On paper, the Edmonton Oilers may not look too different from the way they did a few seasons ago when they lost in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals. However, there’s a big difference behind the bench, and Connor McDavid believes there’s been a sort of rite of passage in the Gateway to the North following the arrival of head coach Mike Babcock.
Although his media appearances are sporadic, this isn’t the first time McDavid has spoken about the Oilers‘ new head coach. Back in the dog days of summer in the NHL, McDavid had praised Babcock, pointing to his impressive résumé.
Now, however, he’s actually seen the locker room react to the new bench boss and has a clearer view of what it’s like to be under Babcock’s instructions. So far, so good, and McDavid dropped a warning to the rest of the league about how the group in Northern Alberta has matured.
“We still haven’t started, but the comfort in the room seems good. The guys are all in here. I don’t know how else to say it. Guys have really put their egos aside and are here to win,” McDavid said to media after an informal team skate in Edmonton. “That’s what we want, and we want a coach that matches our intensity and our energy. We feel [Babcock] is that.”
Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers.
McDavid avoids having comment taken out of context
Entering his 12th NHL season (all of them with the ever-under-the-scope Oilers), McDavid is already well familiar with the lay of the land. He’s also experienced in watching head coaches come and go. Babcock will be McDavid’s sixth head coach since being drafted first overall by Edmonton back in 2015.
When a manager is on his way out and a new one is on his way in, it’s easy for every comment made about one to be spun, twisted, shifted, or stretched to become a dig at the other. Thus, when McDavid spoke about Babcock and his NHL pedigree, he was mindful not to let it be taken as a shot at Kris Knoblauch or other head coaches throughout his Oilers career.
“[Babcock] comes in with, obviously, a long history of success. He’s won the big one, he’s won gold medals, he’s coached in every single big game. His coaching record speaks for itself. Not to say we didn’t have other guys like that, but there’s no question he’s a little bit different,” McDavid commented.
McDavid has his eyes on the Stanley Cup
It’s the one trophy still missing from his stacked cabinet. He’s come oh-so-close to hoisting it in 2024, even after winning the Conn Smythe Trophy, then fell right at the gates again in 2025. Entering the 2026-27 NHL season, the goal remains unchanged. It’s always Stanley Cup-or-bust for the Oilers as long as McDavid is under contract.
The championship window is facing crucial hours now. With the captain entering the first year of his statement-making, eyebrow-raising, panic-settling, yet extremely team-friendly two-year, $25 million contract, the Oilers may be down to their last bullets. If they can’t get it done, or show that they are trending in the right direction, McDavid could very well be closer to the exit than to signing another contract in Alberta.
McDavid isn’t messing around. He wouldn’t speak about his future this early, while still in the offseason, but the fact that he didn’t mention the Stanley Cup and referred to it as “the big one” when speaking of Babcock winning it back in 2008 with the Detroit Red Wings may be all Edmonton needed to hear. Hockey players and superstition go hand in hand, and McDavid not even naming the most coveted prize may be proof of just how much he wants to finally etch his name in the 134-year-old silverware.
