The Edmonton Oilers’ offseason chatter has been hard to miss, and a big chunk of it has revolved around the team’s decision to hire Mike Babcock as head coach.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have already gone on record praising Babcock’s honesty and his willingness to be tough on players, but not everyone is convinced that kind of message will land the same way with Edmonton’s biggest stars. Former NHLer and current TSN analyst Jeff O’Neill said he’s not buying the idea that Babcock is suddenly going to reshape how the Oilers’ top end operates.
O’Neill said:
“It’s an indictment on yourself almost, where it’s like, ‘I could have done whatever I wanted and people were afraid.’ I don’t know, it’s bizarre.
It’s like they’ve been brainwashed or something. All of the reports about Mike Babcock, it was never Datsyuk or Zetterberg or Auston or Mitch.
It was everybody else that got the jolts. So what the h*** is he gonna say to Leon Draisaitl or Connor McDavid?
It’s almost that they know that this guy isn’t gonna say squat to them anyway. I totally get it, but you can’t have it both ways.
You can’t say, ‘I’m this player and I’m that player, and I get the money and I do what I want and leave me alone,’ and then all of a sudden wake up one summer and say, ‘We need some guys to tell the best players what the h**** going on here,”
Babcock, 63, was hired by Edmonton in June, and the details of his contract have not been made public.
His arrival gives the Oilers a very different voice behind the bench than Kris Knoblauch or Jay Woodcroft, and that seems to be exactly what McDavid, Draisaitl and the rest of the core are hoping for as they try to get over the hump.
For now, though, the scrutiny isn’t going anywhere. If Babcock helps deliver a Stanley Cup to Edmonton, the debate will fade fast. Until then, every move he makes is likely to stay under the microscope.
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The Oilers are entering the season with a familiar kind of spotlight on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and this time it comes with a coaching wrinkle attached. Mike Babcocks reputation has always been built on demanding buy-in from his best players, and in Edmonton that naturally raises the question of how his approach will mesh with two stars who already set the standard every night. It is the kind of dynamic that can shape a room long before the first important game is played.
Jeff ONeill has made clear he is not sold on the idea that Babcock will be able to apply the same hard-nosed discipline to McDavid or Draisaitl that he once expected from other marquee names. Still, both players have already spoken positively about their new coach, which only adds another layer to the intrigue. For the Oilers, the real test is whether that public respect turns into the kind of accountability that holds up when the season starts to bite. [Read more 🡒]