8 Worst Oilers Managerial Decisions Made in the Connor McDavid Era – The Hockey Writers –

Connor McDavid was far from his best in the Edmonton Oilers’ first-round playoff exit, but few, if any, are pointing the blame in his direction. The main reason why is that it was clear that the Oilers captain was playing at far less than 100 per cent after appearing to suffer a lower-body injury in Game 1 versus the Anaheim Ducks. That injury was since revealed to be a fracture in his foot and ankle area.

Instead, many Oilers fans are pointing the finger both at head coach Kris Knoblauch and general manager (GM) Stan Bowman. It appears that Knoblauch may be the guy to go this offseason, though that may not change a whole lot for the Oilers. After all, they have been a poorly managed team throughout McDavid’s entire NHL career. Here’s a list of the eight worst managerial decisions made during the McDavid era to prove just how bad things have been.

8. Trading Jordan Eberle for Ryan Strome

This one is a throwback, but one that Oilers fans still remember well. After falling to the Ducks in the second round of the 2017 playoffs, then GM Peter Chiarelli felt he needed to create cap space, and chose to do so by trading the Oilers’ best scoring winger in exchange for Ryan Strome.

This trade felt like a major loss from the Oilers from the get-go, as Strome didn’t have nearly the same offensive upside as Eberle. Strome wound up spending just 100 games in an Oilers uniform, registering 14 goals and 36 points. Eberle, meanwhile, remains a solid point producer at 35 years old.

The Oilers’ decision to trade Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson was one so shocking that former TSN insider Bob McKenzie needed to clarify on Twitter (now known as X) that the deal was in fact one for one. Hall was one of the game’s better wingers at the time of the trade, while Larsson was more thought of as a second-pairing defenceman.

In defence of the Oilers, Larsson wound up being a big piece of their back end for several seasons, and continues to play big minutes for the Seattle Kraken. Though this deal didn’t wind up being nearly as awful for Edmonton as initially thought, one still can’t help but wonder how the Oilers weren’t able to land a bigger return.

6. Milan Lucic’s Disastrous Contract

After landing McDavid in the 2015 draft, Oilers management felt they needed to add some size and skill around him. They attempted to do that by signing Milan Lucic to a seven-year, $42 million deal. In defence of then GM Peter Chiarelli, Lucic at that time was thought of as one of the best power forwards in the game. Still, there was plenty of concern over how the deal would age.

After a relatively solid first season that saw him score 23 goals and 50 points, Lucic’s offensive production fell off a cliff soon after. He wound up recording just 20 points in the 2018-19 season before being traded to the Calgary Flames for another player on a bad contract in James Neal.

5. What Could’ve Been at 2016 Draft

The Oilers struggled in McDavid’s rookie season in 2015-16, and as a result found themselves sitting with the fourth-overall pick at the 2016 draft. The expectation was that they would add yet another promising young prospect to an organization that, at the time, had plenty of young talent. After the Columbus Blue Jackets surprisingly passed on Jesse Puljujarvi in favour of Pierre-Luc Dubois, the Oilers couldn’t get to the podium fast enough to make their pick.

To no surprise, the Oilers did select Puljujarvi. As everybody now knows, the pick never panned out, as Puljujarvi was never able to turn into an impactful NHL player. Making matters worse is the fact that Matthew Tkachuk was taken just two picks later by the Calgary Flames.

4. Jack Campbell Didn’t Fix Goaltending Issues

Going into the 2022-23 season, the Oilers knew they needed to address their goaltending. As an attempt to do just that, they elected to sign Jack Campbell to a five-year, $25 million contract. The now 34-year-old was coming off of an impressive season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but was relatively inexperienced at the NHL level.

Concerns over Campbell’s inexperience proved to be valid, as he posted a 3.41 goals against average (GAA) along with a .888 save percentage (SV%) in his first season with the Oilers and wound up losing the starting role to rookie Stuart Skinner. Campbell wound up being bought out by Edmonton after the 2023-24 season and will continue to remain on their payroll until 2030.

3. Darnell Nurse’s Contract Continues to Be a Hindrance

The Campbell contract wasn’t the only deal given out by Holland during his time in Edmonton. Another massive mistake he made was the decision to sign Darnell Nurse to his second bridge deal ahead of the 2020-21 campaign. The two-year term meant that once the deal was up, Nurse was set to become an unrestricted free agent (UFA).

Due largely to fear that they may lose Nurse for nothing, Holland caught many off guard and chose to sign the now 31-year-old to an eight-year, $74 million deal. That contract is now widely regarded as one of the worst in the NHL, and is a big reason as to why this Oilers group have yet to win a Stanley Cup.

2. Failed Goaltending Swap

One of the worst moves throughout the McDavid era came during the 2025-26 season. Ironically, it involved trade Stuart Skinner, a player who many fans wanted out the door for quite some time. That said, few would have signed off on moving him, Brett Kulak, and a second-round pick in exchange for Tristan Jarry and an American Hockey League (AHL) forward in Samuel Poulin.

The move already looks like a major disaster, as Jarry posted a horrendous 3.86 GAA and a .858 SV% in 19 games as an Oiler. He also has two more seasons remaining on his contract with a $5.375 million cap hit, meaning that the Oilers are stuck with him whether they like it or not.

1. Losing Holloway & Broberg Continues to Sting

While there have been many moves to critique from Oilers management, the one that has negatively affected the group the most was losing both Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg to the St. Louis Blues. Had the Oilers kept both around, they would have some great young pieces to support the likes of McDavid and Draisaitl.

Rather than getting deals done with Holloway and Broberg right away, interim GM Jeff Jackson elected to sign Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson in deals that didn’t work out for Edmonton. On top of it, it put the Oilers in a tough spot cap-wise, and made it nearly impossible for them to match the offer sheets the Blues signed Holloway and Broberg to.

Plenty More Than Just Eight Mistakes Made

Though the worst eight moves were put together for this list, they are far from the only blunders Oilers management has made under McDavid. There was also the Mikko Koskinen extension, the Brandon Manning trade, and even the premature firing of Jay Woodcroft. Though McDavid has taken some heat for not winning to this point in his career, this list makes it rather obvious that it hasn’t been his fault whatsoever.