The first true upset of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs took place on Thursday night. The Edmonton Oilers went down in flames as the upstart Anaheim Ducks took their first-round series in six games.
The post-mortem assessment of the Oilers’ season is just getting started. As the debate rages, the TNT panel following the game delved into the issues that haunted the Oilers this season. One of the panelists, the controversial Paul Bissonnette, clearly delineated why the Oilers failed.
In fact, Bissonnette clearly explained why the Avalanche have been successful, and the Oilers have not.
“You look at what Colorado’s been able to do, through MacKinnon’s prime years, and how they’ve been able to reload. Well, they were having goaltending issues dating back to last year. What did they do? They replenished it with two guys who could who could start between the net.”
Indeed, the acquisitions of MacKenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood essentially saved the Avalanche’s season last year. This season, Wedgewood has been nothing short of magnificent. While Blackwood has been no slouch himself, it’s been Wedgewood who’s played out of his mind.
But the praise doesn’t stop there.
“When they needed another puck-moving defenseman, well, they had Malinski coming up. They were able to move off Sam Girard to bring in a guy like Kulak, who’s a shutdown defenseman.”
The boys address the 🐘 in the room... could McDavid be anywhere else besides Edmonton? @BizNasty2point0 has a SCATHING answer 😳 pic.twitter.com/YqwA4m0YnD
— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) May 1, 2026
But it wasn’t just Kulak, as good as he’s been, who’s defined the Avalanche’s contention window moving forward. Guys like Brock Nelson, Martin Necas, and the return of Nazem Kadri have all been tremendous moves to make the Avalanche the deepest team in the league.
Now, with the Oilers out of the picture, the Avalanche continue with a clear path to the Stanley Cup Final. It could be that they’ll run into a young, up-and-coming team in Round 3. That’s all right, especially when considering the experience, depth, and goaltending in Colorado.
Championship teams moving forward will look at the Avalanche and see the blueprint to be successful, not just one year, but for multiple seasons.
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