Oilers GM Stan Bowman Says No More Roster Moves Coming Before 2026-27 Season as Draisaitl Declares Himself Healthy

The Edmonton Oilers are heading into the 2026-27 season with money still in the bank, and general manager Stan Bowman wants to keep it that way. Bowman told Oilers Now’s Bob Stauffer this week that he does not expect Edmonton to make any further roster additions before puck drop, even with roughly $4.7 million in salary cap space still unused. It is a rare position for a franchise that has spent years operating right up against the ceiling, and it signals a deliberate shift in how Bowman plans to build his second full roster in charge.

Bowman inherited an Oilers team with almost no financial breathing room when he took over as GM, and he has been blunt about how limiting that was. “We had no space at all,” Bowman said, recalling his first two years on the job. “You’re very handcuffed as to what you can do, and it’s tough because opportunities pop up every year during the year.” This offseason looked different. Edmonton moved on from longtime defenseman Darnell Nurse, added depth pieces in Ryan Shea and Mathieu Joseph, and brought in Stanley Cup champion goaltender Frederik Andersen, all while still landing at $4,725,834 in space against the NHL’s $104 million cap.

Why Bowman Is Sitting on Cap Space

Rather than spend the rest of that room on a marginal upgrade now, Bowman wants to hold it in reserve for the season itself. That flexibility becomes especially valuable heading toward the trade deadline, when cap space naturally accrues and can swell into a much larger war chest. “If a player comes available in November that makes two and a half million that you like, but they don’t want, they’re just trying to shed salary, we were never even in the market for that. It was impossible,” Bowman said, explaining why he no longer wants to operate with zero margin. With 12 forwards, eight defensemen, and three goaltenders already on the active roster, Edmonton simply does not have an obvious hole left to fill with July or August money. Bowman was careful to note the roster isn’t frozen for good, either. “The team that we have to start the season is not going to be the exact same team in the playoffs,” he said, all but promising an in-season move whenever the right opportunity surfaces.

That patience comes after a summer of real change behind the bench. Edmonton fired head coach Kris Knoblauch in May following a first-round playoff exit to the Anaheim Ducks, despite Knoblauch guiding the Oilers to back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances in 2024 and 2025. In his place, the Oilers hired Mike Babcock, who returns to an NHL bench for the first time since being let go by the Columbus Blue Jackets, after the league cleared him to coach again following a lengthy absence. Babcock’s hiring reportedly followed a direct, candid meeting with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman, a sit-down that helped seal his decision to take the job.

Draisaitl’s Health Is the Other Big Storyline

The other major update out of Edmonton this week centers on Draisaitl’s health. The German center told NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti on Friday that he feels healthy and is hopeful for the start of the 2026-27 campaign, a meaningful statement after the toughest injury stretch of his career. Draisaitl was limited to just 65 regular-season games in 2025-26, his lowest total in a full NHL season, after a lower-body injury cost him the final month before the playoffs. He returned for the postseason and still produced, recording points in each of Edmonton’s six first-round games against Anaheim despite the eventual series loss.

Draisaitl’s clean bill of health matters enormously for an Oilers group that finished 41-30-11 last season, good for second in the Pacific Division and fifth in the Western Conference, before bowing out in the first round for the first time since 2021. Alongside McDavid, who is now locked in on the two-year, $25 million extension he signed to keep the core together through 2027-28, a fully healthy Draisaitl gives Babcock his best chance to restore the cohesion that carried Edmonton to consecutive Cup Finals under Knoblauch. Bettors tracking Edmonton’s outlook can already find the team posted among the NHL Stanley Cup futures markets as one of the West’s top contenders again this fall.

What Comes Next for Edmonton

With training camp approaching, the Oilers now have their coaching change, their goaltending upgrade, and their captain’s contract situation settled, leaving health as the last major variable. Bowman’s approach signals confidence that the current group, even without further additions, is talented enough to compete at the top of a stacked Pacific Division that includes Vegas, Anaheim, and Los Angeles. Whether that patience pays off will depend largely on Draisaitl staying on the ice and Babcock finding a new identity for a team that has come agonizingly close to a championship two years running. Fans checking the latest live NHL odds will get their first real read on how oddsmakers view Edmonton once the preseason schedule gets underway.

For now, Bowman’s message is clear: the Oilers like the roster they have built, and they are willing to wait for the right moment to spend the money they have saved. That kind of discipline was unavailable to him in his first two years running the franchise. This time, Edmonton enters the season with both financial flexibility and, if Draisaitl’s update holds true, its full complement of star power intact.