Oilers add Andersen, hire Babcock in bid to get over hump

After the NHL Draft, free agency and other offseason moves, NHL.com is examining where each team stands in preparation for the 2026-27 regular season, which starts Sept. 29. Today, the Edmonton Oilers:

2025-26 season: 41-30-11, second in the Pacific Division; lost in Western Conference First Round

Key arrivals

Frederik Andersen, G: The 36-year-old goalie signed a one-year contract on July 1 after he won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes last season. Andersen was 16-14-5 with a 3.05 goals against average and .874 save percentage in the regular season and was 13-2 with a 1.89 goals-against average and .910 save percentage in 16 playoff starts. He missed the last three games of the Final with a knee injury. ... Ryan Shea, D: The 29-year-old signed a five-year contract on July 1. He had a career-high 35 points (six goals, 29 assists) in 80 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins last season and one assist in six playoff games. ... Shakir Mukhamadullin, D: The 24-year-old was acquired in a trade with the San Jose Sharks on July 1 along with defenseman Zachary Sharp for defenseman Darnell Nurse. Mukhamadullin, who signed a two-year contract with Edmonton on July 5, had 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 50 games for San Jose last season. ... Mathieu Joseph, F: Signed a one-year contract on July 1. The 29-year-old had 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 39 games with the St. Louis Blues and did not have a point in 12 games with the Los Angeles Kings last season. ... Mike Babcock, coach: Hired on June 23 to replace Kris Knoblauch, Babcock is 12th in NHL history with 700 wins and 17th with 1,301 games in 17 seasons with the Anaheim Ducks, Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs. He has not coached a game in the NHL since being fired by the Maple Leafs 23 games into the 2019-20 season.

Key departures

Darnell Nurse, D: Traded to San Jose on July 1 after 11 full seasons in Edmonton, Nurse had 24 points (seven goals, 17 assists) in 82 games last season and averaged 20:58 of ice time. He did not have a point in six playoff games. The No. 7 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, Nurse has played the second-most games in Oilers history among defensemen (798) trailing Kevin Lowe (1,037). ... Jack Roslovic, F: Signed a two-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 1, he had 36 points (21 goals, 15 assists) in 69 games last season and one assist in six playoff games. Only Connor McDavid (48), Leon Draisaitl (35) and Zach Hyman (31) had more goal for Edmonton last season. ... Adam Henrique, F: Currently an unrestricted free agent, Henrique had 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) in 65 games last season and did not have a point in one playoff game. … Connor Ingram, G: An unrestricted free agent, Ingram played 32 games (30 starts) for the Oilers last season and was 16-10-3 with a 2.60 GAA, .899 save percentage and two shutouts. He was 2-3 with a 3.86 GAA and .876 save percentage in the playoffs. … Calvin Pickard , G: Signed a one-year contract with the Minnesota Wild on July 1, was 5-6-2 with a 3.68 GAA and .871 save percentage in 16 games (13 starts) last season. … Curtis Lazar, F: An unrestricted free agent, Lazar had six points (two goals, four assists) in 45 games last season. He led the Oilers in face-off winning percentage (61.2) and also chipped in on the penalty kill. ... Kris Knoblauch, coach: Fired on May 14 after three seasons, Knoblauch was 135-77-21 and 31-22 in the playoffs, including guiding the Oilers to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals in 2024 and 2025.

On the cusp

Connor Clattenburg, F: The 21-year-old was selected in the fifth round (No. 160) in the 2024 NHL Draft. He played five games for Edmonton last season and scored his first NHL goal, while providing energy on the bottom two lines. Clattenburg also had four points (two goals, two assists) in 32 games for Bakersfield of the American Hockey League ... Beau Akey, D: The 21-year-old is Edmonton's top defenseman prospect. He had 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 42 games for Bakersfield last season after being selected in the second round (No. 56) in the 2023 NHL Draft.... Quinn Hutson, F: The 24-year-old was signed as a college free agent on April 14, 2025. The older brother of Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson, 22, and Washington Capitals defenseman Cole Hutson, 20, Quinn had a goal in four games with Edmonton and 63 points (30 goals, 33 assists) in 67 games with Bakersfield last season.

What they still need

An experienced bottom-six forward who can kill penalties, win face-offs and chip in offensively. Edmonton is not expected to re-sign Curtis Lazar, who helped in those areas last season and are losing experience by parting ways with Henrique.

They said it

"Edmonton has been knocking on the door for a while now, so it's a team that has aspirations to try and win. They've been close and it would be awesome to be part of the team to get over the hump. Obviously, they're very serious about it." -- Frederik Andersen

EDGE stat to watch 

The Oilers led the NHL in 22-plus mph speed bursts (258) and ranked second in 20-plus mph bursts (2,431) last season. McDavid’s League-leading 151 speed bursts of at least 22 mph were 90 more than the next-closest player (Owen Tippett had the second-most at 61) and 34 more than any player in one season since the start of the puck and player tracking era (Nathan MacKinnon had 117 in 2023-24). McDavid, who led the NHL in total skating distance (330.27 miles) for the second time in the past four seasons (also 2022-23), also ranked second in high-danger shots on goal (120) and tied for third in high-danger goals (26). -- Troy Perlowitz

Fantasy spin 

Andersen had a bounce-back performance after the 2026 Winter Olympics, going 9-4-0 over his final 13 regular-season games and 13-2 with a .910 save percentage and three shutouts in 16 playoff games for the Hurricanes. Andersen, who will turn 37 on Oct. 2, is ranked outside the top 25 fantasy goalie rankings ahead of a competition with Tristan Jarry and/or Devon Levi in Edmonton. That said, Andersen is a sneaky late-round fantasy pick with a chance to emerge as the Oilers’ No. 1 goalie and again provide stability in the crease for a perennial playoff team. -- Pete Jensen

Projected lineup

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Connor McDavid -- Zach Hyman 

Vasily Podkolzin -- Leon Draisaitl -- Matthew Savoie 

Isaac Howard -- Jason Dickinson -- Kasperi Kapanen 

Mathieu Joseph -- Josh Samanski -- Trent Frederic 

Mattias Ekholm -- Evan Bouchard 

Jake Walman -- Connor Murphy 

Ryan Shea -- Shakir Mukhamadullin 

Frederik Andersen 

Tristan Jarry