{"id":31212,"date":"2026-05-04T14:33:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T14:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/31212\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T14:33:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T14:33:06","slug":"edmonton-oilers-2025-26-season-end-awards-the-hockey-writers-edmonton-oilers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/31212\/","title":{"rendered":"Edmonton Oilers 2025-26 Season-End Awards – The Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Edmonton Oilers were eliminated from the 2026 NHL Playoffs on April 30 with a 5-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks<\/a> in Game 6 of their Western Conference first round series. The defeat brings an end to a disappointing 2025-26 for the Oilers, who were looking to get back to the Stanley Cup Final for a third straight postseason, but instead experienced their earliest playoff exit in five years.<\/p>\n

Focus now shifts to the future of an Edmonton team that faces a lot of question marks. But before starting the countdown to the 2026 NHL Entry Draft and opening of free agency, we take one more look back by honouring the top Edmonton players of 2025-26.<\/p>\n

Most Valuable Player: Connor McDavid<\/p>\n

Honourable Mention: Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n

Connor McDavid<\/a> may very well be the MVP of the entire NHL, never mind just the Oilers: the NHL is announcing its finalists for the Hart Trophy<\/a> on May 8, and it\u2019s widely expected that Edmonton\u2019s captain will be among them.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old centre secured the sixth Art Ross Trophy of his career by leading the NHL in points during the regular season, with 138. He also had the league\u2019s most assists (90) and finished third with 48 goals. McDavid fired 306 shots on goal, second most in the NHL, and racked up a league-high 54 points.<\/p>\n

\"ConnorConnor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers. (Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Despite competing in the gruelling men\u2019s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics in February, while almost all his teammates had nearly three weeks to recharge, McDavid managed to play in all 82 games for the first time in three seasons.<\/p>\n

The Oilers captain provided his usual share of eye-popping highlights. He had several standout performances, perhaps the most notable coming in Edmonton\u2019s 5-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on April 8 when McDavid had three goals and two assists, all before the game was 35 minutes old.<\/p>\n

Top Defenceman \u2013 Evan Bouchard<\/p>\n

Honourable Mention: Mattias Ekholm<\/p>\n

While Evan Bouchard remains as divisive as ever (some marvel at his offensive output and call him the best blueliner in the league; others point to his defensive lapses and believe that he shouldn\u2019t even be in the conversation for the Norris Trophy), he\u2019s started to receive greater credit for his overall play. There\u2019s a general appreciation for just how special he is, even with his faults.<\/p>\n

\"EvanEvan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers. (Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Simply put, his numbers are just too good to be denied. In 2025-26, Bouchard led all NHL defencemen in points (95), assists (74), and even-strength points (60). He also ranked inside the top five among the league\u2019s defencemen in a host of other categories, including goals (21), even-strength goals (14), power-play goals (seven), power-play points (33), game-winning goals (five), and shots (221).<\/p>\n

Bouchard\u2019s stats place him in company with history\u2019s most elite players: he joins Hall-of-Famers Paul Coffey and Bobby Orr as the only defencemen with at least 70 assists and five game-winning goals in a single season, and is one of only 10 different blueliners in NHL history to reach 95 points in a season.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old had 11 games with at least three points, including a spectacular performance at home against Washington on Jan. 24 when he scored three times, including the winning goal in overtime, dished out three assists, and finished with a plus\/minus of plus-5.<\/p>\n

Top Newcomer \u2013 Connor Ingram<\/p>\n

Honourable Mention: Jack Roslovic<\/p>\n

Connor Ingram<\/a> was acquired by Edmonton in a trade with the Utah Mammoth<\/a> on Oct. 1, but didn\u2019t actually make his Oilers debut until just before Christmas, after being recalled from the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League (AHL), where he spent the first two-plus months of the season. Ingram was recalled only because Edmonton\u2019s top netminder Tristan Jarry was sidelined. When Jarry returned to action, many expected that Ingram would be reassigned to the AHL.<\/p>\n

Not only did Ingram outplay Oilers backup Calvin Pickard, but he also proved vastly superior to Jarry after the latter was activated from long-term injured reserve in mid-January. While Pickard and Jarry had their respective struggles, Ingram was rock solid, providing Edmonton with desperately needed stability between the pipes.<\/p>\n

Eventually, the Oilers had to move one of the three goalies off their roster, and it was Pickard, not Ingram, that was placed on waivers at the beginning of February. On March 15, Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch named Ingram as his starting goaltender, a role Ingram held through the postseason.<\/p>\n

Ingram finished the regular season with a record of 16-10-3, a goals-against average of 2.60 and save percentage of .899. He was named as the Oilers\u2019 nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy<\/a>, which honours the player who is judged as best exemplifying qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey.<\/p>\n

Most Improved Player \u2013 Matt Savoie<\/p>\n

Honourable Mention: Vasily Podkolzin<\/p>\n

Matt Savoie was a revelation in his first full NHL campaign, landing a permanent home on Edmonton\u2019s top line centred by Connor McDavid by season\u2019s end.<\/p>\n

One of only three Oilers forwards to play all 82 regular season games, the 22-year-old winger scored 18 times, had 19 assists, and tied for the team lead with five game-winning goals. He played with a savvy beyond his experience and impacted the game in a variety of facets.<\/p>\n

Always known for his offensive ability, Savoie showed himself to be a willing and skilled forechecker. He played on Edmonton\u2019s top penalty-kill unit and led all Oilers forwards in short-handed time on ice.<\/p>\n

In Edmonton\u2019s regular season finale, against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place on April 16, Savoie recorded his first NHL hat trick by scoring three times in the opening 20 minutes, becoming the youngest Oiler since 2013 to pot three goals in a single period.<\/p>\n

Free Newsletter<\/p>\n

\n Get Edmonton Oilers coverage delivered to your inbox <\/p>\n

In-depth analysis, breaking news, and insider takes – free.<\/p>\n


\n Subscribe Free \u2192
\n <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Edmonton Oilers were eliminated from the 2026 NHL Playoffs on April 30 with a 5-2 loss to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31213,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[53,461,52,464,467],"class_list":{"0":"post-31212","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edmonton","8":"tag-connor-ingram","9":"tag-connor-mcdavid","10":"tag-edmonton","11":"tag-evan-bouchard","12":"tag-leon-draisaitl"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31212\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}