The question now is whether that patience will prove costly as McDavid's prime years tick away. Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman is choosing to wait and not rush into adding help with the forwards.

David Pagnotta reported on Inside Sports this week that Bowman intends to wait for an opportunity to come to him rather than force a trade for a top-six winger. But that patience is a sharp reversal from May, when Pagnotta described Edmonton's offseason as urgent.

During May, in an article by Sports Naut, Pagnotta had said that it is a win-or-lose situation for a team to be working according to Connor McDavid's timeline.

Just two months later, the same urgency has driven into more patience while heading into training camp, as reported by House of Hockey.

Edmonton has made its biggest moves towards the back end this offseason. Bowman invested in defence and goaltending (Nurse trade, Levi, Andersen) but left forward help for later.

Bowman went on to rebuild the goaltending scene by acquiring Devon Levi and signing veteran Frederik Andersen. McDavid, too, signed a short-term extension below market value just to add more room for talent. That same space has gone toward defense rather than toward adding a winger who could play alongside him.

The strategy backfired last spring: Edmonton's first-round exit to Anaheim exposed a forward-depth problem. This was because of less focus on the defence than on the secondary scoring behind McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. That is the problem that has not been solved yet.

With Draisaitl, McDavid, and defenseman Evan Bouchard, both of whom hold a value of roughly $37 million against the cap, Edmonton has limited room left to bring in a talented forward without another move elsewhere on the roster. 

They can wait for the right player to come at the right price. If that opportunity does not come before camp opens, the problem stays unresolved as they head into the new season.

Why Bowman is banking on mid-season opportunities 

Bowman has talked about this move directly. When speaking on Edmonton Sports Talk, he said holding onto flexibility is the priority even after an active free-agency period. The Oilers are still holding more than $7.25 million in cap space.

You don't have to go spend it all now," he said, as per an article by The Big Lead. "There are opportunities during the year, or certainly at the trade deadline. Even before the trade deadline, sometimes players become available in the middle of the year, and if you don't have cap room, it's really difficult to make those transactions."

Bowman compared it with his first year of running the Oilers, when the roster left him with little margin to work with.

"We're in a much different spot than we've been the two years I've been here, where we were right up against it that first year," he said and later added, “Really no cap space. All year, you’re walking a tightrope, and it’s just difficult to ever be in a position to pivot in the middle of the year when players become available.”

Bowman just confirmed that the addition of a forward is still possible before the season starts, saying that the team is otherwise fixed on a goaltender and defence.

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Written by

Aadhya Nalla

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason