The Edmonton Oilers continue to look to hire Mike Babcock as their next coach as they look to return to the Stanley Cup Finals. Edmonton had back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals appearances in 2024 and 2025. The Oilers reached their peak in 2024, falling to the Florida Panthers in Game 7, 2-1. In 2025, the series wasn't close, even with the Panthers winning in six games, because Edmonton's roster wasn't as deep as it was in 2024.
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Heading into the 2025-26 season, the Oilers weren't as good as they were in 2025 and certainly weren't as good as they were in 2024. Even Leon Draisaitl mentioned at the end of the year media availability how the team is missing guys like Ryan McLeod, Warren Foegele, Corey Perry, Vincent Desharnais, Cody Ceci, and other depth pieces.
Not to mention the Edmonton Oilers' ability to play team defense. When the team was doing well under former coach Kris Knoblauch, the Oilers were successful. However, the 2025-26 Oilers thought they could just make the playoffs and find their game. The problem is that they didn't show any signs of health in the regular season and only managed to win three or more games twice.
When injuries and fatigue hit the Edmonton Oilers, you could tell they were slow. As NHLRumors.com has written, management failed Connor McDavid and company. And with Ken Hitchcock, Dave Tippet, Jay Woodcroft, Todd McLellan, and Knoblauch, the issues were the same: protecting the team.
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So, regardless of who the coach is, Mike Babcock, Scotty Bowman (that would be something), Bruce Cassidy (who was the first choice of the Oilers, as the Vegas Golden Knights denied him to negotiate with the teams), the list needs work as McDavid's new two-year extension begins.
As Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period said on TSN Radio in Montreal, there aren't one or two holes to fill; there are many holes to fill in a period of three to four weeks.
“That's another thing that's part of all of this. Yeah, they've got to make a coaching change, and yeah, it seems like right now, it might be Babcock, but guys, they've got a lot of changes they need to make on that roster.
Oh yeah, this isn't just 'Hey, okay, we need a coach, and we need to fill one or two holes.' That is, we need to train, we need to find a new home for Darnell Nurse, we need to change the green line, we need 3C, we need to fix our fourth lines, and we want to hit a winger with foot speed to keep up with McDavid and (Zach) Hyman on that top line. All right, get to work, that's a lot.”
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Also, Darnell Nurse's name has been around since last year. They are looking to take his 9.25 million AAV off the books to improve the roster. And, when NHLRumors.com looks at the Toronto Maple Leafs, the issues are similar, given the players on the team and the needs both teams have to fill.
Imagine if the right decisions were made in Edmonton. Maybe there wouldn't be so many holes to fill.
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