It’s going to be a long off-season for the Edmonton Oilers.

Not just because they were bounced in the first round, but because there’ll be a lot of noise surrounding Connor McDavid. The Oilers’ captain cemented the fact that he wants to win in Edmonton during the end-of-season press conference, but with two years left on his contract, the Oilers have to make moves.

Shortly following the loss, Sean Gentille and Chris Johnston of The Athletic reported that “[McDavid] is likely going to expect management to deliver on specific roster adjustments this summer.” That begs the question, what could those roster adjustments be?

Goaltending

I think everyone and their cat knows that the Oilers’ biggest need this off-season is finding an actual starter, something they’ve been looking for since Cam Talbot in 2016-17, and Dwayne Roloson before that. However, that’s easier said than done.

In the McDavid/Leon Draisaitl era, the Oilers have had a revolving door of netminders. Some were in the twilight of their career, such as Mike Smith. Another, like Mikko Koskinen, had good results in Europe, but was nothing more than a backup in the NHL. Then you have a netminder that they developed, namely Stuart Skinner.

They’ve tried to swing big a couple of times now as well. In the 2022 off-season, the Oilers signed Campbell to a five-year deal worth $25 million a year. Campbell was coming off two good seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, posting a .914 save percentage and 2.64 goals against average in 49 games in 2021-22.

Campbell’s tenure was the polar opposite in Alberta, finishing his first season with an .888 percentage and 3.41 goals against average in 2022-23. Then in 2023-24, he played just five NHL games, where he had an .873 save percentage, before being sent to the American Hockey League to end the season. At the end of the season, the Oilers bought out Campbell’s contract.

Then you have Tristan Jarry, whom the Oilers acquired in December 2025 for Skinner, Brett Kulak, and a second-rounder. It stands to reason that if the Oilers look to improve their goaltending, something that they will basically need to do to keep McDavid a career Oiler, Jarry would have to be moved.

Again, finding a game-changing goalie is easier said than done. There are goalies, such as Daniel Vladař this postseason, who perform well on a not-so-great team. The Oilers can’t take that type of chance on a free agent goalie, because that’s exactly what they did with Campbell.

A true game-changing netminder will have to be found through a trade. There are really just a few goalies in the league that fit that category, such as Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets. It’ll cost a lot, but it’s a move they need to make.

Coaching change

Another change that McDavid may ask for is to the coaching staff.

Kris Knoblauch isn’t a bad coach by any means, and whenever the Oilers make a coaching change, we’ll likely see him behind another NHL team’s bench at some point in the future. That said, the Oilers need a new voice behind the bench.

Despite being hired early into the 2023-24 season, Knoblauch is now the 10th-longest-tenured coach in the NHL. Coaches just don’t last long in the NHL, with only Tampa Bay Lightning’s Jon Cooper, Colorado Avalanche’s Jared Bednar, and Carolina Hurricanes’ Rod Brind’Amour having a tenure longer than five years.

Two of those three coaches have won a Stanley Cup in that tenure. There just so........

© Oilers Nation