As the Maple Leafs prepare to meet the Oilers on Saturday, the contrast between the two teams could hardly be sharper. Edmonton has ripped out of the gate in 2026-27, while Toronto has stumbled into a five-game losing streak and slid badly in the standings.
For Leafs fans, that alone is rough enough. What makes it sting even more is who is steering Edmonton right now: former Toronto head coach Mike Babcock.
Babcock has given the Oilers exactly what they were looking for. Edmonton wanted more stability in front of its high-powered offense, especially on defense and in goal, and that is what has shown up. The Oilers are 14-3-3, their best start of the Connor McDavid era, and they have allowed just 58 goals in 20 games this season.
The goaltending has turned too. After a rough first two games, Tristan Jarry and Devon Levi have put together a league-best .918 combined save percentage.
Sportsnet noted that both goalies are also among the top five in the NHL individually in that category. Put it together, and Edmonton suddenly looks like a team with real balance - offense, defense and goaltending all humming at once.
That kind of success is exactly why Babcock remains such a complicated figure in Toronto. His time with the Leafs ended badly, with his controversial coaching methods helping push him out of the organization. But even with all of that baggage, there is no denying what he accomplished on the ice.
After Toronto’s rough 2015-16 rebuild season, Babcock helped guide the Leafs to three straight 40-plus-win seasons and three straight playoff appearances. Two of those runs ended with the Boston Bruins in the first round, but the team had clearly climbed back into contender territory. He was eventually dismissed during the 2019-20 season after a poor start and the controversy that had followed him.
So while Edmonton keeps rolling and Toronto keeps searching for answers, Leafs fans are left with a familiar, frustrating thought: what might have been. And with Babcock “having fun” in Edmonton while new Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller tries to steady Toronto, that question only gets louder.
In Other News...
Maple Leafs May Have A Blue-Line Move Bigger Than A Rental
The Maple Leafs are still hunting for help on the blue line, and the talk around the deadline suggests they are not just looking for a stopgap. Toronto appears interested in a defenseman who can fit alongside the teams core for more than a quick playoff push, which is a different kind of swing than the usual rental chase. That makes the market a little more complicated, but also a lot more interesting for a club trying to solve a problem that has lingered beyond one season.
Names such as Cam York, Alexander Nikishin, Rasmus Sandin and Simon Edvinsson have surfaced as possible fits because of their age, contract situations and longer-term appeal. None of that means a deal is close, and the Leafs still have to find the right match if they want to turn interest into an actual upgrade, but the fact they are being linked to this tier of defender says plenty about how they view their next move. [Read more 🡒]
Why Gavin McKennas Role Just Became A Bigger Leafs Debate
The Maple Leafs skid took another hit in Minnesota, where a 5-2 loss marked their seventh defeat in eight games without earning any points, and it also put Gavin McKennas usage back under the microscope. McKenna skated just 10:37, his lowest ice time of the season, even though he has been one of the more productive young pieces on the roster with six goals and 13 points in 21 games.
Jim Hillers message afterward was clear enough: McKenna will have to prove he can be more than a scoring threat if he wants a larger role. The coach said the young forward needs to be a good all-around player and handle the grind of the season, which turns every shift into part of a bigger Leafs debate about how much responsibility he should be given right now. [Read more 🡒]
Leafs Are Seeing Progress But One Problem Still Looms
A day away from the rink took the Maple Leafs into a different setting this week, with the club using the Blue Jays facilities as an off-ice workout stop designed to shake up the routine and give the group a little extra energy. Jim Hiller said the change of scenery can matter, especially when a team is trying to keep its legs and its focus sharp while working through the middle of the season grind.
Hiller also pointed to signs of progress in the Leafs recent play, even if the clean-up work is far from finished. Mistakes are still showing up, but the bigger message was about sustaining a positive culture and carrying that mindset into the next stretch of games, with the quality of the Blue Jays setup serving as a reminder that sometimes a different environment can help a team reset. [Read more 🡒]