It’s no secret that the Edmonton Oilers are going through a big shuffle. After trying and failing twice to capture the Stanley Cup against the Florida Panthers, the 2024 and 2025 Western Conference champions know things need to change for the upcoming season. Even if the same roster can get them to the final for a third year, Coach Kris Knoblauch, it won’t be enough to dethrone the Panthers.

The disappointment and the hopelessness after their second straight Stanley defeat were palpable through Coach Knoblauch’s words. “There’s no silver lining to this… It hurts right now, and I don’t think it’s going to let up for a while,” said the Canadian team’s head coach. They took that hurt and made changes, but how much is too much, as per another Oilers coach?

The Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer host had chats with both Kris Koblauch and Assistant Coach Paul McFarland on his show. It was during McFarland’s section that the assistant coach explained how “you never want to overcoach (the power plays) to the point where they feel locked up” during a game. So, with that in mind, here’s what head coach Kris Knoblauch said about his “ideal” starting lineup.

Knoblauch agreed with Stauffer when he suggested that fans could expect to see new blood, Isaac Howard, Matt Savoie, & David Tomášek in the lineup at kickoff. “We anticipate them, you know? Having some ups and downs early in the season. But, if they’re able to, all three of them get in the starting lineup. That’s ideal,” said the Edmonton Oilers coach. He also expressed the team’s faith in them.

“We want those guys because we feel that with their experience and more playing time, they’re just going to become better and better players,” revealed the Oilers coach. Kris Knoblauch also explained that the teams invested significantly to get them on board. From paying handsome transfer fees to letting go of talents like Sam O’Reilly. So the new players do have to carry the weight of expectations. And that once again brings us to the ongoing changes.

Kris Knoblauch’s Edmonton Oilers: A work in progress

“We have a lot of belief in those guys that they can help us in the short term and be important players in the long term,” the NHL coach said about the new signings. However, the Oilers aren’t just changing things up in the lineup but working to address weak points. Coach Knobluach already hinted that the team would be working on elements like the power play.

In fact, that’s why Bob Stauffer even brought up the discussion of power play training while chatting with McFarland. Kris Knoblauch’s assistant coach expanded on what the team is trying to do, and it’s a delicate balancing act. “I would say is at the end of the day, you always want to put your players in positions of strength,” Paul McFarland told the Oilers color commentator.

So it’s a fine line between giving enough freedom for the players to do their own thing and making deliberate changes to the power play. Naturally, the newcomers who are projected to be part of the Oilers’ starting roster have to immediately connect to the changes happening on and off the ice. What’s more? They have to work with the established stars in Edmonton.

McFarland explained that while changes are being made at every level, they’re not changing what stars like Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl like to do. “Some of the special talents that we have at Edmonton. We definitely don’t want to hold them back in any way,” said the assistant coach. Thankfully, Kris Knoblauch and the coaching staff aren’t the only ones confident in the newcomers.

Isaac Howard has already expressed his confidence in fitting in with the Edmonton Oilers. “It’s such a high pace, skilled, and fast, like, you know, work ethic first. I think that’s kind of exactly my game. And I think that’s why this could be such a great fit,” Isaac recently said about the team’s play style. Now, we’ll have to wait and watch how well he and the other adapt.