Connor McDavid can hardly wait for the 2026-27 NHL season to get underway. After a disheartening end to last season—which included Kris Knoblauch’s controversial firing—and yet another dramatic offseason, the Edmonton Oilers captain is ready for hockey to return, and he believes Mike Babcock could be exactly what the team has long yearned for.
However, while discussing the new bench boss in the Gateway to the North, McDavid said something that may have been aimed at Edmonton’s former head coach, Knoblauch, who led the team to consecutive Stanley Cup Finals in 2024 and 2025, but was fired after the 2025-26 NHL campaign.
“You name it, [Babcock] has done it. It’s a great opportunity for us players to be coached by somebody like him. Where our group is at and what we’re looking for, he’s a perfect fit. He’s not going to need to come in and find who he is as a coach,” McDavid admitted to media during a charity event in Toronto. “Our job as players is to be ready to go.“
Apparent shot at Knoblauch
Some might say it’s reading too much into McDavid’s words, but it can also be argued that nothing is said by accident. What exactly did McDavid mean when he said Babcock won’t have to find himself as a coach?
Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers.
Reading between the lines, it certainly looks like a knock on Knoblauch, who had no NHL head coaching experience before taking over the reins in Edmonton—aside from a six-game shift to cover for New York Rangers’ David Quinn when he was placed on the COVID-19 protocol list.
Knoblauch did guide the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, but he couldn’t get it done, and there was plenty of speculation that his game plan fell apart on the biggest stage, especially with the Oilers going up against a Florida Panthers squad that Paul Maurice had built to peak in the postseason.
The Oilers and their ghosts from the past
In 2024, the Oilers lost the final in seven games, but only after spending most of the series on the brink of elimination following Game 3. In 2025, Edmonton fell to Florida in six games, though that series felt far more lopsided than the final score suggested. Whenever the Panthers were clicking, they overwhelmed the Oilers, and Knoblauch had no answers.
Last season, Edmonton didn’t even make it past the first round against an Anaheim Ducks team that shocked the league, and that was ultimately the end of the line for Knoblauch.
Looking at the way most fans in the Gateway to the North talk about Knoblauch’s time, one may never guess his résumé included consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances. In a place that prides itself on being the City of Champions, second-place medals aren’t enough.
Kris Knoblauch during his time with the Edmonton Oilers.
McDavid, Oilers set for new beginning
McDavid’s latest comments may shed some light on the reported tension between the players and the former coaching staff. If that’s the case, it also paints a clearer picture of why the front office landed on Babcock as Knoblauch’s successor. The hire made plenty of noise in its own right, and reportedly required the players signing off on the decision.
That’s where things stand for McDavid and the Oilers heading into a new season. Everything is new, except it sure doesn’t feel as such. McDavid has a new contract in the form of a two-year, $25 million extension, a new head coach, but the same old expectations—and the same old monkey on his back.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. The Oilers can only hope the 2026-27 NHL season doesn’t follow the same script as its predecessors. Unfortunately for them, there are no guarantees.
