Do the Oilers Dare to Do Something They’ve Avoided for Years?
There’s been a lot of noise about Mike Babcock potentially being the guy to change things in Edmonton. Some people like the idea. Some don’t. Some think the game has moved on. Others think the Oilers need exactly that kind of hard edge.
But the more interesting question isn’t whether Babcock is the right coach. Maybe it’s whether the Oilers are ready to change how they use their best players.
Elite players don’t just get ice time… they take it.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl aren’t being overused because anyone doubts them. It’s the opposite. When you have the best player in the world, the natural instinct — from coaches, from teammates, from the bench — is to send him out again. And again.
Even when the shift is long. Even when the matchup is messy. Even when the game is already tilted. That’s not really about effort or ego. It’s about trust. The default setting becomes simple: get the best players back on the ice and try to tilt the game again. So the coach sends out his best guys again and again and again.
And over time, that can become a pattern that’s hard to break.
Related: The Yin and Yang of the Oilers' Babcock Coaching Decision.
What if the Oilers’ system needs to change instead of the players?
I read a post about how Babcock might influence the Oilers’ forward deployment. One reader responded, suggesting that perhaps the value of a coach like Babcock lies in his ability to instill discipline rather than in tactical expertise. That discipline might include sitting his best players when the game is already out of reach.
The point was simple: the value of a coach like Babcock isn’t some complicated tactical revolution. Maybe it’s just that he’ll let all four lines play and spread out the minutes.
Even the stars don’t get automatic deployment after every shift. Maybe a bad shift actually means a short night for anyone and everyone — not just depth players. That sounds simple, but it would fundamentally change how the Oilers function.
The real question in Edmonton isn’t about coaching.
And this is where the conversation pushes us to ask the tougher question: “Can great players become even greater by surrendering a little autonomy for the good of the team?”
Because that’s really what this comes down to. It’s not about whether McDavid wants to win. Nobody doubts that. In fact, quite the opposite. It’s about whether a team built around elite talent can shift from “our best players have to do more” to “our best players might need to do a little less at times to win more.”
That’s a hard adjustment in any sport. Especially when those players are as good as Edmonton’s.
So what does this all mean for McDavid and Draisaitl?
So this isn’t really a Babcock story at all. Maybe it’s about whether the Oilers are finally ready to treat every shift — and every player — the same way, even when the stars are on the ice. Because if that change happens, the coach might matter less than everyone thinks.