For the last 22 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 23^rd annual review will appear here on Dobber Hockey throughout the summer. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are taken into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

** Be sure to pick up your copy of the 2025-2026 Fantasy Hockey Guide **

Gone: Corey Perry, Connor Brown, Viktor Arvidsson, Jeff Skinner, John Klingberg.

Incoming: Andrew Mangiapane, Curtis Lazar, Isaac Howard, Riley Stillman, Matt Tomkins.

Impact of Changes: Widely considered as one of the organizations in the offseason "losers" column, the Edmonton Oilers were a very quiet club when it comes to summer roster augmentation. Of course, having so much cap tied up in Darnell Nurse, their big-four forwards of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Zach Hyman, plus the long-term extension handed out to Evan Bouchard doesn't leave a lot of meat on the bone for Stan Bowman, but the fact remains this Oilers team is the definition of top heavy who lost a lot of veteran depth. Back-to-back gut-punching losses to a clearly more-balanced Florida Panthers group in the Stanley Cup Final sets Edmonton up for a bit of a precarious season, as the pressure has never been more palpable for Kris Knoblauch's squad to finish the job.

With all that said, the Oilers still have, arguably, the two-best players on the planet and two top-five fantasy draft targets to feast on, so they will once again be legitimate playoff contenders, but after that the same questions still haunt this franchise and its fan base: Can Stuart Skinner find consistency and be a reliable option, fantasy or otherwise? Will someone other than the dynamic duo shoulder the offensive load in the clutch? Does the blue-line corps have the talent it needs to insulate such a weak goaltending duo? Going toe-to-toe with other Western Conference juggernauts like the Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, and Winnipeg Jets is sure to answer those queries sooner than later but for now these offseason moves don't move the needle and leave a lot to be desired in Oil Country.

Ready For Full Time: Isaac Howard

On certain teams, this section of our offseason grades articles can be a bit tricky to peg. However, with an Oilers club that definitely rocks one of the more shallow prospect pools in the league, the name that fits the bill in terms of young guns ready to make their mark has to be Isaac Howard. The reigning Hobey Baker Award winner as the NCAA's top player heads into the 2025-26 campaign with a legitimate shot at cracking the opening night roster, flaunting a number of attractive traits that could make him a true fantasy hockey sleeper selection. First off, this kid has phenomenal cross-ice vision that allows him to create elite scoring chances for his linemates while flaunting a keen puck sense and sneaky release, leading to 88 points over 73 games for the Michigan State Spartans. Second, he has more than enough overall offensive talent to compete for a roster spot on an Oilers team that was very quiet during the offseason adding peripheral forward pieces to round out their lineup. Factor in the potential to get a look with Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl, and utilizing a final-round draft selection on this intriguing prospect could be the exact type of high-risk high-reward-like scenario that turns a good fantasy team into an unstoppable one.

Honorable mention goes out to Matthew Savoie, who is another young player with loads of upside that should get a better look in the bottom-six now that names like Brown, Perry, Arvidsson, and even Derek Ryan are out of the picture.

Fantasy Outlook: Aside from the slippery slope that comes with Edmonton's blue-paint situation, this team is a fantasy goldmine, as Draisaitl, McDavid, and Bouchard are all top-50 options that any GM out there would be happy to own. Factor in other solid secondary names that also bring solid peripheral categorical coverage in Nurse and Hyman, and the offensive upside of a guy like Nugent-Hopkins, and this group clearly has pieces that warrant fantasy attention.

Getting back to Skinner and Pickard, drafting them clearly comes with inherent risk but in certain formats that have more basic points set-ups, someone here is going to have value by getting a lot wins on a good team. After that, shutouts, goals against, and save percentage numbers in category leagues immediately become concerns. Sure, Pickard rocked a 22-10-1 record but the rest of his stats aren't pretty and his sub-.900 playoff save percentage is a red flag for a perennial backup. This means Skinner should once again get the chance to take the reins in the cage, so if anyone, the hometown Edmonton boy is the name to target if you really want to play with fire in an already tumultuous position to handle.

Overall Grade: A-(Last season, A)

*All articles in the Fantasy Offseason Grades series completed thus far can be viewed here.