Oilers GM Stan Bowman doesn’t sugarcoat Edmonton's slumping start; take indirect dig at Stuart Skinner

Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman gave an honest assessment of the team’s lacklustre start to the 2025-26 season. The Oilers hold a 7-6-4 record and rank fifth in the Pacific, below teams like the Anaheim Ducks and the LA Kings.

They have shown a few strong wins but continue to struggle with consistency. Speaking Tuesday in Toronto after the NHL’s annual November GM meetings, Bowman admitted that his team has not played up to expectations.

"Our goalies have been average, [they] haven't been elite and they haven't been bad," Bowman said, via Canadian Press. "Sort of the way our team has been. I don't know if they performed really any differently than our forwards and our defence. We're just not clicking as a group. That position gets more attention. I'm not sure it's more of a problem."

Starting goaltender Stuart Skinner has appeared in 12 games with a 5-4-3 record, posting a 2.91 goals-against average and an .883 save percentage. He has shown stretches of good form, but that's far below his rivals.

Colorado's Scott Wedgewood has a 10-1-2 record, and Florida's Sergei Bobrovsky has an 8-4-0 record. Interestingly, Skinner has struggled against Bobrovsky in the past two Stanley Cup finals (2024 and 2025).

Meanwhile, Backup Calvin Pickard has played six games, recording a 2-2-1 record with a 4.00 goals-against average and a .836 save percentage. Bowman’s comments appeared to indirectly reference the goaltending struggles without placing full blame on Skinner or Pickard.

"We've had ups and downs throughout with both goalies, the defence and the forwards," Bowaman said. "It would probably be clearer if (goaltending was) costing us games night after night, but that's just not it. We've had other things that have been costing us just as much."

Edmonton averages 3.06 goals per game but allows 3.47, showing that defensive play remains a concern. Their power play has been a bright spot, ranking third in the NHL at 32.6 percent. And Connor McDavid leads the team with 24 points.

Oilers coach praised Connor McDavid's effort in overtime win over the Jackets

The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4 in overtime on Monday. Jack Roslovic scored the winning goal 56 seconds into overtime. Captain Connor McDavid scored two goals in the third period and helped end the Oilers’ three-game losing streak.

Coach Kris Knoblauch praised McDavid after the game.

"Connor wasn’t going to let us lose tonight," Knoblauch said, via NHL "...He just willed the team to win."

Stuart Skinner made 18 saves for Edmonton, and Jake Walman also scored two goals for the Oilers.

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Edited by Ankit Kumar