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Oilers are in trouble if Knoblauch’s only plan is demanding more from McDavid and Draisaitl

3 21
12.11.2025
The Edmonton Oilers have spent the better part of the last decade being a two-man team.

Connor McDavid and Leon Drasiatil. The Dynamic Duo. A pair that was destined to lead the franchise back to the promised land.

The proof is in the pudding that those two played a massive role in Edmonton’s back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Finals over the last two seasons, but what differed in those years was the supporting cast assembled around them. The Oilers, for once, finally had 16 other skaters that could lineup alongside them night in and night out as solid contributors.

They had depth scoring, a blue line punching above its weight class, physical presences who would punish opposing players, the ability to roll lines, a blue line that could hold its own, and a power play as potent as there has ever been in the league. When you think back to the team over these two years, that’s what the identity of the team has been.

They’ve been deep. They’ve been able to roll with the best of them. They’ve been dominant in nearly every facet of the game. It got them to two finals with Kris Knoblauch as the head coach.

He pushed the right buttons for the team, but in the early going of the 2025-26 season, the Oilers look like an........

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