Fatigue and injury a concern for the 2025-26 Edmonton Oilers

Of course, Edmonton played the exact amount of games as Florida did over that two-year span, the only difference being the latter took home the Stanley Cup.

The issue with having played so may games over a short period of time is, of course, fatigue, and for a team that battled and fought for every square-inch of ice last year, and the year before that, it may be a concern.

Then there is the injury factor, as we saw with Zach Hyman in last season's Finals; he will likely miss some games at the start of next season. We also saw Matthew Tkachuk go down with injury in the Finals. He too will be out games early next season.

Yet, there are examples of teams both winning and losing a Stanley Cup, after having played in excess of 40-extra games over a two-year span.

Tamp Bay Lightening played 25 playoff games in 2019-20, and won the Cup. Then they played 23 post-season games in 2020-21, and won their second-straight Cup. And in 2021-22, after having played an additional 71 games in three years, lost in the Finals.

Florida Panthers did the inverse as Tampa. They lost in the Finals in 2022-23, following 21 playoff games. The next year, they won the Stanley Cup, in 24 playoff games. And after having played a total of 69 post-season games, won the Cup last year again, against Edmonton.

Where does that leave the Oilers then. Certainly, an additional 47 games, compared to Tampa and Florida, is not excessive.

But reaching the Finals for a third-straight season will require everything the team has, and more. If fatigue and injury become a factor this next season, or in the playoffs, the chances of winning diminish considerably.

Of course, we've yet to play a single game of the 2025-26 NHL season; it could just be a banner year for Edmonton, and none of this will have mattered. We will see.