2019–20 Edmonton Oilers season

2019–20 Edmonton Oilers
Division	2nd Pacific
Conference	5th Western
2019–20 record	37–25–9
Home record	17–11–6
Road record	20–14–3
Goals for	225
Goals against	217
General Manager	Ken Holland
Coach	Dave Tippett
Captain	Connor McDavid
Alternate captains	Leon Draisaitl Adam Larsson Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Darnell Nurse
Arena	Rogers Place
Average attendance	17,569
Team leaders
Goals	Leon Draisaitl (43)
Assists	Leon Draisaitl (67)
Points	Leon Draisaitl (110)
Penalties in minutes	Zack Kassian (69)
Wins	Mike Smith (19)
Goals against average	Mikko Koskinen (2.75)

The 2019–20 Edmonton Oilers season was the 41st season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on June 22, 1979, and 48th season including their play in the World Hockey Association (WHA).

The season was suspended by the league officials on March 12, 2020, after several other professional and collegiate sports organizations followed suit as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On May 26, the NHL regular season was officially declared over with the remaining games being cancelled. The Oilers advanced to the playoffs for the first time since the 2016–17 season and lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in four games in the qualifying round.

The season also saw one of their roster players, Colby Cave die after suffering a brain bleed due to a colloid cyst after being in a coma for four days.

Regular season

The Oilers started their season with a 3–2 win against the Vancouver Canucks on October 2. The Oilers had a 5 game winning streak, where they came back in all those games, that set an NHL record.

Standings

Divisional standings

2019-20 NHL Western Conference standings

Pos.	Team	GP	W	L	OL	RW	GF	GA	Pct.
1	Vegas Golden Knights	71	39	24	8	30	227	211	.606
2	Edmonton Oilers	71	37	25	9	31	225	217	.585
3	Vancouver Canucks	69	36	27	6	27	228	217	.565
4	Calgary Flames	70	36	27	7	25	210	215	.564
5	Arizona Coyotes	70	33	29	8	26	195	187	.529
6	Anaheim Ducks	71	29	33	9	20	187	226	.472
7	Los Angeles Kings	70	29	35	6	21	178	212	.457
8	San Jose Sharks	70	29	36	5	22	182	226	.450

Western Conference

2019-20 NHL Western Conference standings

Pos.	Team	GP	W	L	OL	RW	GF	GA	Pct.
1	St.Louis Blues	71	42	19	10	33	225	193	.662
2	Colorado Avalanche	70	42	20	8	37	237	191	.657
3	Vegas Golden Knights	71	39	24	8	30	227	211	.606
4	Dallas Stars	69	37	24	8	26	180	177	.594
5	Edmonton Oilers	71	37	25	9	31	225	217	.585
6	Nashville Predators	69	35	26	8	28	215	217	.565
7	Vancouver Canucks	69	36	27	6	27	228	217	.565
8	Calgary Flames	70	36	27	7	25	210	215	.564
9	Winnipeg Jets	71	37	28	6	30	216	203	.563
10	Minnesota Wild	69	35	27	7	30	220	220	.558
11	Arizona Coyotes	70	33	29	8	26	195	187	.529
12	Chicago Blackhawks	70	32	30	8	23	212	218	.514
13	Anaheim Ducks	71	29	33	9	20	187	226	.472
14	Los Angeles Kings	70	29	35	6	21	178	212	.457
15	San Jose Sharks	70	29	36	5	22	182	226	.450

Tiebreaking procedures

1. Fewer number of games played (only used during regular season).
2. Greater number of regulation wins (denoted by RW).
3. Greater amount of wins in regulation and overtime (excluding shootout wins; denoted by ROW).
4. Greater amount of total wins (including shootouts).
5. Greater number of points earned in head-to-head play; if teams played an uneven number of head-to-head games, the result of the first game on the home ice of the team with the extra home game is discarded.
6. Greater goal differential (difference between goals for and goals against).
7. Greater amount of goals scored (denoted by GF).

Schedule and results

Pre-season

The pre-season schedule was published on June 13, 2019.

2019 pre-season game log: 3–4–0 (Home: 2–2–0 ; Road: 1–2–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 16	Winnipeg	0–2	Edmonton		Skinner	—	1–0–0	Recap
2	September 17	Edmonton	2–4	Vancouver		Starrett	17,738	1–1–0	Recap
3	September 19	Vancouver	6–1	Edmonton		Koskinen	15,789	1–2–0	Recap
4	September 20	Calgary	2–6	Edmonton		Koskinen	17,592	2–2–0	Recap
5	September 24	Arizona	4–2	Edmonton		Koskinen	15,976	2–3–0	Recap
6	September 26	Edmonton	5–3	Winnipeg		Smith	15,325	3–3–0	Recap
7	September 28	Edmonton	2–3	Calgary		Koskinen	18,896	3–4–0	Recap

Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on June 25, 2019.

2019–20 game log
October: 9–4–1 (Home: 5–1–0 ; Road: 4–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 2 Vancouver 2–3 Edmonton Smith 18,347 1–0–0 2 Recap 2 October 5 Los Angeles 5–6 Edmonton Smith 18,347 2–0–0 4 Recap 3 October 8 Edmonton 5–2 NY Islanders Koskinen 10,985 3–0–0 6 Recap 4 October 10 Edmonton 4–3 New Jersey SO Koskinen 14,586 4–0–0 8 Recap 5 October 12 Edmonton 4–1 NY Rangers Smith 17,177 5–0–0 10 Recap 6 October 14 Edmonton 1–3 Chicago Smith 21,260 5–1–0 10 Recap 7 October 16 Philadelphia 3–6 Edmonton Koskinen 17,107 6–1–0 12 Recap 8 October 18 Detroit 1–2 Edmonton Koskinen 17,420 7–1–0 14 Recap 9 October 20 Edmonton 0–1 Winnipeg SO Smith 15,321 7–1–1 15 Recap 10 October 22 Edmonton 0–3 Minnesota Smith 17,189 7–2–1 15 Recap 11 October 24 Washington 3–4 Edmonton OT Koskinen 17,144 8–2–1 17 Recap 12 October 27 Florida 6–2 Edmonton Smith 17,278 8–3–1 17 Recap 13 October 29 Edmonton 1–3 Detroit Koskinen 19,515 8–4–1 17 Recap 14 October 30 Edmonton 4–1 Columbus Smith 14,193 9–4–1 19 Recap
November: 7–5–2 (Home: 2–2–2 ; Road: 5–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 15 November 2 Edmonton 2–1 Pittsburgh OT Smith 18,618 10–4–1 21 Recap 16 November 4 Arizona 3–2 Edmonton OT Koskinen 17,105 10–4–2 22 Recap 17 November 6 St. Louis 5–2 Edmonton Smith 17,068 10–5–2 22 Recap 18 November 8 New Jersey 0–4 Edmonton Koskinen 17,240 11–5–2 24 Recap 19 November 10 Edmonton 6–2 Anaheim Koskinen 16,463 12–5–2 26 Recap 20 November 12 Edmonton 3–6 San Jose Smith 15,567 12–6–2 26 Recap 21 November 14 Colorado 2–6 Edmonton Smith 17,188 13–6–2 28 Recap 22 November 16 Dallas 5–4 Edmonton OT Koskinen 17,346 13–6–3 29 Recap 23 November 19 Edmonton 5–2 San Jose Koskinen 16,147 14–6–3 31 Recap 24 November 21 Edmonton 1–5 Los Angeles Smith 15,539 14–7–3 31 Recap 25 November 23 Edmonton 4–2 Vegas Smith 18,319 15–7–3 33 Recap 26 November 24 Edmonton 4–3 Arizona SO Koskinen 12,908 16–7–3 35 Recap 27 November 27 Edmonton 1–4 Colorado Koskinen 18,021 16–8–3 35 Recap 28 November 30 Vancouver 5–2 Edmonton Smith 18,035 16–9–3 35 Recap
December: 5–8–1 (Home: 3–5–1 ; Road: 2–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 29 December 1 Edmonton 3–2 Vancouver Koskinen 18,871 17–9–3 37 Recap 30 December 4 Ottawa 5–2 Edmonton Koskinen 17,162 17–10–3 37 Recap 31 December 6 Los Angeles 1–2 Edmonton Koskinen 17,044 18–10–3 39 Recap 32 December 8 Buffalo 3–2 Edmonton OT Smith 17,227 18–10–4 40 Recap 33 December 10 Carolina 6–3 Edmonton Koskinen 16,175 18–11–4 40 Recap 34 December 12 Edmonton 5–6 Minnesota Smith 17,271 18–12–4 40 Recap 35 December 14 Toronto 4–1 Edmonton Koskinen 18,347 18–13–4 40 Recap 36 December 16 Edmonton 2–1 Dallas Koskinen 18,096 19–13–4 42 Recap 37 December 18 Edmonton 1–2 St. Louis Koskinen 18,096 19–14–4 42 Recap 38 December 20 Pittsburgh 5–2 Edmonton Smith 18,347 19–15–4 42 Recap 39 December 21 Montreal 3–4 Edmonton Koskinen 18,347 20–15–4 44 Recap 40 December 23 Edmonton 2–4 Vancouver Koskinen 18,851 20–16–4 44 Recap 41 December 27 Calgary 5–1 Edmonton Koskinen 18,347 20–17–4 44 Recap 42 December 31 NY Rangers 5–7 Edmonton Koskinen 18,347 21–17–4 46 Recap
January: 6–1–2 (Home: 3–0–1 ; Road: 3–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 43 January 2 Edmonton 2–3 Buffalo OT Smith 19,070 21–17–5 47 Recap 44 January 4 Edmonton 4–1 Boston Smith 17,850 22–17–5 49 Recap 45 January 6 Edmonton 6–4 Toronto Smith 19,507 23–17–5 51 Recap 46 January 9 Edmonton 4–2 Montreal Smith 21,302 24–17–5 53 Recap 47 January 11 Edmonton 3–4 Calgary Koskinen 19,289 24–18–5 53 Recap 48 January 14 Nashville 2–4 Edmonton Smith 17,029 25–18–5 55 Recap 49 January 18 Arizona 3–7 Edmonton Smith 18,347 26–18–5 57 Recap 50 January 29 Calgary 4–3 Edmonton SO Smith 18,347 26–18–6 58 Recap 51 January 31 St. Louis 2–4 Edmonton Koskinen 17,207 27–18–6 60 Recap
February: 7–5–2 (Home: 3–2–1 ; Road: 4–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 52 February 1 Edmonton 8–3 Calgary Smith 19,289 28–18–6 62 Recap 53 February 4 Edmonton 0–3 Arizona Koskinen 14,725 28–19–6 62 Recap 54 February 6 San Jose 6–3 Edmonton Koskinen 17,175 28–20–6 62 Recap 55 February 8 Nashville 2–3 Edmonton Smith 17,212 29–20–6 64 Recap 56 February 11 Chicago 3–5 Edmonton Smith 17,066 30–20–6 66 Recap 57 February 13 Edmonton 1–3 Tampa Bay Smith 19,092 30–21–6 66 Recap 58 February 15 Edmonton 4–1 Florida Koskinen 15,069 31–21–6 68 Recap 59 February 16 Edmonton 4–3 Carolina OT Smith 18,680 32–21–6 70 Recap 60 February 19 Boston 2–1 Edmonton OT Smith 17,804 32–21–7 71 Recap 61 February 21 Minnesota 5–3 Edmonton Koskinen 17,055 32–22–7 71 Recap 62 February 23 Edmonton 4–2 Los Angeles Smith 18,230 33–22–7 73 Recap 63 February 25 Edmonton 3–4 Anaheim OT Smith 15,431 33–22–8 74 Recap 64 February 26 Edmonton 0–3 Vegas Koskinen 18,421 33–23–8 74 Recap 65 February 29 Winnipeg 2–3 Edmonton Smith 18,347 34–23–8 76 Recap
March: 3–2–1 (Home: 1–1–1 ; Road: 2–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 66 March 2 Edmonton 8–3 Nashville Smith 17,316 35–23–8 78 Recap 67 March 3 Edmonton 2–1 Dallas OT Koskinen 18,532 36–23–8 80 Recap 68 March 5 Edmonton 3–4 Chicago Smith 21,481 36–24–8 80 Recap 69 March 7 Columbus 1–4 Edmonton Koskinen 17,085 37–24–8 82 Recap 70 March 9 Vegas 3–2 Edmonton OT Koskinen 17,327 37–24–9 83 Recap 71 March 11 Winnipeg 4–2 Edmonton Smith 17,165 37–25–9 83 Recap
Cancelled games # Date Visitor Home 72 March 13 NY Islanders Edmonton 73 March 15 Edmonton Philadelphia 74 March 16 Edmonton Washington 75 March 18 Edmonton Ottawa 76 March 20 Tampa Bay Edmonton 77 March 23 Anaheim Edmonton 78 March 25 Colorado Edmonton 79 March 27 San Jose Edmonton 80 March 29 Anaheim Edmonton 81 March 31 Vegas Edmonton 82 April 4 Edmonton Calgary
Legend:       Win (2 points)       Loss (0 points)       Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

The Oilers were defeated in four games by the Chicago Blackhawks in the qualifying round.

2020 Stanley Cup playoffs
Western Conference Qualifying Round vs. (12) Chicago Blackhawks: Chicago won 3–1 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Series Recap 1 August 1 Chicago 6–4 Edmonton Smith 0–1 Recap 2 August 3 Chicago 3–6 Edmonton Koskinen 1–1 Recap 3 August 5 Edmonton 3–4 Chicago Koskinen 1–2 Recap 4 August 7 Edmonton 2–3 Chicago Koskinen 1–3 Recap
Legend:       Win       Loss

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular season Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Draisaitl, LeonLeon Draisaitl 71 43 67 110 −7 18 McDavid, ConnorConnor McDavid 64 34 63 97 −6 28 Nugent-Hopkins, RyanRyan Nugent-Hopkins 65 22 39 61 1 33 Kassian, ZackZack Kassian 59 15 19 34 0 69 Klefbom, OscarOscar Klefbom 62 5 29 34 −17 24 Nurse, DarnellDarnell Nurse 71 5 28 33 −2 48 Neal, JamesJames Neal 55 19 12 31 −20 12 Yamamoto, KailerKailer Yamamoto 27 11 15 26 17 12 Chiasson, AlexAlex Chiasson 65 11 13 24 −3 42 Archibald, JoshJosh Archibald 62 12 9 21 −8 12 Bear, EthanEthan Bear 71 5 16 21 −4 33 Sheahan, RileyRiley Sheahan 66 8 7 15 −13 6 Gagner, SamSam Gagner ‡ || 36 || 5 || 7 || 12 || −9 || 10 Khaira, JujharJujhar Khaira 64 6 4 10 −19 38 Haas, GaetanGaetan Haas 58 5 5 10 −1 6 Jones, CalebCaleb Jones 43 4 5 9 −1 10 Nygard, JoakimJoakim Nygard 33 3 6 9 0 8 Russell, KrisKris Russell 55 0 9 9 0 14 Benning, MattMatt Benning 43 1 7 8 8 15 Larsson, AdamAdam Larsson 49 1 5 6 0 35 Russell, PatrickPatrick Russell 45 0 5 5 −11 12 Granlund, MarkusMarkus Granlund 34 3 1 4 −1 14 Ennis, TylerTyler Ennis † || 9 || 2 || 2 || 4 || −1 || 4 Athanasiou, AndreasAndreas Athanasiou † || 9 || 1 || 1 || 2 || −1 || 4 Jurco, TomasTomas Jurco 12 0 2 2 1 4 Persson, JoelJoel Persson ‡ || 13 || 0 || 2 || 2 || −1 || 2 Cave, ColbyColby Cave 11 1 0 1 −3 4 Manning, BrandonBrandon Manning 9 1 0 1 −1 17 Benson, TylerTyler Benson 7 0 1 1 −1 0 Lagesson, WilliamWilliam Lagesson 8 0 0 0 −4 0 Green, MikeMike Green † || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || −2 || 0

Playoffs Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM McDavid, ConnorConnor McDavid 4 5 4 9 1 2 Nugent-Hopkins, RyanRyan Nugent-Hopkins 4 2 6 8 −2 0 Draisaitl, LeonLeon Draisaitl 4 3 3 6 1 0 Neal, JamesJames Neal 4 2 1 3 3 0 Ennis, TylerTyler Ennis 3 1 1 2 0 4 Chiasson, AlexAlex Chiasson 4 1 1 2 1 0 Klefbom, OscarOscar Klefbom 4 0 2 2 0 0 Nurse, DarnellDarnell Nurse 4 0 2 2 −3 6 Archibald, JoshJosh Archibald 4 1 0 1 1 4 Benning, MattMatt Benning 4 0 1 1 2 6 Haas, GaetanGaetan Haas 1 0 0 0 0 0 Yamamoto, KailerKailer Yamamoto 4 0 0 0 −1 6 Jones, CalebCaleb Jones 2 0 0 0 1 0 Bear, EthanEthan Bear 4 0 0 0 −4 0 Athanasiou, AndreasAndreas Athanasiou 4 0 0 0 −2 2 Khaira, JujharJujhar Khaira 4 0 0 0 0 2 Sheahan, RileyRiley Sheahan 4 0 0 0 −1 2 Kassian, ZackZack Kassian 4 0 0 0 −4 2 Russell, KrisKris Russell 4 0 0 0 −1 2 Larsson, AdamAdam Larsson 2 0 0 0 −1 0

Goaltenders

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Smith, MikeMike Smith	39	37	2,156:51	19	12	6	106	2.95	1,087	.902	1	0	2	21
Koskinen, MikkoMikko Koskinen	38	34	2,116:31	18	13	3	97	2.75	1,175	.917	1	0	0	0

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Koskinen, MikkoMikko Koskinen	4	3	208:55	1	2	11	3.16	99	.889	0	0	0	0
Smith, MikeMike Smith	1	1	26:32	0	1	5	11.31	23	.783	0	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Oilers. Stats reflect time with the Oilers only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Oilers only.

Transactions

The Oilers have been involved in the following transactions during the 2019–20 season.

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
July 19, 2019 (2019-07-19)	To Calgary Flames Milan Lucic conditional 3th-round pick in 2020	To Edmonton Oilers James Neal
July 26, 2019 (2019-07-26)	To Pittsburgh Penguins John Marino	To Edmonton Oilers 6th-round pick in 2021
February 23, 2020 (2020-02-23)	To Detroit Red Wings Kyle Brodziak conditional 3rd-round pick in 2021 or conditional 4th-round pick in 2020	To Edmonton Oilers Mike Green
February 24, 2020 (2020-02-24)	To Detroit Red Wings Sam Gagner 2nd-round pick in 2020 2nd-round pick in 2021	To Edmonton Oilers Andreas Athanasiou Ryan Kuffner
February 24, 2020 (2020-02-24)	To Ottawa Senators 5th-round pick in 2021	To Edmonton Oilers Tyler Ennis
February 24, 2020 (2020-02-24)	To Anaheim Ducks Joel Persson	To Edmonton Oilers Angus Redmond conditional 7th-round pick in 2022

Free agents

Date	Player	Team	Contract term	Ref
July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01)	Markus Granlund	from Vancouver Canucks	1-year
July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01)	Kevin Gravel	to Toronto Maple Leafs	1-year
July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01)	Gaëtan Haas	from SC Bern (NL)	1-year
July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01)	Tomáš Jurčo	from Charlotte Checkers (AHL)	1-year
July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01)	Andrej Sekera	to Dallas Stars	1-year
July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01)	Mike Smith	from Calgary Flames	1-year
July 2, 2019 (2019-07-02)	Anthony Stolarz	to Anaheim Ducks	2-year
July 10, 2019 (2019-07-10)	Ty Rattie	to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL)	1-year
July 16, 2019 (2019-07-16)	Josh Archibald	from Arizona Coyotes	1-year
July 29, 2019 (2019-07-29)	Ryan Stanton	to Ontario Reign (AHL)	1-year
August 27, 2019 (2019-08-27)	Jesse Puljujärvi	to Kärpät (Liiga)	1-year
September 5, 2019 (2019-09-05)	Riley Sheahan	from Florida Panthers	1-year
September 26, 2019 (2019-09-26)	Alex Petrovic	to Boston Bruins	1-year
September 27, 2019 (2019-09-27)	Tobias Rieder	to Calgary Flames	1-year
April 29, 2020 (2020-04-29)	Theodor Lennström	from Frölunda HC (SHL)	1-year
April 29, 2020 (2020-04-29)	Brad Malone	to Bakersfield Condors (AHL)	2-year

Waivers

Date	Player	Team	Ref

Contract terminations Date Player Via Ref July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01) Andrej Sekera Buyout

Retirement Date Player Ref

Signings

Date	Player	Contract term	Ref
July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01)	Alex Chiasson	2-year
July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01)	Jujhar Khaira	2-year
July 4, 2019 (2019-07-04)	Philip Broberg	3-year
January 15, 2020 (2020-01-15)	Caleb Jones	2-year
January 30, 2020 (2020-01-30)	Zack Kassian	4-year
February 10, 2020 (2020-02-10)	Darnell Nurse	2-year
February 12, 2020 (2020-02-12)	Joakim Nygård	1-year
March 6, 2020 (2020-03-06)	Josh Archibald	2-year
March 21, 2020 (2020-03-21)	Raphaël Lavoie	3-year
April 28, 2020 (2020-04-28)	Gaëtan Haas	1-year
April 30, 2020 (2020-04-30)	Markus Niemeläinen	2-year
May 1, 2020 (2020-05-01)	Filip Berglund	2-year

Draft picks

See also: List of Edmonton Oilers draft picks

Below are the Edmonton Oilers' selections at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 21 and 22, 2019, at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	8	Philip Broberg	D	Sweden	AIK (HockeyAllsvenskan)
2	38	Raphael Lavoie	C	Canada	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
3	851	Ilya Konovalov	G	Russia	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL)
4	100	Matej Blümel	RW	Czech Republic	Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)
6	162	Tomas Mazura	C	Czech Republic	Kimball Union Academy (USHS)
7	193	Maxim Denezhkin	C	Russia	Loko Yaroslavl (MHL)

Notes:

1. The New York Islanders' third-round pick went to the Edmonton Oilers as the result of a trade on February 24, 2018, that sent Brandon Davidon to New York in exchange for this pick.