Oilers Leadership Group Getting Blasted By Babcock Was Positive

In the recent edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman mentioned that Babcock was brutally honest with the leadership group. Friedman said, “So, we talked about this, about what happened in that meeting, and they basically admitted it, that Babcock challenged them and said, you guys are as much the problem.” By “them,” Friedman was referring to the leadership group.

Now that confirmation from Friedman that Babcock had no problem placing some of the blame on both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl was unexpected news to fans. However, that is exactly the type of thing the leadership group and fans have been looking for in a coach for a while.

The leadership group heard Babcock blast them, and still wanted him to be their coach.

Let’s be clear, these comments were made during the meeting between Babcock and the leadership group before the Oilers made the decision to hire him. Some fans on social media immediately turned these comments into something that could lead to McDavid leaving the Oilers when his contract is up, but he pulled for Babcock after being blasted by him, so that narrative simply isn’t true.

Instead, this should prove that the Oilers are serious about pushing for a Stanley Cup, aren’t happy coming up short anymore, and want someone who can push them to be the best version of themselves at all times.

That someone is Babcock.

Kris Knoblauch Failed to Hold Leaders Accountable

One of the biggest criticisms that Knoblauch faced as the bench boss was his inability to hold the leadership group accountable. He had no problem demoting players who weren’t superstars during his tenure, like Jeff Skinner and Andrew Mangiapane, just to name a couple, but he had trouble with the stars.

One mistake from a bottom-six forward or a bottom-pairing defender, and Knoblauch sat them. But, one of the stars could have seven turnovers in one period, and he wasn’t going to sit them down.

McDavid is one of the best players to ever play hockey, but he still makes mistakes. Near the end of the regular season and into the playoffs, he had a tendency to try to enter the zone the same way on the power play, and even though it wasn’t working, Knoblauch continued to overplay him and Draisaitl, and everything seemed to fall apart, getting to a point where it was better if the Oilers weren’t getting power plays.

Their leashes seemed to be a lot longer than the rest of the team. McDavid and Draisaitl make their fair share of mistakes, as do Zach Hyman and Evan Bouchard, but they should be getting the same treatment, if they’re not playing well, as the rest of the lineup.

Oilers Need Accountability Throughout Lineup to Push for a Cup

While the Florida Panthers have had some of the most stacked lineups in recent history, helping them win multiple Stanley Cups, one thing that helped their entire team succeed was the accountability throughout their entire lineup at any time.

The Panthers have built a culture that doesn’t demand perfection, but it demands all-out effort from everyone at any time, with nobody taking a single shift off. Players are going to make mistakes, whether it’s a turnover or a misread on a pass, but one of the key issues that the Oilers faced last season was the fact that some players in their lineup weren’t giving 100% effort, and that hurt them.

If every player is giving their best on every shift, at every practice, at any time, then mistakes can be more of a learning experience, since the coaching staff knows it is likely a one-time thing. But if players are taking shifts off, which is leading to multiple mistakes happening during a game, that won’t cut it, and those kinds of players don’t help teams win Stanley Cups.

Some fans believed that the concerns with a lack of effort came from the team losing veteran players like Corey Perry, Evander Kane, and Connor Brown, who played a gritty style that helped drive the team with physical play.

While losing them definitely affected the team in some way, they have found ways to fill the holes left by those players being traded or leaving in free agency.

The Oilers have a deep lineup, and losing a few players shouldn’t be the end of the world, especially when Vasily Podkolzin, Connor Murphy, and Colton Dach can step up and play physically or drive the team forward with their gritty styles. It’s the rest of the team that needs to be accountable for how they’re playing.

Oilers Have Changed a Lot This Summer

The Oilers will have almost a completely different look heading into the 2026-27 season. With a new goalie trio between the pipes, a revamped defensive core and a slightly altered forward group, the team has undergone an offseason retool.

They decided to let Jack Roslovic, Curtis Lazar, and Adam Henrique go to free agency, which opens the door for Isaac Howard to step in as a full-time member of the Oilers’ lineup next season. They traded Darnell Nurse, signed Ryan Shea and Frederik Andersen, and acquired Devon Levi.

While they may not be done just yet, the Oilers have made it clear that their focus is on winning, no matter what it takes to do it, they want to finally win a Stanley Cup with this current leadership group.

The biggest change was Babcock replacing Knoblauch behind the bench, and finally having someone willing to hold everyone accountable, not just a select few, is a positive for the Oilers. Having a bench boss who has no fear telling two of the best players to ever play the game that they are part of the problem as to why they haven’t won a Stanley Cup yet, is positive, and exactly what this team needs.

As the 2026-27 season approaches, be sure to continue following The Hockey Writers as your source for news, updates, and more from around the NHL and the hockey world.