Edmonton Oilers GM: 'We Need Some New Players'

The Edmonton Oilers need to retool on the fly.

After both Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid met with the media over the weekend, it's become obvious that things need to change in a hurry for the Oilers. Both stars called out the organization for putting together an 'average' team, and while both stars took accountability for their 'average' play during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, it was obvious they feel the roster needs some tweaks.

Turns out GM Stan Bowman felt the very same way, although he wouldn't commit to a huge overhaul. Bowman met with the media over the weekend and opened up about what we could see from the Oilers' front office this summer.

“We do need some new players. I don’t know if we’re going to have a dramatically different roster next year,” Bowman said. “We don’t need to rewrite everything, but we do need adjustments.”

Head coach Kris Knoblauch wasn't surprised to see McDavid and Bowman make comments about the roster, as things are starting to heat up in Edmonton, and both Knoblauch and Bowman could be on thin ice. 

“I thought we were trending in the right direction,” Knoblauch said. “You look at how we played the last few weeks of the regular season, it looked like we had bought in and were determined to play a good, defensive game. In the playoffs we got away from the way we played the last few weeks and played more like we did most of the season.”

Look for the Oilers to try and land a true number-one goaltender, as Tristan Jarry didn't work out at all, and don't be surprised to see Edmonton try to move defenceman Darnell Nurse.

“We’re pushing hard … it’s not like we’re building for five years from now. Now is the time we want our team to win, we’re not looking down the road,” Bowman said.

“Regardless of Connor’s contract, the clock is ticking,” Knoblauch said. “You see how long windows last … right now it is win now. It’s highlighted a little more with Connor’s situation.”

Photo credit: Corinne Votaw-Imagn Images