Another year ended in disappointment for Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. Only this time, they fell well short of their postseason goal, bowing out in a Round 1 showdown against the Anaheim Ducks.
While the Oilers were the favorites heading into the first-round matchup against Anaheim, Edmonton’s stars didn’t quite look like they were up to the challenge. Now, one member of the 2026 Oilers is spilling the beans on how injured most of their key players were in the playoffs.
Details Emerge of Connor McDavid and Jason Dickinson’s Injuries After Oilers’ Exit
When Leon Draisaitl returned from injury just in time for Game 1, the Oilers were handed a major boost after a topsy-turvy end to the regular season. However, while Draisaitl did his best, the series quickly escaped the Oilers’ grasp.
Jason Dickinson starred in a Game 1 victory but missed the next few games with injury. McDavid suffered an injury of his own in Game 2 and never quite had the same burst for the rest of the series.
With two of their key players nursing injury issues, Edmonton failed to go toe-to-toe with the Ducks, and eventually bowed out in a 5-2 Game 6 loss.
In an interview with R.org, Oilers forward Vasily Podkolzin outlined the severity of McDavid and Dickinson’s injuries.
“Everyone is human, No. 97 is human, too. Everyone goes through this. Now it feels like maybe it is even for the better. There is time to recover, heal the injuries and come back stronger next season,” the Russian winger said.
“We all knew about Connor’s condition. He was basically playing on one leg. Dickinson also had a leg issue. Leon had just returned from a knee injury. I think he probably needed a few more weeks. When you play with that in your head, it affects you. Maybe everything happened the way it was supposed to.”
That Que Sera Sera attitude may be all the Oilers can hold onto at the moment.
Edmonton’s stars have played a lot of hockey over the last two seasons between two trips to the Stanley Cup Final and the Winter Olympics. Year-round hockey appears to have taken a toll on McDavid and Draisaitl.
The Florida Panthers, who also made consecutive trips to the Final alongside the Oilers, had an even more uneventful season amid a laundry list of injuries.
With the postseason officially behind them, focus now turns to what general manager Stan Bowman can do this summer. The likes of Dickinson, Jack Roslovic, Connor Murphy, Connor Ingram, Kasperi Kapanen and Adam Henrique are all eligible to test free agency.
The league officially notified teams that the salary cap for 2026-27 will clock in at $104 million, which affords Bowman some leeway. Trade rumors have already started to take hold, in the meantime.
Connor McDavid’s two-year, $25 million extension kicks in this summer, which means both Bowman and head coach Kris Knoblauch will be on a short leash to prove they can build a legitimate contender around the best player in the world.
