By all accounts, it’s the dawn of a new era for Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.
Despite reaching the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back seasons under Kris Knoblauch, there were always some questions around the Oilers and whether they had the nous to scale the steepest peak in all of hockey.
But with confidence in Knoblauch withering, the Oilers decided to embark on a new coaching search. And when Bruce Cassidy wasn’t able to wriggle away from his Vegas Golden Knights contract, Edmonton turned to Mike Babcock, whose appointment was met with equal amounts of surprise and skepticism.
Connor McDavid Addresses Expectations Around Oilers HC Mike Babcock
Speaking this week, keenly aware of the spotlight on Babcock, McDavid made it plenty clear that the head coach has the locker room’s backing.
“We see a great opportunity to be coached by someone who’s coached in every single big game there is to coach. Someone who’s been successful, won Cups, gold medals, you name it. It’s a great opportunity for us players to be coached by somebody like him and learn off him.
“With where our group’s at, and what we’re looking for, he’s a perfect fit. He’s not going to need to find who he is as a coach or find himself in those situations. He knows what he’s about as a coach, and it’s our job as players to be ready to go.”
“You name it, he’s done it. It’s a great opportunity for us players to be coached by somebody like him.”
Connor McDavid speaks on Mike Babcock taking over as head coach of the Oilers. pic.twitter.com/u4vKmRifG0
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) July 27, 2026
Babcock hasn’t coached an NHL game since being forced into exile after a couple of controversies with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Columbus Blue Jackets. He walked away from the latter after a sticky situation, after players claimed an invasion of privacy after he allegedly asked to look into their phones.
Before the Oilers hired Babcock, the NHL and NHLPA launched an investigation into Babcock’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it tenure with the Blue Jackets. After he was cleared, Edmonton moved swiftly to name him the 19th head coach in franchise history.
“We looked at what was alleged to have happened and drew our conclusions as to what did and did not happen and whether or not any of those should disqualify him from being able to be in the League,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.
When he takes his place behind the bench later this year, it will be his first time coaching in a game since being fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs 23 games into the 2019-20 season.
However, Babcock clearly appears to have the faith of the locker room leaders, including McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman.
General manager Stan Bowman also did some roster surgery in the offseason, bulking up the goalie department by bringing in Stanley Cup champion Frederik Anderson from the Carolina Hurricanes.
Babcock has made it clear he’s willing to challenge the Oilers locker room and set high standards from the get-go, but given the powder keg that Edmonton’s market is, it won’t take too long for things to go sideways if there is any discord as the Oilers look to reach the Holy Grail of hockey this coming season.
