We are so close, so close and yet so far, in the words of the great hockey observer Frankie Valli. So we are left to discuss, disagree and make bold statements about Mike Babcock’s tendencies. Even though he hasn’t coached in years, we’re grasping those straws for knowledge and comfort. Please read this.
How many rookies will we see? I have just two, Josh Samanski and Quinn Hutson.
Is there a chance Klefbom returns? No Klefbom.
Are the Oilers better? I think they will go deeper this year, and yes just based on what I see as a goalie upgrade, they will be better.
How much does Howard play? I have him playing 60 games, scoring 13 goals (ninth on the team). I have him getting minutes with Draisaitl, but probably most of them later in the year.
What about Hutson? I think he gets squeezed more than you’d like, Hutson needs an injury or needs to show Babcock early what he can do. There is a player there, I just wish the boots were a little faster. It’s going to be close, like Hunt for Red October close.
What about Samanski? I have him playing 51 games, not scoring much. I envision a Jason Dickinson shutdown line with Samanski and one of Janmark or Joseph. I mean real Boyd Gordon usage here. Like if they see center ice the Oilers get a penalty kind of thing.
Who emerges? I have Podkolzin and Savoie matriculating but just one more gear, and I have Max Jones grabbing an NHL job and keeping it. Sneaky belief in Devon Levi having a good season, too.
Does Frederic play center? No. I think it goes 97-29-93-Dickinson until they trade for a RH center.
Who is the MVP? Connor McDavid. Or Leon Draisaitl. Mike Babcock has to have a brilliant season, I mean absolutely pristine year.
What are you most worried about? I’m most worried about the guy who follows Mike Babcock as coach being the hockey version of Gerald Ford.
What do you mean by that? I mean the worst thing in the world isn’t a coach who is overconfident and living in the past. It’s a coach who isn’t able to motivate and doesn’t understand what is happening on the ice.
That doesn’t happen in the NHL, man. Oh. OK.
What will be the first clear sign of Babcock’s intent? The first real one will be opening night lines and pairings. That’s when we will know if Babcock’s verbal was for show or he plans on doing things like playing 97-29 together and running Josh Brown out there every third shift
You absolutely suck. Babcock will play it straight, man. OK. I remember an opening night that saw the following lines: JF Jacques-Horcoff-Hemsky; Penner-Cogliano-Brule; Ryan Stone-Comrie-O’Sullivan (the “checking” line); Moreau-Gagner-Stortini. So, yeah.
Oh for crying out loud, Quinn had been away from coaching for years! Yes. Several years. Thank goodness that’s no longer a concern.
A Macklin Celebrini rookie card sold for $1.28 million USD on Saturday, making it the highest public sale for any non-Wayne Gretzky hockey card ever, according to Goldin Auctions.
https://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/3580619/celebrini-rookie-card-sells-for-non-gretzky-hockey-record-1-28-m
@MLB
We are deeply saddened by the passing of Tommy John, a veteran of 26 MLB seasons who helped revolutionize recovery from pitching injuries in the 1970s.
John broke in with Cleveland as a 20-year-old in 1963 and made his last appearance for the Yankees at age 46 in 1989, also pitching for the White Sox, Dodgers, Angels, and Athletics. The left-hander won 288 games, made 4 All-Star teams and anchored 3 pennant-winning teams, while twice finishing as a runner-up for the Cy Young Award. His 700 games started rank 8th on the all-time list.
After John injured his elbow in 1974, he received the first ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery from Dr. Frank Jobe. John returned to pitch in 1976, then won 20 games three times in four years from 1977-80.
He would go on to pitch 14 of his 26 seasons after the procedure that is now known as Tommy John Surgery, a measure that has helped extend pitching careers in the more than half a century since it was first performed.
He was 83.
I forgot he was that close to 300 wins. I think it’s safe to say that will never see a 300 game winner even long after me and you are gonzo.
Does Levi count as a rookie? We know he’ll play.
Hutson definitely needs a couple more injuries but, yes, he likely gets games. Can Tralmaks make a case? I like Marjala but don’t see it. Clattenberg has work to do but, if he does it, he could also see games. I don’t include Michaels as an option until he proves me wrong.
Carfagna could rocket up the depth chart but Stastney/Regula/Brown. I have no idea what to expect from Cibulka but looking forward to watching him and find out!
I am pretty sure we’ll see Raty in Edmonton at some point.
Tralmaks and Raty?
Some players are signed for the AHL and highly unlikely to be more.
I made no mention of the former and will not mention said player, until that which I had mentioned comes to pass (it will happen, but I said I would not go there, so I won’t 😁).
Regarding Raty, he is an experienced and matured version of his younger self. He will announce his presence during training camp and get on all the right radars, with his boots, grit, 2-way acumen and offensive chops.
His right shot will also be a factor.
All this being said, I think he will impress the coaching staff. This is a competitive player, and I expect he will be in the bottom 6 conversation.
Keep your faith in Raty there’s always 1or 2 players that come from way out in left field. Lots of Finnish players look bland when younger but turn into checking machines once they get man strength. Hell if Clattenburg a 20 year old who was a deep 5th rounder can play 5 meaningful games with a serious injury knocking him onto to LTIR. Clattenburg will be back a Dach-Dach-Clattenburg is going to meet the Tkachuk-Bennett-Tkachuk head on in the near future.
This is true, you did not, however, we know that there are a couple “under the radar” forward signings that you believe will play on the team at some point this year. I hope Raty (and Tralmaks) surprise me and earn NHL games on merit but, at this point, I have these guys as AHL signings and deep depth.
With Tralmaks, as you informed, there is a recent success of legit 5 on 5 scoring and Raty is years removed from his on good AHL season and we only need to look to Puljujarvi to get an idea of what a huge Liiga season at 24 years old might mean – not saying it means nothing but it might (hopefully it doesn’t).
I was following his brother closely the years leading up to his draft. He was considered a top 3 lock, until his draft year. Looks like Atu is starting to find his way.
For Aku, it was always about him finding his offense, which is where Atu was a notch above. That being said, Aku has always had the skating, very good 2-way ability and plays in the guts of the game. The brothers played on the same line, so I also gained familiarity with the elder Aku while following Atu’s progress.
He has shown better offense as a Euro and minor league pro than all of Joseph, Jones, Samanski, and Dach. And being a right shot, gives him an extra element.
You’ll see what he brings.
To qualify for the NHL’s Calder Memorial Trophy, a player must be 26 or younger by September 15 of that season.
They cannot have played over 25 regular-season games in any prior NHL season, or 6+ games in two preceding seasons in any major professional league.
Levi played 42 and 52 games in the prior two seasons in Rochester.
In 39 NHL games played, he has posted a .894 save percentage with a GAA of 3.29
In his last season with NHL games played, the 6’0″ 192lb goaltender was clearly the third string tender with a 2-7 W/L record, .872 and 4.12 GAA.
Why do you think he will play?
Because Jarry is mediocre and held together with duct tape while Andersen is very good while also being held together by duct tape.
Duct tape wont last a full season with heavy usage.
Levi would seem to be a very poor backstop for those issues.
While he’s done reasonably well in the AHL, Buffalo replaced him by picking up Colten Ellis on waivers from St. Louis.
Ellis had a 8-4-2 NHL record last season with a save percentage of .903 and a GAA of 2.90
Connor Ungar might be a better bet although he has yet to play any NHL games
I’m going to put on my Fibonacci hat and counter this post by saying:
“The Oilers know something you don’t about Levi and they know better than you, therefore your opinion is moot and should be ignored.”
I also think Bowman needs a cheap starter or back-up in the future. Levi is not shy to the NHL he knows how to prepare for games. I’ve left a half dozen of messages on Bowman’s answering machine suggesting he use a pitching rotation or 1 of the 3 goalies go to the city a day early and rest up knowing he’s the starter on back-to-back or the dreaded 3 games in 4 nights. Usually most teams come out flat after a long east coast trip. Send 1 of the 3 goalies home early have this goalie practice his fundamentals while resting (3-4days) then start him first game back. He’ll be fresh as a daisy physically and mentally.
All these number are completely irrelevant on a bottom feeding Buffalo team and, of note, tower over, say Wallstedt’s NHL numbers coming in to this past season – showing their irrelevance.
Levi is well known to be a very good goaltending prospect (and not long ago “blue chip”) and looks to be NHL ready. I’ll take, say, Kevin Wooley’s detailed advice on him over narrative driven drivel.
Not sure you want to compare him to Wallstedt.
Wallstedt is a year younger, 6’3″ 214, a former first round pick who in 40 NHL GP has a record of 18-9-6, .911 and 2.70 GAA.
Those numbers are superior to Levi’s performance in the AHL.
And Kevin WooDley’s “detailed advice” is far from overwhelmingly positive suggesting Levi’s style could get exposed in the NHL unless he adjusts it.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/joapJBsXIco
There is my point – a year ago, Wallstedt, in his small sample size of NHL games, had horrible numbers, much worse than the Levi numbers you posted. They don’t mean anything.
I’ve heard Woodley speak about Levi in 3 occasions this off-season – good job picking out the adjustment Woodley thinks Levi may need to make while ignoring the glowing assessment of his personality, his work athletic, his athleticism, his lateral movement, etc., etc.
Before last season, Wallstedt had only a meaningless 5 game cup of coffee in the NHL
Last season he started 33 games in the regular season ending with a .916 save percentage.
That was enough for the Wild to give him 10 starts out of 11 playoff games where he delivered .909 and a 2.77 GAA.
In 39 NHL games Levi has been shelled.
The Makarov rule. l hated the Flames but Sergei who was in his 30’s justly deserved that award under the guidelines the NHL had at the time.
AHL ≠ major professional league, and you should know better. Has nothing to do with his Calder eligibilty, which is scuttled by his total NHL regular season GP = 39/25.
Didn’t we just have that? His name was Knoblauch, Kris Knoblauch.
It may be out of order, but if the next coach is Gerald Ford, Knoblauch is surely Jimmy Carter.
Completely ineffectual and out of his depth.
It made me laugh when Connor and Leon called out the coaching last season and everyone was saying, “No, they’re not complaining about the Oilers coaching, they’re just praising other coaches.” Or some sad excuse to that effect.
C’mon, man.
The Oilers are worried about keeping McDavid happy and on the team? Maybe they should have fired Knoblauch the first time McDavid complained about the poor coaching.
Definitely should have fired him when Leon chimed in.
But, as usual, the Oilers worry more about optics than winning.
Same as it ever was.
I agree mostly, but my goodness it is hard to fire a coach who takes a team to two straight SCFs. It really is.
For sure. Bowman was right to give time and not disrupt things too quickly, but it slowed the process and probably toasted last season. At least more than it might have been, they were also out of gas
Yeah, I get that, but when he didn’t have a clue what to do the second time, after having an entire year to think about it?
Seems like a good time to find a coach with a plan.
Knoblauch got the Oilers to the Stanley Cup final twice. Neither McLellan, nor Tippett did that. Tippett’s teams twiced choked big time, in the play-in against Chicago, and against Winnipeg. McLellan had a replay of a San Jose type collapse against Anaheim. Woodcroft was outsmarted by Cassidy.
Knoblauch’s mistake (it may have been Holland’s mistake) was not getting to Broberg soon enough, which cost the Oilers a cup. Jackson and Bowman then made the team significantly worse in July and August 2024, and in the summer of 2025.
Knoblauch made poor assistant coaching hires when Gullickson and Coffey left.
Losing in the finals twice, made the team lose confidence in the coach. It doesn’t mean Knoblauch was a bad coach. Coach’s just have finite lifetimes.
I don’t know if Knoblauch is a bad coach, I suspect he very much is NOT a bad coach but, at least in my opinion, he had a bad/poor/terrible 2025/26 season – started in training camp that didn’t have a cohesive plan got get the team ready, continued with decisions such as Frederic with McDavid/Drai to start and various lineup, deployment and systems problems through the season.
I don’t think coaches need to motivate with pre-game speeches every game but Knob was not able to get the team out of their early season malaise and I think he was part of the problem just thinking his team would flip the switch and not doing things to get there.
The Oilers 100% do not worry about optics over winning – for crying out loud they hired Stan Bowman and then Mike Babcock. They signed Evander Kane and Corey Perry off contract terminations. They acquired Zack Kassian at his rock bottom. They acquired Brandon Manning. They gave Jake Virtanen a PTO.
No, they didn’t rush to fire the coach that was behind the bench for back to back Stanley Cup Final appearances – they waited one full season (in which they made the playoffs) to do that.
There probably isn’t a narrative around the Oilers that bothers me more than “they do things other than in the name of winning”.
Please, every single move made under current ownership was done with a view to winning – of course, lots and lots of bad decisions or decisions that don’t work out (as every org made) but everything has been in the name of working towards Stanley.
What are the lots and lots of bad decisions the Hurricanes have made?
Kotkaniemi….and?
Simmer down, Sally.
The Babcock hiring was stupid and reactionary, but at least this time they made a show of interviewing prospective coaches before they hired the coach the owner told them to hire. No process, and once again, not the decision of a team prioritizing their chances of winning.
Then you have things like keeping Picard around rather than finding a better goaltender because he’s well-liked in the locker room.
Inserting Frederic into the lineup constantly despite the fact that he hasn’t been able to play hockey. Wouldn’t want to embarrass the GM.
Getting a new goalie coach instead of getting new goalies so it appeared like the GM was working.
Knoblauch was carried to the Finals twice but had zero idea what to do once there, and the second time was worst that the first.
Getting to the Finals twice doesn’t mean he’s a good coach.
Wouldn’t want to fire your coach, though… it might look bad.
“Simmer down, Sally”…..?
OK, moving on from discourse with you.
That’s fine, but there was no reason to be crying out loud.
“There probably isn’t a narrative around the Oilers that bothers me more than “they do things other than in the name of winning”.”
… Every move that an ownership group in the NHL makes is to win, even if it is playing the long game if your team is rebuilding.
The only issue is building out the front office for the Oilers and the resultant decisions they make doesn’t align with winning organizations.
So ya, they have proven they kind of suck at having a track record that aligns with what is noted as a winning organization. We have two of the best players in the game for Pete’s sake, for 8 years+.
“The only issue is building out the front office for the Oilers and the resultant decisions they make doesn’t align with winning organizations.”
This doesn’t align with that the Oilers have played the most playoff games in the league since 2022. They have been short a few good decisions or they would have won a Cup, but it’s not been terrible
I agree, the decisions have been made in the name of winning and I also agree that mistakes have been made and moves that turned out poorly – being wrong does not mean the reasoning behind the move was optics.
There is no world where hiring Stan Bowman was made for optics. Optics was likely the main factor against that hiring.
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The Colorado Avs have two of the best players in the league for a long long time (3 for a bit but I guess the 3rd was a tier down) and, while they’ve won that one cup, its been year after year after year after year of playoff disappointment, not meeting expectations – both before and after that one-off cup year. They have a management team lauded by most.
“But, as usual, the Oilers worry more about optics than winning.”
The organization brought in Evander Kane, Stan Bowman and now, Mike Babcock. I have absolutely no idea what you mean by “optics”….