Mike Babcock's Oilers era is already starting in a way nobody expected

Mike Babcock's Edmonton Oilers tenure might look different from anything he's done before.

The easy read is that he's simply getting full license to be exactly who he's always been behind the bench.

Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and the rest of Edmonton's leadership group reportedly asked for this specifically.

They wanted to be pushed and coached in ways past coaches were too careful to try, a real gamble on a demanding personality.

That comparison brings real risk. A similarly demanding, old-school coach in Vegas got full buy-in from a talented room before old habits eventually resurfaced.

It's not hard to picture the same pattern playing out again here in Edmonton.

But there's another detail worth sitting with. Babcock brought in D.J. Smith as his associate coach, the same person he worked with back in Toronto.

Why these specific hires say more than the title suggests

Smith gives Babcock someone in the room who knows him well enough to actually challenge him when it matters.

That's not a small detail for a coach with his history. It's a demanding personality voluntarily building in guardrails before the season even starts.

Then there's Misha Donskov, the consultant Edmonton brought in specifically to add another respected voice around the coaching staff.

Writers need editors. Coaches need people willing to tell them the truth, not just underneath them but around them too.

Is inviting that kind of oversight actually the behavior of someone who thinks he has nothing left to learn?

It's the coaching equivalent of a chef who burned the kitchen down once bringing in someone specifically to watch the stove this time.

Edmonton finished last season 41-30-11, good for 14th overall, a roster with real expectations built around its two biggest stars.

My take: hiring people who'll push back on you isn't proof a coach has changed, but it's a genuinely different starting point than last time.

If this version of Babcock actually exists, Edmonton isn't just betting on his talent. It's betting he finally built the structure to go with it.

Source : Has Oilers Mike Babcock Actually Learned From His Mistakes?

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