Edmonton Oilers Make Significant Move for Team's Defense

Edmonton Oilers GM Stan Bowman and head coach Kris Knoblauch

The Edmonton Oilers defense has been a bit of a mess of late. But with the chances looking pretty slim of making another Mattias Ekholm-type addition to the blueline, as they did in 2023, they've done the next best thing at this point, bringing back legendary defenseman Paul Coffey to the coaching staff.

Paul Coffey is rejoining the Oilers coaching staff 🤝 pic.twitter.com/F868iCddXq
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) February 18, 2026

The Hall of Fame d-man will be back behind the bench when play resumes after the Olympic break, right where he was from 2023 through the end of the 2024-25 season, which included two trips to the Stanley Cup Finals. Coffey left that gig last July to resume his role as a special advisor for the team.

Jake Walman, who was a big blueline addition last season, called Coffey a respected figure that the d-corps looks up to.

"It’s a figure behind the bench that a lot of people respect & look up to."

Jake Walman chats about Paul Coffey returning to the #Oilers coaching staff. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/ajfTNPXUTd
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 18, 2026

At the same time, Walman took accountability for the blueline's poor play of late, and he knows they need to be "a lot better."

The Oil gave up 34 goals in their last seven games before the Olympic Break (4.86 goals against per game), and as insider Frank Seravalli noted recently, "there's no cavalry coming" for the Edmonton blueline on the trade market.

The Oilers are currently second place in the Pacific Division, but their 64 points ranks them 15th in the NHL. And only three teams in the entire league have surrendered more goals than their 194 to date.