Why the Oilers Should Thrive in the Pacific in 2026-27

A lot is going on in Edmonton this season. Connor McDavid has two years left on his contract. Mike Babcock is behind the bench. Leon Draisaitl is still there. And the Oilers are coming off another season where the offence could be pretty spectacular, while the defensive side of the game occasionally made you want to hide behind the couch.

So what happens this time?

The Oilers Already Know How to Score.

Let's start with the obvious part. Edmonton can score. The Oilers were second in the NHL in scoring chances per game last season, and their rush offence was dangerous. When McDavid, Draisaitl, and the rest of that top-end group get moving, few teams in the Pacific can simply stop that scoring. That's the good news.

The less exciting news is that Edmonton needs more from the other end of the rink. The Oilers were only 20th in the league in preventing scoring chances last season after finishing eighth the year before. That's a pretty big swing. And that's where Babcock comes into the story.

Babcock's Job Isn't to Make McDavid Better.

It's hard to imagine anybody making Connor McDavid better at being Connor McDavid. The Babcock challenge is different. Can he make the Oilers more reliable when McDavid isn't on the ice?

That's where the bottom six and defensive structure come in. Edmonton doesn't necessarily need those players to turn into offensive stars. It needs them to be dependable enough that McDavid and Draisaitl don't have to carry quite so much of the load every night.

And there's a secondary question here. How much freedom will McDavid have? Babcock has a reputation for wanting structure, and that could mean fewer marathon shifts for the Oilers' best players. Maybe McDavid plays a couple fewer minutes some nights. Maybe he doesn't get thrown over the boards every time Edmonton needs a goal.

That might cost him a few points. It might also leave him fresher when the games really matter.

The Pacific Gives Edmonton Some Room

The other thing working in Edmonton's favour is the division. The Pacific isn't exactly a walk in the park, but Edmonton has a pretty clear opportunity to finish high and give themselves a favourable playoff position. If the defensive structure improves without strangling the offence, this team can spend much of the season near the top of the division.

And then is when things get interesting. The Oilers already have the stars. They already have the offensive firepower. If Babcock can help make the team a little harder to play against without turning McDavid and Draisaitl into ordinary players, Edmonton could have a pretty good formula.

The big question isn't whether the Oilers can score. It's whether they can make everybody else earn the right to score against them.