The Oilers opened their new season with a 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets, and the night came with a familiar kind of buzz: the kind that follows a team trying to reset its identity. Evan Bouchard piled up four assists, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Shea each chipped in with multi-point nights, and Tristan Jarry and Matt Tomkins split the crease while stopping 19 of 21 shots.
It wasn’t the kind of Jets group you’d expect to see in early October - Noah Gregor led Winnipeg in NHL games played - but Edmonton still got the kind of start it wanted.
That matters because the Oilers are entering a season shaped by a controversial coaching change. When Edmonton named Mike Babcock the successor to Kris Knoblauch, plenty of fans pushed back hard.
Babcock’s three decades behind the bench have come with baggage, and his reputation for the way he has handled players is no secret. He hadn’t coached in the league since 2020, and the reaction around the hire reflected that.
The tone around the move has shifted some since then. The early backlash has cooled, and more of the fan base appears willing to entertain the idea that Edmonton may have needed a tougher edge, especially after the comments players made about the previous coaching staff.
Sean Avery, who played for Babcock early in his career, offered a strong endorsement during an appearance last week on ON Everyday with Tyler and Liam, shortly after announcing his new show The Sean Avery Show on Hockey Fights. He made it clear where he stands on the Oilers’ new bench boss.
“I love Mike Babcock,” said Avery. “He was my first professional coach with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks.
I’d say one of the reasons that I made the NHL as early as I did was because of Mike Babcock. He coached that way.
“His first year pro, he fucking rode us so hard. Okay, he did some crazy shit with us.
He let us run around like absolute animals, but he taught us how to work in practice, and he made us understand that there was a next level, and I’ll tell you another thing: it’s very rare for a non-NHL player to have had such a grasp on what it was going to take to play in the NHL. I love Babs.”
Avery also pointed to the bigger picture in Edmonton, where Connor McDavid’s future looms over everything. Even with much of the core locked in for years, what McDavid decides will steer the franchise’s direction.
He also framed Babcock’s arrival as a chance for something bigger than just a coaching change.
“Now he’s got these guys [the Oilers], he’s got Connor McDavid,” said Avery. “I think there’s a real redemption story.
I don’t know what Babs did. Babs is a bit of an asshole.
“Whether or not it’s an act, sometimes it is. Sometimes, it’s a shtick.
But I can tell you, the guy likes to win. Has he treated some people like shit along the way?
Yeah, he has. You know, Babs is always going to have those.
He’s a devilish character, and he does this via motivation, or the result is: how do I keep my guys motivated and on edge? Now it’s a different NHL now, but when you look at Edmonton, that might be exactly what they need, right?”
Avery added that Babcock’s roots still make sense for this job and said the coach has pulled him back toward watching the Oilers closely.
“Babcock is a this guy is a Canadian kid - the game is in his bones. Coming back to Edmonton, I’m very excited.
I’m going to watch the Edmonton Oilers now early on because of him, not because of Connor McDavid. I know what I’m gonna get from them.
But let’s see what he does with the team. That’s fun.”
For now, the Oilers have the kind of start that lets everyone breathe a little easier. But the real evaluation will come later, when the season gets heavy and Babcock’s voice has to carry through the grind of winter. That’s when the edge Avery described will matter most.
The new era has started. The hard part comes next.
In Other News...
Babcocks First Oilers Read Puts Early Pressure On One New Group
Mike Babcocks first preseason look at the Oilers came in a 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets, and it offered an early snapshot of which players are making an impression as camp unfolds. Alex Formenton, Ryan Shea, Evan Bouchard, Colton Dach and Mathieu Joseph were among the standouts in Babcocks view, with Formenton drawing particular praise and Dach holding his own in a spot at center that was not necessarily expected heading in.
There was also a reminder that not every new combination clicked cleanly, which is part of what makes these early reads so useful. Babcock pointed to the need for detail and puck management from Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl all season long, but the sharper questions right now sit with one fresh group trying to carve out a role and turn a decent preseason showing into something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Goalie Question Suddenly Has A Massive Win-Now Twist
Connor Hellebuycks trade request from Winnipeg has instantly changed the conversation around the Oilers most unsettled spot. Edmonton has already reshaped its goaltending group, but the position still carries enough uncertainty that a goalie of Hellebuycks caliber would loom large if the Jets truly move him. Reports suggesting he would be open to landing in Edmonton only add to the intrigue, especially for a team that knows how unforgiving the playoffs can be without dependable stopping.
For now, nothing has been confirmed on the trade front, and that is what makes the situation so compelling for the Oilers. Hellebuycks availability creates the kind of win-now possibility contenders monitor closely, but any serious pursuit would come with real complications for Edmontons front office. The appeal is obvious, yet the cost of chasing a franchise goalie is usually just as unavoidable, which leaves the Oilers facing another familiar question: how aggressive are they willing to be when the right name becomes available? [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Linked To Elite Scorer But One Snag Could Kill It
Kirill Marchenko has started to look like one of the more intriguing trade candidates in the NHL, and the Oilers are among the teams being mentioned as potential suitors. Edmonton is always looking for ways to add scoring punch around its core, and Marchenkos name has naturally surfaced alongside other big-market teams such as Montreal and Toronto as clubs monitor the situation.
The challenge is that interest alone does not make a deal realistic, especially with the cap landscape tightening for everyone involved. Darren Dreger noted there are real hurdles here, from the kind of assets it would take to pry Marchenko loose to the contract commitment needed to get him in the fold, which could make this more of a long-shot discussion than an immediate fit for Edmonton. [Read more 🡒]