Connor McDavid's New Oilers Linemates Revealed: Unexpected New Acquisition on the First Line

Heading into the 2025/26 regular season, the Edmonton Oilers have many questions that need to be answered around their roster, with question marks surrounding their blue line depth and goaltending.

However, with the departure of several veterans, the forward group is also going to get a shakeup, and given that Zach Hyman likely isn't going to be ready for the regular season opener, that gives them another spot to fill.

For the past several seasons, Hyman has been on captain Connor McDavid's wing, but with his injury and the loss of both Evander Kane and Corey Perry, many expected one of the young names like Isaac Howard or Matthew Savoie to step up and fill the role.

However, the team have now put together a surprising top line ahead of a pre-season tilt with the Winnipeg Jets, as the Oilers have reunited McDavid and Draisaitl, pairing the two with Trent Frederic in a surprise move.

It's well known at this point that the Oilers don't want to play 97 and 29 together, as it's best to spread out their talent, but with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins potentially moving down the lineup, this could be their solution.

Ultimately, there's a long regular season ahead, and with Hyman likely getting healthy in early November, there's a chance for the team to play around with things until then, and for now, it appears as though this could be their top line when the regular season begins.