Draisaitl Praises Babcock as O’Neill Questions Oilers’ Cup Chances

More importantly, O’Neill questioned Edmonton’s status as a legitimate Stanley Cup threat, pointing toward the team’s defensive problems, goaltending and depth. “I don’t think that team in Edmonton is a Cup contender with what they’ve got around those guys (McDavid and Draisaitl),” O’Neill said. “I really don’t.”

There is nothing wrong with questioning the Oilers after last season. Edmonton finished 25th in goals against at 3.23 per game and surrendered a playoff-worst 4.33 goals per game. But saying they aren’t a contender overlooks just how much changed over the summer.

Edmonton Addressed Several of Its Biggest Needs

The Oilers didn’t simply bring in Babcock and hope everything would improve. Jason Dickinson and Connor Murphy, two of their biggest deadline additions last season, were retained on five-year contracts. Dickinson signed for $4 million annually, while Murphy’s contract carries an average annual value of $4.125 million.

Both were important because they filled holes Edmonton otherwise would have been searching to address again. Dickinson gives the Oilers a legitimate defensive third-line centre capable of handling difficult matchups and penalty-killing responsibilities. Murphy provides the right-shot, defensively responsible blueliner Edmonton had been searching for.

Most importantly, they should enter the season healthy. Instead of reaching February or March wondering how they’re going to find a 3C and shutdown right-shot defenceman, Edmonton already has both. That gives general manager Stan Bowman the opportunity to use his trade assets elsewhere.

Trading Nurse Completely Changed Edmonton’s Flexibility

The Darnell Nurse trade might prove to be one of the most important moves of Edmonton’s offseason. The Oilers sent Nurse to the San Jose Sharks for Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zack Sharp without retaining salary. The move created enough flexibility for Edmonton to make several subsequent additions.

Instead of simply dumping Nurse’s contract, Edmonton received pieces back and then reinvested its newfound flexibility. Ryan Shea was one of the most notable additions, signing a five-year, $20 million contract. Bowman specifically praised Shea‘s combination of mobility, puck-moving ability, offence and penalty killing, describing his PK work last season as among the league’s best.

At $4 million annually, Shea doesn’t need to replace Nurse by himself. Edmonton can distribute those minutes across Shea, Mattias Ekholm, Evan Bouchard, Jake Walman, Murphy and its other defenders. That could ultimately leave the Oilers with a deeper and more balanced blue line.

The Oilers Finally Have Options in Goal

O’Neill’s concern about Edmonton’s goaltending is understandable given what happened last season. But the Oilers didn’t stand still there, either. They acquired 24-year-old Devon Levi from the Buffalo Sabres and signed veteran Frederik Andersen, creating competition alongside Tristan Jarry.

Andersen is particularly intriguing. His 2025-26 regular season wasn’t spectacular, but his playoffs certainly were. He went 13-2 with a 1.89 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage during the Carolina Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup run. Edmonton doesn’t necessarily need elite goaltending. It needs stability.

With Andersen’s experience, Levi’s upside and Jarry still in the picture, the Oilers have multiple opportunities to find it rather than relying on one tandem to work.

Babcock Isn’t the Only Major Coaching Addition

Then there is the revamped coaching staff. Babcock arrives with a resume few active coaches can match. He has 700 NHL regular-season wins, a Stanley Cup championship and two Olympic gold medals as a head coach. He has also taken two different NHL franchises to the Stanley Cup Final.

There are legitimate questions surrounding how his coaching style translates to today’s NHL, but Draisaitl’s comments suggest the early communication between Babcock and Edmonton’s leadership group has been positive. He isn’t working alone, either.

D.J. Smith was brought in as associate coach after finishing last season 11-6-6 as interim head coach of the Los Angeles Kings. His background working with Babcock and his experience coaching defensive structure should give Edmonton another experienced voice behind the bench.

The Oilers also added Hockey Canada’s Misha Donskov as a coaching consultant. Babcock specifically pushed for Donskov’s addition because of the insight and value he believed Donskov could bring to the organization. That is a significant overhaul for a team whose defensive structure completely unraveled last season.

Writing Off the Oilers Is Premature

O’Neill is right about one thing: Edmonton doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt solely because of what it accomplished in 2024 and 2025. Last season wasn’t good enough. But that’s also why evaluating the 2026-27 Oilers as though they’re bringing back the same team doesn’t make much sense.

Nurse is gone. Shea is in. Murphy and Dickinson are under contract. Levi and Andersen have been added. Babcock has replaced Knoblauch, Smith is running alongside him, and Donskov gives the organization another experienced hockey mind. And the foundation remains McDavid, Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Bouchard and Ekholm. This isn’t an organization pretending everything was fine. It is one that acknowledged its weaknesses and spent the offseason trying to address them.

Draisaitl’s comments shouldn’t be interpreted as disrespect toward Knoblauch, who helped take Edmonton to consecutive Stanley Cup Finals. They sound more like a superstar welcoming a different approach after a season in which the Oilers never found their identity. Whether Babcock’s approach ultimately works will be determined on the ice. But to say Edmonton isn’t a Stanley Cup contender before this revamped roster has played a single meaningful game goes too far.

The Oilers didn’t just change their coach. They changed their defence, their goaltending, their depth, their cap structure and the voices surrounding their stars. After a disappointing season, that’s exactly what a contender should do.