Also during the off-season, the Oilers would lose goaltender Curtis Joseph, as he would leave the team as a free agent and join the Toronto Maple Leafs, leaving the goaltending duties to Bob Essensa and former Mighty Ducks of Anaheim backup Mikhail Shtalenkov, and Edmonton would join the newly created Northwest Division, along with their Western Canada rivals the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks, as well as the Colorado Avalanche.
Edmonton would start the season with a 7–4–0 record in their opening 11 games, and would remain close to the .500 mark until early February, despite losing Doug Weight to injuries.
Three days later, the Oilers would send Mats Lindgren and an eighth-round draft pick to the New York Islanders in exchange for goaltender Tommy Salo.
Edmonton would also deal Boris Mironov and Dean McAmmond to the Chicago Blackhawks for youngsters Ethan Moreau, Christian Laflamme and Chad Kilger, and acquire Jason Smith from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a fourth-round draft pick on March 23.
In goal, Bob Essensa and Mikhail Shtalenkov would split time for a majority of the season, each earning 12 victories.