Oilers’ Babcock Is Doing What He Didn’t Do with the Leafs

Mike Babcock’s coaching decisions show an interesting contrast. When he coached the Toronto Maple Leafs, he rarely kept Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner together for extended stretches. Now, in Edmonton, he's putting Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the same line and letting them run with it. What's changed? Has Babcock changed his thinking, or are the circumstances simply different?

I suspect it's more about the circumstances.

Babcock Has a Different Problem to Solve in Edmonton.

In Toronto, separating Matthews and Marner offered Babcock a way to spread the offence. Rather than concentrating so much talent on one line, he could give the Maple Leafs two scoring combinations and make life more difficult for opposing teams.

Edmonton presents a different challenge. McDavid and Draisaitl are established superstars who have already shown they can produce together. The Oilers also have injuries to deal with, and Babcock has acknowledged that the lineup has left him shorthanded.

There's a practical argument for putting the two best players together when the supporting cast is unsettled. It gives the team a dependable offensive combination and the coach something to build around. So far, the results have been difficult to argue with. The Oilers got off to a 9-2-2 start, and McDavid, Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin have all been producing. Even Todd McLellan, who has coached Edmonton himself, praised Babcock's decision.

Winning Changes the Conversation

Of course, the 7-2 loss to Toronto raised a few questions. The Oilers need more from their bottom six, and concentrating so much offence on one line can leave the rest of the lineup looking thin.

Babcock knows that. He's talked about reducing the minutes for McDavid and Draisaitl before deciding whether separating them is the answer. He also admits this isn't something he would normally do for this long.

But there's another consideration. Coaches don't always have the luxury of waiting for the perfect lineup combination to develop. They need results, particularly when they've inherited a team with high expectations.That may be the biggest difference between Toronto and Edmonton. Babcock may still believe in spreading his offence, but right now, Edmonton needs its two best players together.

The interesting question isn't whether he'll eventually separate them. It's whether the Oilers can develop enough depth around them to make that decision an option rather than a necessity.