The Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers open their 2026 NHL preseason schedules Saturday night at Rogers Place, and for fantasy hockey managers, this matchup offers much more than a first exhibition-game score.
Connor McDavid is coming off a league-leading 138-point season, while Mark Scheifele produced 103 points and Kyle Connor added 92 for Winnipeg. Edmonton also enters camp experimenting with an intriguing development: new Oilers coach Mike Babcock has said he intends to begin with McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together, potentially creating one of the most dangerous fantasy combinations in hockey. Winnipeg, meanwhile, opened camp with Connor-Scheifele-Cole Perfetti together during line rushes.
My biggest fantasy question Saturday is not simply who wins. I want to see which stars actually dress, how much power-play time they receive, and which younger players earn opportunities beside established scorers.
Because this is preseason, confirmed game rosters remain essential. Any player projection below assumes that player dresses and receives meaningful minutes.
Winnipeg Jets vs. Edmonton Oilers Game Information
7:00 PM CT
8:00 PM ET
Edmonton’s current preseason page confirms Oilers+ and 880 CHED, while the NHL lists the game for 8:00 p.m. ET.
Jets vs. Oilers Fantasy Hockey Matchup Outlook
The first statistic that jumps out to me is Edmonton’s offensive advantage from last season.
The Oilers finished 41-30-11 with 93 points, scoring 282 goals, or 3.44 per game. Winnipeg finished 35-35-12 with 82 points and scored 229 goals, or 2.79 per game. Edmonton’s power play was also a major fantasy weapon, converting at 30.63 percent compared with Winnipeg’s 18.50 percent.
2025-26 Team Comparison
WINNIPEG JETS
EDMONTON OILERS
Edmonton also swept Winnipeg 3-0 during the 2025-26 regular season, outscoring the Jets 13-6. That doesn’t automatically predict an exhibition game, but it gives me another reason to pay attention to Edmonton’s offensive players if enough regulars dress.
NHL Fantasy Players to Watch in Jets vs. Oilers
What makes this matchup particularly interesting for fantasy managers is what both teams are testing at training camp.
Winnipeg’s first camp group featured Kyle Connor with Mark Scheifele and Cole Perfetti. Perfetti is especially interesting after dropping to 32 points last season following an injury-disrupted year. If he can secure a consistent role beside Connor and Scheifele, his fantasy value could rebound considerably.
Edmonton’s situation may be even more intriguing. Babcock said he intends to begin the season with McDavid and Draisaitl together. Even if that combination doesn’t remain permanent, fantasy managers need to monitor how often the two superstars are deployed together at five-on-five.
NHLTradeRumor.com Fantasy Matchup Projection
These are my projections if each player dresses and receives meaningful preseason minutes. They are not confirmed lineup projections.
Again, preseason deployment matters more than reputation here. If McDavid or Draisaitl receives only a period or two, I would not evaluate the result the same way I would a regular-season game.
Top Five Jets and Oilers Fantasy Scorers From Last Season
The star-power gap at the very top is small, but Edmonton had substantially more high-end scoring depth.
McDavid’s 48 goals, 90 assists and 138 points led the NHL. Draisaitl reached 97 points despite playing only 65 games, while Bouchard produced an extraordinary 95 points from the blue line. Winnipeg countered with Scheifele’s 103 and Connor’s 92.
NHLTradeRumor.com Top-Five Scoring Index
JETS TOP FIVE — 2025-26
OILERS TOP FIVE — 2025-26
Injuries and Absences That Could Affect Fantasy Value
The largest Winnipeg storyline isn’t technically an injury. Connor Hellebuyck has been suspended after failing to report to training camp, meaning Winnipeg begins preseason without its established No. 1 goalie.
Winnipeg also has Morgan Barron listed day-to-day with a lower-body injury, while Alex Iafallo, Vladislav Namestnikov and Neal Pionk have been listed day-to-day. Elias Salomonsson is out longer term with a shoulder injury.
For Edmonton, Matthew Savoie and Frederik Andersen are unavailable while rehabbing offseason injuries, and Alec Regula and Mattias Janmark are also dealing with injury situations entering camp.
From a fantasy perspective, Winnipeg’s goalie situation is the part I care about most. If Edmonton dresses a reasonably strong group against a less-experienced Winnipeg goaltending combination, that increases the appeal of Oilers forwards and power-play players.
Salary-Cap Snapshot and Roster Flexibility
The cap isn’t something that will decide Saturday’s fantasy results, but it matters when projecting roster movement as training camp continues.
We currently project Winnipeg with approximately $4.48 million in cap space, compared with approximately $1.08 million for Edmonton.
WINNIPEG CAP SNAPSHOT
EDMONTON CAP SNAPSHOT
Winnipeg Jets vs. Edmonton Oilers Fantasy Hockey Prediction
My score prediction: Edmonton Oilers 4, Winnipeg Jets 2.
From my perspective, Edmonton offers the better fantasy ceiling in this matchup, assuming the Oilers dress enough of their established offensive players.
The biggest reason is the concentration of elite talent. McDavid, Draisaitl and Bouchard accounted for 330 combined points last season, and Edmonton produced 53 more goals as a team than Winnipeg. Edmonton also won all three regular-season meetings with the Jets last season and outscored them 13-6.
I also think Winnipeg’s goaltending situation gives the Oilers an additional offensive opportunity. Hellebuyck won’t be part of the equation right now, and preseason goaltending workloads are often divided between players fighting for roster spots.
The important warning is that this is still preseason. If McDavid, Draisaitl, Scheifele or Connor either sit out or receive limited ice time, I would immediately lower expectations for this projection.
For fantasy managers, I’m less interested in whether Edmonton actually wins 4-2 than I am in who receives top-six minutes, which players get first-unit power-play reps and whether Connor-Scheifele-Perfetti or McDavid-Draisaitl continues to receive meaningful time together. Those developments could tell us much more about the opening weeks of the fantasy season than the final score itself.
How to Watch Winnipeg Jets vs. Edmonton Oilers
The Winnipeg Jets vs. Edmonton Oilers preseason game starts Saturday at 6:00 p.m. MT, 7:00 p.m. CT and 8:00 p.m. ET at Rogers Place.
Edmonton officially lists the game on Oilers+ in Canada, with radio coverage on 880 CHED. Current U.S. listings show ESPN+. There is currently no Sportsnet television broadcast listed for this matchup.
Because preseason rights can differ from regular-season regional broadcasts, fans should confirm their streaming availability before puck drop.
For more coverage, find out where to watch the Winnipeg Jets on TV today, check the latest Edmonton Oilers schedule, follow the NHL point leaders from the 2025-26 season, and enter our NHL fantasy hockey pool on NHLTradeRumor.com.
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