The Edmonton Oilers didn’t just make a coaching change this offseason - they blew the whole thing up.
Kris Knoblauch, who had just signed a three-year extension, is out. Mike Babcock is in.
DJ Smith is also part of the new setup, while Mark Stuart was moved out. It’s the kind of shakeup that instantly changes the temperature around a team, especially one that has spent the last two springs chasing a Stanley Cup and coming up short.
Knoblauch’s run included back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2024 and 2025, but the finish never came. And for a fanbase that wants a banner, his calm approach behind the bench turned into a target.
When things went sideways, he didn’t often push back. He didn’t bark much.
He didn’t show the edge plenty of Oilers fans wanted to see, and after last season’s first-round exit, that passiveness became the main criticism.
Now the players are saying things that sound an awful lot like a subtle rebuke of what came before.
Leon Draisaitl didn’t hold back after captain’s skates:
“He doesn’t shy away from telling you straight to your face, he’s a real man about it. We’re all men in here and we all wanna win.”
Draisaitl also praised Babcock’s preparation, and Connor McDavid followed the same line. The message from the stars is pretty clear: they want to be coached.
They want structure. They want direction.
That’s why every compliment aimed at Babcock feels like it carries an edge toward Knoblauch - too passive, too hands-off, too willing to let the room steer itself.
That was the reaction on Overdrive, where Jamie McLennan, Bryan Hayes, and Jeff O’Neill didn’t try to dress anything up. Hayes and McLennan were openly baffled:
“It’s bizarre… what was Kris Knoblauch doing that would necessitate this type of reaction? What is going on in Edmonton where Draisaitl and McDavid keep talking about Babcock as if it’s an adult at the table?”
McLennan took it even further:
“It’s like this has been a country club… Let’s see what it’s like November 23rd when Draisaitl takes a 95‑second shift and walks back to the bench.”
The panel also noted that Babcock’s history suggests the bottom-six usually ends up carrying the load when accountability is handed out, not the stars. Still, the bigger takeaway was impossible to miss: Knoblauch didn’t exactly leave behind a ringing endorsement.
O’Neill, meanwhile, isn’t buying the Oilers as a Cup team, even with the overhaul.
“I don’t think that team in Edmonton is a cup contender with what they’ve got around those guys. I don’t see them bouncing back and being a cup contender just because they what, got Frederik Andersen and moved out Darnell Nurse?”
McLennan’s response was blunt:
“All lip service. Show us.”
And that’s the challenge hanging over this team now. September talk is cheap in Edmonton.
It always sounds good. It hasn’t always shown up when the games start.
Still, this wasn’t just a coaching swap. The Oilers did change the roster in meaningful ways.
They lost Andersen and Matt Savoie early, but the group around the core looks deeper and more balanced. Devon Levi and Ryan Shea were added.
Moving Darnell Nurse created cap flexibility and took away a major source of inconsistency. Shakir Mukhamadullin brings a young, modern look on the back end.
Andersen, once healthy, gives them stability in goal.
They also kept important pieces in place by re-signing Jason Dickinson and Connor Murphy, and bringing back playoff standout Kasperi Kapanen. Zach Hyman and Jake Walman are healthy. Isaac Howard turned in a breakout development year and is pushing for a spot.
So on paper, yes, this looks like a better team than last year’s opening-night version. There’s more depth, more structure, more balance.
But paper doesn’t play the games, and Babcock’s influence - for better or worse - is going to shape everything that follows.
For now, it’s all talk. Every team says it’s chasing the Cup in September. Only a few actually have the look of one.
The Oilers should be better. They should start faster. They should look more organized under Babcock.
The problem in Edmonton has never been what they should do. It’s whether they actually do it.
In Other News...
Oilers Get An Early Sign Of How Babcock May Change The Room
Before the on-ice results start telling the real story, the Oilers are already getting a sense of what Mike Babcock might mean behind the scenes. Leon Draisaitl has been among the first to react to the new coachs presence, and the early read is less about systems than tone. For a room that has dealt with its share of scrutiny and expectations, the first impression is that Babcock is not wasting time softening the message.
Draisaitls comments suggest the leadership group was looking for something more direct, more pointed, and less wrapped in coach-speak. The appeal, at least in this early stage, is simple: say it plainly and let the room handle it. Whether that approach sticks over the long haul will matter far more once the seasons pressure starts building, but the Oilers already have a clue about how Babcock intends to operate. [Read more 🡒]
McDavid Just Reignited A Huge Oilers Debate Before The Season
Connor McDavid reopened one of the oldest Oilers questions this week as Edmonton heads into a new season with Mike Babcock behind the bench. The debate over whether McDavid and Leon Draisaitl should drive the same line or be separated has followed this team for years, and it remains one of the defining tactical choices facing the staff as training camp unfolds.
McDavid made clear he wants more consistency in the forward combinations if the lineup can allow it, even while stressing that those calls belong to the coaches. There was no ambiguity about the bigger picture, either: the Oilers are chasing a Stanley Cup, and McDavid said the group has put ego aside in pursuit of that goal, which is exactly the kind of mindset this roster will need as the decisions start to get made. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Still Have One Line Problem Bowman Cant Ignore
The Oilers added Alex Formenton to give their fourth line more speed and help the penalty kill, a sensible depth move for a team that knows every detail matters in a long playoff chase. But the bigger issue still sits higher in the lineup, where the current second-line look of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman and Ike Howard leaves Edmonton with a unit that leans either on players past their peak or one still learning the league.
That is where Stan Bowmans real work appears headed next. Edmonton can survive with extra pace on the bottom six, but it is much harder to win the West without another legitimate top-six weapon, and the Oilers are being pushed toward finding a true difference-maker rather than hoping the current mix can hold up against elite opposition. [Read more 🡒]