Edmonton’s superstars are showering their polarizing new coach with praise, sparking theories that the public display of unity is a calculated smokescreen to avoid a bigger storyline.
Maybe it's because the media keeps asking for their thoughts, but TSN analyst Bryan Hayes seems to think the Edmonton Oilers' leadership group is laying it on pretty thick with their public praise for new head coach Mike Babcock.
Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, and others have essentially said the same thing: they love what Babcock is bringing to the table as their coach and, so far, he's giving them exactly what they want. The closest thing to a negative review came from McDavid on Monday when he was asked to comment on his coach's comments about a "not pretty" practice: "If he thinks it was a bad practice, he thinks it was a bad practice. We'll be better tomorrow."
Again, maybe this is all because the media won't let the topic go; everyone wants to know how the team is adjusting under the new coach, one who has a polarizing past and was nearly ostracized from the NHL. The elephant in the room is whether this was a smart hire or if this is all going to blow up in the organization's face.
The team committed to Babcock, offering the more in-your-face bench boss a three-year deal. In his first media conference, he said the team needed to be "100 percent in on Mike Babcock, or he wasn't interested." So far, they are. The leadership group said this is what they wanted, and now they're coming out with the same early response: this is going according to plan.
No games have counted, mind you. Still, early indications suggest everyone understood what this was, and it's playing out as expected. He's pushing them. They want to be pushed. The assumption is that the results will come.
Hayes wonders, however: is there more going on here?
Are the Oilers Using Babock As A Distraction?
Did the Edmonton Oilers have a grand scheme in play when they hired Babcock? “It appears, from my point of view, it’s playing exactly like they want it to,” said Hayes. “The plan was to make everything about Mike Babcock, and that’s the only thing we’re talking about.”
He adds that no one is talking about Connor McDavid’s contract situation or whether he’ll stay in Edmonton past his current deal. For the most part, that's true; fans haven't been worrying about what McDavid might be thinking about his playing future, and the media hasn't brought up his contract, other than to ask for his thoughts on the huge-money deals flying around the NHL these days.
Hayes noted that in previous camps, it was more about McDavid and Draisaitl, and whether McDavid might bolt if the Oilers don't turn things around after a disappointing 2025-26 season. Now, with everyone asking questions about the coach, no one is asking McDavid about his future.
“I think it’s a little bit over the top and a bit performative,” says Hayes, suggesting that some of what this leadership group is doing has become a smoke screen. The team's praise of Babcock certainly seems like an attempt to make sure the Babcock story dies down. But it could also be the team shifting blame in another way.
The way the team is talking about Babcock, they're indirectly taking shots at former coach Kris Knoblauch. Hayes added, “...which I find a little bit hard to believe, given that he took them to back-to-back Cup Finals.”
“They are laying it on so thick,” said Hayes.
So what is really going on? Is this all about Babcock and what he brings? Is this about subtly suggesting the old coach was the issue? Or, is this about the Oilers trying to ensure no one talks about McDavid's future, at least not right now?
Maybe it's a little bit of everything.
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