Now that the paperwork you'd associate with any coaching hire (NHLPA-demanded investigations into a coach's inappropriate behaviour that resulted in said coach stepping down before ever coaching a game for his previous club) are done with, we can move on to celebrating. Mike Babcock is THE guy. The one who is going to get the Edmonton Oilers back to the promised land, and land them a Stanley Cup victory as well.
The less exciting news, the hiring of former Ottawa Senators and recent LA Kings interim head coach DJ Smith, could end up being a more important story depending on how the summer unfolds. One generally would think that following the hire of a decorated coach, the situation could be viewed as stable, but the Oilers' decision to stick with Babcock means we won't know for sure that he's the guy until Game 1 of the 2026-27 season actually occurs.
Why DJ Smith could matter more than expected
If Babcock "pulls a Babcock" and the assistants are expected to step up, we should have an idea what sort of style and expertise we're looking at. Clearly Babcock sees value in Smith as an assistant. He had a similar role during Babcock's time as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Whenever someone is in a position of power and near incidents of harm or questionable actions, we have to ask ourselves what they knew and what they said at the time.
Smith left the Maple Leafs for a head coaching job in Ottawa, like a baby bird leaving its abusive parent's nest. He landed with less fanfare, but achieved similar results to Babcock's Toronto tenure. Over five and a quarter seasons, Smith managed a 131-154-32 record, good for a .464 winning percentage. Ottawa drafted Tim Stütlze following Smith's first year as head coach and saw marginal improvement as a hockey club, eventually managing a winning record in his final full season as head coach.
His teams were always outscored, but the gap closed from almost -50 differential, down to merely -10 in his final season in Ottawa. The Sens' GoalsFor generally sat around the league average. Similarly, his special teams results on both the powerplay and penalty kill were at the league average during their better seasons.
What Smith's track record tells the Oilers
Smith had a relatively successful, though short, stint as interim head coach of the LA Kings. He guided the club down the stretch to a strong 11-6-6 record, securing a playoff berth that was far from certain when Jim Hiller was let go. He did not translate that regular season success into a single postseason win, getting bounced in four games by the President's Trophy winning Colorado Avalanche. The Kings arguably should have accepted that it was time to rebuild, but they wanted one last postseason run for their long serving captain, Anze Kopitar.
All of this tells us that Smith may be best suited as an assistant. He appears to get along with Babcock, which may be his most important skill, and if he can coach the penalty kill and keep it at or near the league average, then the Oilers' elite powerplay should be able to win them some games. If Babcock doesn't last, it seems unlikely that Smith will fill the void indefinitely.
Add us as a preferred source on Google