The Edmonton Oilers entered the 2026 NHL season tied for the best preseason odds to win the Stanley Cup in June, but their run ended earlier than expected.
The Oilers could do nothing to stop the up-and-coming Anaheim Ducks in their first-round matchup, falling 4-2 in the series and crashing out of the postseason before reaching the second round for the first time since 2021.
Edmonton wrapped up the series with a final 5-2 loss in Game 6 after winning the opener, but they lost three straight games after that and never recovered.
After the early elimination, Leon Draisaitl pointed to the physical toll on the roster as a defining factor for the loss, with the German center falling just short of using injuries as an excuse for it.
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“It’s hard,” Draisaitl said. “Our centers 1, 2, 3 are playing through stuff. But at the end of the day, you have to find ways to win games in any way. You have to grind one out, you have to defend one out. Injuries, they (stink), and it hit us at a bad time, certainly. But at the end of the day, they were the better team. I’ll leave it at that.”
Draisaitl was blunt in acknowledging that the Oilers were unable to match the Ducks' play and find the level required to advance deeper into the postseason.
“For sure, we never really found what you need to find at this time of year especially to go all the way. In my opinion, just not good enough,” Draisaitl said.
Edmonton averaged 1.83 goals per game in the series after finishing the regular season with the seventh-best GPG average. Draisaitl made clear that despite the injuries, the expectation remained to execute in playoff conditions, and that didn't happen.
“I think as much as it hurts, I think they were just the better team,” Draisaitl said.
The Oilers will enter the offseason with a projected $16.5 million in cap space and 15 players of their current 23-man squad under contract.
