The Edmonton Oilers have spent too long treating physicality like an afterthought, and that approach has left them short on bite for years. That’s the case now, and the hope is that changes with Mike Babcock running the show.
There have been brief stretches when the team carried real edge. Evander Kane and Corey Perry gave the lineup some snarl for a while.
Back around 2016, the combination of Lucic, Maroon and Kassian all in the lineup gave the Oilers more grit. Before that, the 2006 Cup run team was tough throughout the roster.
But those moments have come and gone.
That inconsistency matters in an NHL where the rulebook often isn’t enforced the way it should be. In recent games in Edmonton, Detroit and Utah, opponents have chopped away with their sticks while the officials mostly looked on.
That fits a broader pattern. Over the years, teams such as the Panthers, Blues, Flames and Flyers have leaned into the idea that the referees won’t call everything and that intimidation can still be part of the game.
It’s the Mike Keenan mindset: the league won’t enforce every rule, so you work the margins.
Physical play sends a message before the puck even starts bouncing your way. A team that throws body checks, finishes hits and fights back is telling the other side it won’t be pushed around.
It can be a psychological weapon as much as a physical one. On Oct. 26, the Kings showed that against the New York Rangers, using their body to wear down a team that was better on paper.
Los Angeles outmuscled the Blue Shirts at Madison Square Garden. And for years, the Oilers have sat near the bottom of the league in hits.
That lack of push also shows up in how teams respond when one of their own gets targeted. The Oilers have too often built around smaller, skilled players and then added one heavyweight as insurance.
That’s not the same as being tough as a team. Once that lone enforcer drops the gloves and ends up in the box, the rest of the group is exposed.
Edmonton may have convinced itself that talent alone could carry the day, the way the old boys club thought after five Cups, but skill without resistance is only part of the equation.
The organization’s own history says as much. The dynasty teams weren’t just talented; they were hard to play against. If this version of the Oilers wants to win the same big prize, they need to answer the physical side of the game with the same conviction.
And sometimes the body game changes everything in real time. In the Oilers’ first matchup with the Utah Mammoth, the visitors tried to run Edmonton out of its own building.
In the rematch, the Oilers pushed back and clearly seized the momentum. Trent Frederic stood up for his teammates, the group responded, and Edmonton skated harder, forechecked harder and threw the body around.
They didn’t give the Mammoth an inch.
The larger point is hard to miss: the NHL still leaves plenty of room for cheap shots, slashes and crosschecks to slide by, so teams have to decide how they’ll answer. Connor McDavid addressed that dynamic in 2021, saying:
“You obviously want to call the rule book, that’s what it’s there for,” McDavid said. “If you call each and every one, there will be lots of penalties, but if there’s lots of penalties that’s just the way it is. The rulebook is there for a reason, and you want it called with integrity . . . if you let guys get away with certain things they’re going to keep getting away with it.
That’s the reality Edmonton has to deal with. Fighting carries a penalty.
Crosschecks do too. Slashes do too.
Yet the game keeps moving, and teams that refuse to meet that reality often get pushed around. As the Beastie Boys said, you’ve got to fight for your right to party.
In Other News...
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The timing only adds to the sting because Walman is still in the opening year of a long-term deal, the sort of contract that usually comes with a steadier runway than this. Instead, his ice time and effectiveness have been in question, and Edmonton now appears ready to lean elsewhere as it tries to get its defense in order. How long this lasts will tell the real story, but for now the Oilers have made their point. [Read more 🡒]
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Oilers Suddenly Face A Battle Of Alberta Lineup Question
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For Edmonton, that matters with the Battle of Alberta approaching and the roster picture still in flux. The Oilers have one more wrinkle to monitor as they sort out who is ready and who still needs time, and it comes at a moment when every lineup decision feels amplified by the stakes of the rivalry. The broader injury news is encouraging in spots, but it also leaves Edmonton with at least one important question still hanging as it prepares for Calgary. [Read more 🡒]