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The Edmonton Oilers core leadership group of players seems on board with the idea of Mike Babcock becoming coach despite looming inquiry.

The 2025-26 NHL season for the Edmonton Oilers didn’t go according to plan for a multitude of reasons, and their goaltending was once again at the forefront of their issues that prevented the Stanley Cup from returning to northern Alberta for the first time since 1990.

The Oilers decided that they could no longer wait for Stuart Skinner to string together consistent enough performances, and they sent him to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with Brett Kulak for Tristan Jarry and Sam Poulin.

But Jarry didn’t exactly inspire confidence in his sample size with the Oilers, and was eventually supplanted by another first-year Oilers goaltender, Connor Ingram. Eventually, the Oilers were eliminated in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Anaheim Ducks, ending their dreams of advancing to the Stanley Cup Final for a third straight season.

Would The Edmonton Oilers Make Sense For Devils Goaltender Jacob Markstrom?

According to former NHL goaltender and current Insider Kevin Weekes, the New Jersey Devils have shown interest in moving on from goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who they recently re-signed to a two year contract extension.

Per Shawn Sinclair of NHL Trade Rumors, both the Oilers and Penguins make sense for Markstrom to land with if new Devils GM Sunny Mehta, who was hired after the 2025-26 NHL season, decides to trade Markstrom.

“The Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins are two other teams to keep eyes on, as both teams are looking to reshape their crease and could see Markstrom as a proven veteran to help stabilize their goaltending depth,” Sinclair wrote. “It will be curious to see how much salary Mehta is open to retaining, which could open up a few more options including the Utah Mammoth.”

Markstrom, who finished his second season with the Devils, posted a record of 23-19-1 record with a 3.07 goals-against average, an .883 save percentage, and one shutout.

Jacob Markstrom Was Recently Re-Signed By The Devils To A Two-Year Contract Extension

The Devils, who acquired Markstrom from the Calgary Flames in 2024 for Kevin Bahl and a 2025 first-round pick (top-10 protected), recently re-signed him to a two-year contract extension with a salary cap hit of $6 million.

He decided to skip competing for Sweden in the 2026 World Championship so that he could put his full focus on his offseason training with his eyes set on next season.

“My priorities is the New Jersey Devils, and I don’t want to go in there not feeling 100% or rush something that’s going to affect the off-season and maybe not being able to work out in June,” he said.

He was also affected by lower-body troubles that hindered his abilities, as he would explain.

“At the end here, it was the last little weeks here, and after a while it didn’t really get better,” Markstrom said. “So unfortunate to– It sucks not be able to finish the season with the guys.”

“Obviously, the first couple of games there and the Columbus game, getting a knee injury again, it’s frustrating after having the knee during Christmas or after Christmas last year to have the other knee,” he explained.