Maybe the Oilers really did find something when they turned to Mike Babcock.
That hire came with plenty of noise over the summer. Babcock’s past controversies were impossible to ignore, he hadn’t coached an NHL game since 2019, and it had been more than a decade since his last playoff series win. So when Edmonton made him the coach to help steer the final two years of Connor McDavid’s contract, the reaction was obvious skepticism.
Four games into the season, though, the early results are loud enough to drown out a lot of that doubt.
Edmonton is 3-0-1, still undefeated in regulation, and one of just four NHL teams yet to lose in 60 minutes. For a club that has too often spent the opening stretch digging itself into a hole, this is a welcome change of pace.
It’s also the Oilers’ best four-game start in five seasons. The last time they opened this well was in 2021-22, when they began 4-0.
The recent track record makes the current start stand out even more. Edmonton has stumbled out of the gate in recent years - 2-1-1 in 2025-26, then 1-3-0 in both 2024-25 and 2023-24, and 2-2-0 in 2022-23. But the organization has also shown it can recover from those early rough patches, including those identical 1-3-0 starts in 2024 and 2025 before making back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Final.
This time, the challenge has been even tougher because of the bodies missing from the lineup. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, and Matt Savoie are among the injured top forwards, and Edmonton is operating without half of its top six. Babcock has doubled down by stacking McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on one line, which leaves the rest of the forward group to hold up the depth chart on its own.
So far, they’ve held up.
The top unit has been excellent, Evan Bouchard has opened the year at a level described as generational, and Babcock has gotten the right kind of production out of the depth forwards too. That combination has Edmonton in a very different place than it usually finds itself this early.
There’s a long way to go in Babcock’s first run behind the Oilers bench, but for now he’s checked off the one thing this team has struggled to do for years: start on time.
In Other News...
Bruins Fans Have A Real Matthew Poitras Trade Question Again
The Oilers have had Matthew Poitras on their radar, and that alone is enough to keep the conversation alive in Edmonton. Bostons young forward has the kind of skill set that tends to draw attention from teams looking for affordable upside, and for the Oilers, it fits into the broader search for help without having to swing for a bigger, costlier name on the market.
Still, interest is only part of the equation. Edmontons pursuit has not turned into a completed deal, and the gap between checking in on a player and actually landing him can be the difference between a useful depth addition and a story that stays in the rumor pile. For now, Poitras remains one of the more intriguing names tied to the Oilers, with the real question being whether the sides ever get close enough to make it happen. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers May Not Be Done Addressing One Key Need At Center
The Oilers have already made one move to shore up the middle by acquiring Filip Hallander from the Pittsburgh Penguins, a tidy add for a team that has been looking for a right-shooting center. But the work there may not be finished. Edmonton has also been circling Boston Bruins forward Matthew Poitras as another option, keeping the door open on a possible fit if the right deal materializes.
For now, the conversation has not gotten simple enough to close, and that is where things stand for the Oilers as they keep evaluating their center depth. Poitras remains on their radar, and the possibility of revisiting talks later still hangs over the situation depending on how the market shifts and what happens elsewhere on the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Early Surge Is Raising A Bigger Question Than Fans Expected
Edmontons early surge has come with a few encouraging signs beyond the usual top-end offense, and Devon Levi has been one of them. His recent work in goal has given the Oilers a chance to weather some shaky stretches from the depth pairs, while Evan Bouchards scoring pace is keeping Edmonton in the kind of statistical company that tends to get attention this time of year. Add in the way recent games have been sliced up by line usage and individual contributions, and there is a lot to like in the opening sample.
The bigger question is whether the group has enough behind the headlines to sustain it. Edmonton has started to lean on new pieces such as Filip Hllander, whose size, speed and penalty-killing value give the roster another layer, and whose five-on-five offensive track record suggests there could be more there as he settles in. The early results have been positive, but the way the Oilers are distributing minutes and production is going to matter just as much once opponents start forcing them to answer deeper down the lineup. [Read more 🡒]