The Oilers’ start has put Mike Babcock in the spotlight, and the numbers are hard to ignore. Edmonton owns the NHL’s best points percentage at .833, sitting on 15 points through nine games with seven wins, one regulation loss and one overtime loss. They’ve got three players inside the league’s top six scorers, too: Connor McDavid leads the way with 26 points, Evan Bouchard is tied for second with 19, and Leon Draisaitl is tied for sixth with 16.
Devon Levi has also given Edmonton a strong-to-sensational run in goal, while Babcock has drawn praise around the league for getting the Oilers to defend better than they did a year ago. In Toronto, the new look has even become a talking point.
Host Matt Marchese of the Fan Hockey Show said this week, “For Edmonton, this train keeps rolling… You start to wonder, like, why it didn’t work for them early in the season in years past? And why even with a shortened training camp, they’ve turned this thing around?
And you can look at 97, you can look at 29, you can look at Bouchard as well, and all of this, and just say like, ‘Hey, this group bringing in Mike Babcock looks like it was the right move.’ But it’s a motivated group because they were part of the decision process.”
That view has been reinforced on Oilers Now, where long-time Knoblauch supporter Bob Stauffer pointed to the team’s improvement in key defensive areas, including the reduction of slot chances and odd-man rushes. “This is significant,” Stauffer said. “And I think respectfully - and I don’t mean to disparage Kris Knoblauch and the work that that staff did - but I think it’s a little bit of a reflection of the focus for Mike Babcock and (associate coach) DJ Smith.”
Stauffer then put the question directly to Oilers GM Stan Bowman: has this group started to look like a different team?
“Yeah, I would say our attention to detail and our execution on that has been excellent this year,” Bowman said. “It’s not that we didn’t want to try to do that, but the ability to actually implement it was pretty inconsistent last year.
For whatever reason, whether it was the players or the details or whatever it was, it didn’t translate on the ice as much as we talked about it. Now we’re seeing the things that we talk about actually happening on the ice.
Bowman added, “It looks like a well-structured group right now. So we’re just looking for repeatability now.
I think we’ve shown we can do it. Now the challenge is to continue to do it.”
That’s the reality of the conversation now: Babcock’s rep is on the rise as the Oilers pile up results, while the contrast with Kris Knoblauch’s group is getting louder. Still, Knoblauch’s record here isn’t going away.
His two trips to the Stanley Cup Final stand on their own. He was the right coach for the moment when the Oilers hired him in November 2023, and his stint included strong regular-season runs, big playoff series wins, two Conference championships, and a finish that came just short of two Stanley Cup titles.
In Other News...
Flames May Move Zach Whitecloud Only If The Price Gets Serious
Zach Whitecloud has become one of the more interesting names sitting in Calgarys orbit as the season moves along, and it is not hard to see why. Around the league, a right-shot defenseman with a team-friendly contract and Stanley Cup experience is going to draw attention, and the Flames are said to be listening without necessarily pushing him out the door.
Craig Conroy appears willing to keep Whitecloud if the market does not meet the asking price, but the signals around the league suggest Calgary would need a real incentive to move him. The talks have not advanced to a deal yet, and for now the situation feels like one of those deadline-season debates that can linger for weeks before the front office decides whether the return is worth changing the blue line mix. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Youngsters Are Forcing A Lineup Decision Ryan Huska Can't Ignore
Ryan Huska has spent the past stretch juggling his lineup as injuries have forced the Flames to lean harder on their depth, and that has opened the door for a different kind of pressure inside the roster. Younger forwards such as Jonathan Castagna and Aydar Suniev have gotten more looks, while Huska has also tinkered with his defensive pairings as he searches for combinations that can hold up under the circumstances.
The most interesting part now is how a few of those young players have responded when given the chance. Calgary has already seen enough from one of them to earn a public nod from Huska after a recent game, and with the lineup still in flux, the coach is approaching a point where performance may matter more than pedigree. For a team trying to stay steady through injuries, the next decision up front could say a lot about how far Huska is willing to trust the kids. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Power Play Is Showing Life In A Spot Fans Feared Most
For a group that spent last season chasing answers with the man advantage, Calgary has found at least a little traction in a place where the frustration was easy to see. Eight games into the year, the Flames have started to look more dangerous on the power play, a development that matters because head coach Ryan Huska had made special-teams improvement a clear priority heading into the 2026-27 season. The early boost has come from a wider cast than usual, with Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Matvei Gridin, Matt Coronato and Zayne Parekh all helping to give the unit a different look.
Parekhs role has been especially notable because it hints at how the Flames are trying to build something more dynamic with the puck moving around the perimeter and seams opening up. Huska has liked the progress, and the young defenseman has talked about the groups growth as it starts to find a rhythm. For a team that was searching for life in this spot a year ago, the encouraging part is not just that the results have improved, but that the confidence appears to be building with it. [Read more 🡒]