Edmonton Oilers superstar centers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were effusive in their praise for new coach Mike Babcock at Monday's Zach Hyman Charitable Golf Tournament.
Since they were eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs this past season, the Oilers have been in a state of flux. They added goalies Frederik Andersen and Devon Levi, as well as defensemen Ryan Shea and Shakir Mukhamadullin. But the biggest change in Edmonton is the hiring of Babcock.
"He's the perfect fit," McDavid said of Babcock. "He's not going to need to come in and find who he is as a coach or find himself in those situations. He knows what he's about as a coach, and it's our job as players to be ready to go.
Added Draisaitl:"We're extremely excited. I think it's just the time that we're all in in our career, I guess the age that we're at, and I think he's the right guy to get us to where we want to get to. Obviously it's a different look, a change in personality, but very excited to learn from him, very excited to work with him, and yeah, like I said, very excited to get going.
With due respect to McDavid and Draisaitl, we wouldn't be nearly so bold as to characterize Babcock as the perfect fit in Edmonton.
In fact, the cold reality of the situation is that, if the upside of Babcock's arrival is that the Oilers could be getting the coach who led the Detroit Red Wings to a Stanley Cup championship 18 years ago, the downside of Babcock is that Edmonton could be getting a controversial coach who cratered with the Toronto Maple Leafs, then resigned from the Columbus Blue Jackets before he coached even a single game for them.
And now Babcock is going to once again work in the harsh spotlight that comes with coaching in a Canadian market. From the moment training camp begins, Babcock will be facing scrutiny like he's never seen before. That could prove to be a huge distraction if things go off the rails for the Oilers in the win/loss column.
If Edmonton had its druthers, it probably would've hired former Vegas Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy over a month ago. The Golden Knights prevented that from happening with Cassidy, as he's still under contract with Vegas.
So Babcock feels like a Plan B for this Oilers team, and he now must try to get one of his teams into the post-season for the first time since 2019. And Babcock hasn't won a playoff series since 2013.
Thus, this feels like a Hail Mary move for Oilers GM Stan Bowman.
Babcock could, in theory, be the guy who makes all the pieces finally fit into a championship together in Edmonton. But he also could be the guy who trainwrecks the season with an old-school coaching style and wastes a year of McDavid's time when the clock on the captain is ticking very loudly.
It's not like Babcock was given a perfect lineup situation to handle, either. That begins with a potential three-goalie rotation.
Babcock will have Andersen on his team after their previous time together with the Leafs. But Andersen has had trouble staying healthy over the years, and if Levi can't come in and provide solid netminding, the third option – the most worrisome option – is giving a lot of time to veteran Tristan Jarry.
If Babcock has no choice but to heavily play Jarry, who posted an .858 save percentage in 19 games after he was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins, he could be the second coming of Scotty Bowman, and he still wouldn't be able to guide the Oilers to the promised land.
The Oilers will be without veteran D-man Darnell Nurse, who was traded to the San Jose Sharks in a salary dump. And we're not sure the remaining Edmonton blueliners have the talent to keep the Oilers at or near the top of the Pacific Division.
This is why Bowman is making a massive gamble by hiring Babcock, who told reporters in June he doesn't think he crossed the line in Columbus, despite the NHL saying its investigation into Babcock's alleged conduct was"in a light least favorable" to him, even if there was no basis to restrict his employment.
Can Babcock change his stripes and stop being the coach loathed by some of his former players? At this stage, no one can say for certain one way or another.
Draisaitl and McDavid can give all the flowers they want to give to Babcock. But once the season begins and the grind kicks in, what will happen to Oilers players who run afoul of Babcock? What happens if their goaltending stumbles out of the gate, and the team faces adversity?
Will Babcock's messaging get through to the players then?
It'll be highly compelling viewing to see how Babcock handles the pressure. And we'll see if Bowman's hire of Babcock was the right choice – or if the Oilers come to regret giving him what could turn out to be his final kick at the can coaching at the NHL level.