A former Red Wings defenseman has landed in the middle of a familiar kind of coach-player tension in Edmonton.
Mike Babcock has scratched Jake Walman for six of the Oilers’ last eight games, a stretch that has put the 30-year-old defenseman in a tough spot. Walman is Edmonton’s second-highest paid defenseman, with five seasons left on a deal that pays him $7 million per year, counting 2026-27. He has appeared in 11 games this season, has one assist, and is averaging 14:15 of ice time per night.
The results haven’t helped his case. Over his last five games, Walman is minus-5, and Edmonton is 0-2-2 in the last four games he has played. The Oilers are 14-3-3 overall.
Walman’s situation is especially notable because he had looked strong when he first arrived from the San Jose Sharks. But Babcock has never been the kind of coach to hand out comfort, and Walman has a track record of starting well before eventually ending up in a coach’s doghouse.
That was the pattern in Detroit, too, before former general manager Steve Yzerman moved him to San Jose. For Red Wings fans, it’s a reminder that getting out from under Babcock’s scrutiny is never simple.
Walman addressed the situation and his return to the lineup in a post shared by the Oilers on October 17, 2026, saying: "Being out of the lineup's not fun, it's not fun watching & not fun being hurt… It's exciting… It will bring a different dynamic to the team."
Elsewhere around the Red Wings beat, Adam Levac, Detroit’s 126th pick in 2026, has kept producing for the Peterborough Petes. The prospect now has seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points in 16 games, and he’s been described as both prickly and effective.
There’s also plenty of other Detroit-related chatter circulating, including a sharp critique from an ESPN analyst about the Dylan Larkin decision to leave the Red Wings, plus Todd McLellan’s recent praise for Michael Rasmussen before scratching him for Thursday’s game at Florida.
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Red Wings Let Another Winnable Game Slip Away In Brutal Collapse
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