed a five-year extension worth $7.75 million after he produced 26-37-63 last season and 22-29-51 in 59 games this season. Holloway and Broberg were good young players and losing them wasn’t ideal. Edmonton received second and third round picks in 2025 as well 2028 third rounder and prospect Paul Fischer on August 20th. The Oilers moved the second rounder to Boston for Trent Frederic and Max Jones, while they drafted Tommy Lafreniere with the third round pick. Edmonton lost this transaction. It might improve down the road, but they lost the two best players.

When the Oilers knew they weren’t going to match the offer sheets, Bowman acquired Vasily Podkolzin (August 18th, 2024) from Vancouver for a 2025 fourth round pick (they re-acquired the pick before the draft when they sent Evander Kane to Vancouver). Acquiring Podkolzin for a fourth has worked out incredibly well. Podkolzin scored 19 goals this year, 17 at 5×5 and added 18 assists. He skates well, his aggressive and will fight when needed. Podkolzin made $1 million the past two season and was great value, and his new $2.95 million deal for three seasons begins next season. He’s given the Oilers great value and if he continues to improve like it looks like he will be one of the best contracts in the NHL for the next three seasons. Bowman did a pretty good job replacing Holloway with Podkolzin at a much lower cost.

On the same day, Bowman traded Cody Ceci to San Jose for Ty Emberson. Emberson has emerged as a solid third pair defender. This was partially a salary cap transaction. Trade has been okay.

In November 2024, Bowman claimed Kasperi Kapanen on waivers from St. Louis. He’s turned out to be a great acquisition. He’s played very well in the playoffs last year and this season. He battled injuries this year and only played 41 games, and doesn’t have the stats to ask for a big raise. He made $1.3 million last season and he likes Edmonton and the Oilers like him. Re-signing him for two years at $2.1-2.4 million makes sense. He’s fast, skilled, can shoot, is physical and can kill penalties and he performs well in the playoffs. He’s been a big win for Bowman.

In March 2024 the Oilers acquired Trent Frederic and Max Jones for Max Wanner and a second and fourth rounder in 2025. Frederic was signed to an........

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