Pickard allowed one goal on seven shots after replacing Stuart Skinner in the Oilers' 6-0 loss to the Jets on opening night. With a back-to-back this weekend, Pickard will start the easier of the two matchups vs. the Blackhawks on Saturday. The Oilers are the biggest favourites (-348) on Saturday's slate and Pickard had a 27-save shutout in his only game against them last season.

Jones will be a healthy scratch on Thursday, allowing Riley Tufte to draw into the lineup. Jones was held without a point or shot on goal while registering a -1 plus/minus in 9:42 of ice time in the Bruins' season-opening 6-4 loss to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.

Stecher will be a healthy scratch in the season opener for the Oilers, allowing Travis Dermott to make his debut with the team. The 30-year-old Stecher joined the Oilers late last season and tallied two points (0G / 2A), a +4 plus/minus, 10 blocks, and 15 hits in seven games.

For the first time in his young career, Skinner enters the 2024-25 campaign as the undisputed starting goalie for the Edmonton Oilers. The 25-year-old Skinner had an up-and-down 2023-24 season, posting a 2.62 GAA and .905 SV% in 59 games (36-16-5), but had a 17-game stretch to end the season (11-2-3) where he allowed three or fewer goals in all but one game, posting a .922 SV% before leading his club to the Stanley Cup finals. Skinner and the Oilers will open the season against a Winnipeg Jets club he posted a 2-0-1 record against along with a 2.27 GAA and .910 SV%.

Jones has been sidelined by an undisclosed injury during training camp but shed his non-contact jersey for Thursday's practice. Jones came over from Anaheim has a free agent this summer and had 15 points (5G / 10A) in 52 games a season ago. Now that he's back healthy, he should be a member of the Bruins' fourth line on opening night.

Jones has been sidelined during his first training camp with the Bruins due to an undisclosed injury. Head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters on Tuesday that he's "getting close," which is a good sign that he could be available for the Bruins' season opener.

Edmonton locked up a massive piece of their future on Tuesday after the Oilers agreed to an eight-year, $112 million contract extension ($14,000,000 AAV) with Leon Draisaitl starting at the beginning of the 2025-26 season. The upcoming 2024-25 campaign will mark Draisaitl's 11th NHL season, having surpassed the 100+ point plateau in five of the last six years. He will look to build off last year's rare down(ish) campaign which saw him still pick up an impressive 41 goals and 106 points in 81 games played.

With Edmonton needing to offload salary after St.Louis tenured two of their restricted free agents this week (Broberg, Holloway), they have dealt Cody Ceci and a 2025 3rd-round pick to San Jose for Ty Emberson. Emberson made his NHL debut in 2023-24 and had a goal and 10 points in 30 games played. The 24-year-old should make a solid replacement for Ceci and a dependable sixth defenseman on the Oilers' third defensive unit.

Edmonton continued to add to their roster on Sunday as they acquired Vasily Podkolzin from Vancouver for a 2025 4th-round pick (Ottawa). Podkolzin was Vancouver's 2019 1st round pick (10th overall) but had fallen out of favor with the Canucks after producing only two assists, and 20 SOG in 19 games played in 2023-24.

Edmonton traded away a former first round pick (Xavier Bourgault) alongside Jake Chiasson and acquired Roby Jarventie and a 2025 4th round pick. The 21-year-old Jarventie is a Finish left-winger and was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft (33rd overall). He made his NHL debut for Ottawa in 2023-24, picking up an assist and five SOG while only averaging 7:31 TOI/GP.

Boston added to its defensive depth on Friday by signing defensemen Alec Regula to a one-year, two-way contract extension. Regula was acquired by Boston from Chicago as part of the deal which saw Taylor Hall head to the Blackhawks in the 2023-24 offseason and had four goals and 26 points with Providence (AHL) last season.

Emberson picked up 10 points (1G/9A) in 30 games as a rookie for San Jose in 2023-24 and earned himself a one-year, $950,000 contract extension on Thursday. The 24-year-old was originally Arizona's 2018 3rd-round pick (73rd overall) and was traded to New York where he was eventually waived to begin the 2023-24 season before being claimed by San Jose.

The Sabres selected Savoie with the No.9 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and he appeared in on NHL games with them last season. He won a WHL Championship with Moose Jaw, scoring 47 points (19G / 28A) in 23 regular season games and 24 points (10G / 14A) in 19 playoff games. During his brief time in the AHL last season, he had five points (2G / 3A) in six games. Given all of the offseason additions the Oilers made up front, it seems unlikely that Savoie will make the team out of training camp and acquiring him was a move with an eye on the future.

Carolina added some defensive depth early Wednesday morning as the team announced it has signed Riley Stillman to a one-year, two-way contract. The 26-year-old defenseman last played in the NHL in 2022-23 and has four goals and 26 points in 158 career games. He spent the entire 2023-24 season with the Rochester Americans (AHL) and had two goals and six points in 47 games played.

Stecher will remain an Edmonton Oiler after the 30-year-old defenseman signed a two-year contract worth $1.575 million ($787.5K AAV). The veteran defenseman was acquired at last year's trade deadline from Arizona is entering his ninth NHL season. In 54 games played in 2023-24, he had a goal, seven points, and 32 PIMs.

After hitting the open market, Adam Henrique's time in Edmonton will continue after the 34-year-old signed a two-year deal worth $6.0 million ($3.0M AAV) to remain an Oilers. The veteran forward was acquired at the Trade Deadline from Anaheim in 2023-24 and ended his season with 24 goals, 51 points, 37 PIms and a +9 plus/minus through 82 games played.

One of Edmonton's key depth pieces for their Stanley Cup run is returning in Mattias Janmark after the forward signed a three-year deal worth $4.35 million ($1.45M AAV) to remain with the Oilers. The 31-year-old is entering his third season in Edmonton and had four goals, 12 points, and 46 PIMs in 71 games played in 2023-24.

Brown will join his fifth NHL team in seven seasons after he signed a three-year deal worth $3.0 million ($1.0M AAV) with Edmonton. The 30-year-old appeared in 51 games with Arizona in 2023-24, picking up three goals, 10 points, and 75 PIMs.

After six seasons in Anaheim, Max Jones has signed a two-year contract worth $2 million ($1,000,000 AAV) with Boston. The 26-year-old has never surpassed 20 points in any of his six seasons but had five goals, 15 points and 33 PIMs in 52 games played in 2023-24.

Kapenen will return to the Blues for a third-straight season after putting up six goals and 22 points in 73 games in 2023-24. The 27-year-old will return to St. Louis for at least one more campaign after signing a deal worth $1 million as he enters his 10th NHL season.