A tradeoff that comes with having a championship-caliber roster in today’s NHL is that you’re likely to be long in the tooth across the board, which is definitely the case for the reigning Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers.
The Kris Knoblauch-coached club entered the 2024-25 NHL regular season with the oldest roster in the 32-team league, with an average age of 30.10, which tends to happen when you employ four players born in 1990 or earlier, headlined by 39-year-old forward Corey Perry.
Overall, Edmonton’s average age ranked ahead of other playoff regulars like the Nashville Predators (29.86 average age), while the Pittsburgh Penguins (29.59 average age) and Toronto Maple Leafs (29.32 average age) were right behind Edmonton, age-wise.
At least Edmonton fans can take solace in the fact that the Oilers currently are the odds-on favorite to win the Stanley Cup on Bet365 Ontario sportsbook, at +700, ranking ahead of the New Jersey Devils (+900) and the defending champion Florida Panthers (+1000).
Opening day for the NHL is here. To start the season, OntarioBets.com paused its Ontario sports betting coverage to see which NHL teams have the oldest rosters, as of opening day (Oct. 8.) Using the official team rosters as of opening day, we found the average age of each team and ranked the top 10 oldest NHL teams.
Top 10 Oldest NHL Team Rosters
Rank | Team | Average Age |
1 | Edmonton Oilers | 30.10 |
2 | Nashville Predators | 29.86 |
3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 29.59 |
4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 29.32 |
5 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 29.17 |
6 | Detroit Red Wings | 28.48 |
7 | New York Islanders | 28.97 |
8 | Carolina Hurricanes | 28.74 |
T9 | Minnesota Wild | 28.67 |
T9 | Seattle Kraken | 28.67 |
If you believe older teams have an edge with experience, you may want to consider this information when you place NHL bets on Ontario sports betting apps this season.
Where Oilers Rank NHL Wide
Across the league, no team’s average age comes particularly close to Edmonton’s with the Oilers standing nearly a quarter of a year ahead of Nashville for the top spot and 1.43 years ahead of the No. 9 Minnesota Wild and Seattle Kraken, who have an average age of 28.67 apiece.
Among the other NHL grey haired franchises this year are the Tampa Bay Lightning, with an average age of 29.17, while the Detroit Red Wings (28.48), New York Islanders (28.97), Carolina Hurricanes (28.74), Wild and Kraken round out the list this season.
For now, Edmonton fans will likely accept their team’s veteran-laden lineup as long as the Oilers are able to bring the first Stanley Cup championship across the border since Montreal won it all in 1993 this season.
That quest for immortality begins in earnest on Wednesday, when Edmonton hosts the Winnipeg Jets at 8 p.m. local time in the Oilers’ season opener, with meteoric expectations in the heart of Alberta this hockey season.
Author
Christopher Boan is a writer at OntarioBets.com. He's covered sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
