When Mike Babcock arrived in Edmonton as the 19th head coach in Oilers history, the move came with a clear stamp of approval from the top of the roster. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were part of the leadership group that interviewed and endorsed him, and Draisaitl’s recent comments made it plain what kind of coach the Oilers believe they’re getting.
“I think he’s got a very clear plan, and I think he holds guys accountable, and I think to him, it’s not about who it is when it comes to accountability, you know.”
That kind of message lands differently when you think about Evan Bouchard. Edmonton’s star defenceman can look electric one shift and careless the next, the kind of player who can flip from a highlight-reel play to a brutal turnover in his own zone. If Babcock is who the Oilers think he is, Bouchard may be the player who feels that pressure most.
Rhett Warrener, the former NHL defenceman and current co host of the Barn Burner podcast, floated a theory that gets right to the heart of the matter. In his view, the Oilers may have brought in Babcock specifically to apply pressure to Bouchard.
“I think they (the Oilers) hired Babcock cause they’re all mad at Bouchard. They (the leadership group) say well we need someone to push…I think they mean push our 90 point defenceman. You’ve seen McDavid and Draisaitl and the rest of the group roll their eyes and have a big sigh after “Bouch Bomb” decides I’m going to lay a turd in the middle of our zone and the other team’s going to score.”
Warrener’s read is the kind that comes from knowing how a room works. And with Bouchard, the criticism isn’t about what he can do - it’s about how often he does it cleanly. He’s already one of the league’s best offensive defencemen, but the lapses can be costly, especially when they end with the puck in his own net.
That’s where Babcock and assistant coach D.J. Smith could come in.
The Oilers may be counting on them to tighten the screws on a player whose ceiling is still sky high, even as he turns 27 in October. During Edmonton’s runs to the Stanley Cup Final in 2024 and 2025, Bouchard showed he can be stingy defensively.
The challenge now is doing it consistently at both ends of the ice.
If that part comes together, Bouchard starts to look a lot more like the kind of defender who belongs in the Norris Trophy conversation every year. The names in that class are already clear: Colorado Avalanche D-man Cale Makar, Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Quinn Hughes of the Minnesota Wild.
How Babcock handles Bouchard may become one of the biggest story lines once the Oilers gather for training camp for the 2026-27 NHL season. If Babcock truly leans into the old-school disciplinarian role, Bouchard could find himself sitting if the giveaways pile up in his own zone. That would mark a noticeable shift from the approach taken by previous Oilers coaches Kris Knoblauch and Jay Woodcroft, who rarely benched players - especially veterans - after a bad play.
The payoff, though, could be significant if the message sticks. Zach Hyman, who played for Babcock with the Toronto Maple Leafs from the 2015-16 NHL season to 2019-20, said the experience helped him.
“I obviously had a good experience with Mike in Toronto, said Hyman. I thought he did a great job with a lot of the young players that were there.”
That kind of track record is exactly why the Oilers may believe Babcock can get more out of Bouchard. The tools are already there. If the coach can sharpen the details and keep the focus where it belongs, Bouchard could take another step toward Norris Trophy level play - and maybe even work his way into the $20 million a year club someday.
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