Now that we've all complained bitterly about the Edmonton Oilers franchise's neverending desire to muck things up, we have to accept that Mike Babcock is officially the next head coach of the team. Barring a very sudden exit in the first 20 games of the season (or prior), he's likely to be the last coach to get a shot at winning a Stanley Cup with peak Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. So with all of the team's eggs in this basket, we may as well see if we have an omelette recipe somewhere.
Babcock was once the hottest coaching commodity on the market, nabbed by the Toronto Maple Leafs with an eight year, $50 million deal that shattered coaching salary records. That demand didn't come from nowhere. He won a Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings, as well as two Olympic gold medals, and other international best-on-best tournaments as well. Before his questionable antics became public knowledge, he was well regarded due to these successes.
Babcock as the Oilers coach
Summer is general manager Stan Bowman's time to point the franchise in the right direction, including, but not limited to, this coaching hire. But when the preseason begins, the reins will be in Babcock's hands, and Oiler fans have to hope his style is what the team needs. The powerplay needs to remain elite, while the penalty kill should hopefully benefit from better scheming and new(ish) faces.
The team's scoring depth, which is either defined as the bottom six forwards when McDavid and Draisaitl are on different lines, or the bottom nine when the Dynamic Duo are paired up, needs to break even more nights than they don't. Defensively they need to be hard to play against, with an appropriate level of intimidation. One that doesn't land them in penalty trouble.
In Detroit, Babcock's teams were consistent regular season performers, and had varying levels of postseason success. That variance includes a Cup win, but also a couple of first round exits, including a 2006 collapse against a Chris Pronger-led Oilers team. The Wings dominated puck possession and offensive zone time. Some of that was roster makeup, but great teams can underperform as well, so Babcock gets a measure of credit as well.
In Babcock's single Cup-winning season, he had a piece the Oilers have consistently been missing. A 43 year old Dominik Hasek was the team's netminder, and while he might not have been the force of nature of years prior, he surely inspired confidence in his teammates. There's something about knowing your goaltender is capable of making the key save at the key moment. If Bowman can solve that puzzle for the Oilers, then all the ingredients are there for Babcock to cook up a championship.
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