Paul Bissonnette places blame squarely on one person for Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup Playoff failures
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Tyler Ball
May 1, 2026 (8:22 PM)
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Photo credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
After the Edmonton Oilers’ shocking first round exit NHL analyst Paul Bissonnette spoke out and blamed one specific individual for the failure.
The Edmonton Oilers came into last night in a must win situation against the Anaheim Ducks.
While the Oilers kept things close for a while they ultimately couldn’t keep up with the young Ducks squad losing 5-2.
After the game, Connor McDavid admitted the Oilers were an average team this year and that the loss wasn’t surprising.
Now, NHL analyst Paul Bissonnette has blamed Stan Bowman for assembling the average roster around Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Paul Bissonnette blames Stan Bowman for Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup Playoff failures
I think management’s failed them. I’m a little bit disgusted with the way they’ve surrounded (McDavid) over the last two years and how they’ve moved off of pieces that I thought were working to begin with when they were so close. Why wouldn’t you allow those same people who got you to Game 7 (of the Cup finals), or at least most of them, to come back and have that opportunity again?
This is an opinion many around the league and fans have shared blaming Bowman and the front office for their inability to draft and trade for difference makers to help take the pressure off of McDavid and Draisaitl.
While not everything can be blamed on Bowman the Oilers have continually failed to make highly regarded trades or free agents signings and most recently got actively worse after trading for Tristan Jarry.
As the offseason gets underway, it will be interesting to see if the Oilers ownership group decides to make a front office change or if they give Stan Bowman one more chance to get it done.
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Leon Draisaitl’s harsh Oilers verdict puts front office in tough spot
Leon Draisaitl’s harsh Oilers verdict puts front office in tough spot