Mike Babcock walked off a practice this week and said plainly it wasn't good enough, and Connor McDavid is the man who asked for exactly this.
I didn't think this one was very pretty, Babcock said. They're not having speed bumps. I just didn't think this one was very good.
He wants the puck on tape, wants speed, wants players listening and understanding. And he didn't think they competed hard enough out there.
Coaches say that in January. Saying it in September, out loud, sets a tone nobody in that room gets to ignore.
McDavid asked for it. The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, he told Mark Spector.
“I like the puck to be on tape, I like us to go fast, I like us to listen and understand what we're doing, and then I like us to compete. And I didn't think we were competitive enough there.”
- Mike Babcock
Babs is different, he added. We've tried it the same way for a really long time. Let's try it different.
I'm excited about that challenge to be pushed by a coach, McDavid said. It's been a really long time in Edmonton.
“The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. Babs is different.”
- Connor McDavid
Connor McDavid backs Mike Babcock with a telling comment about Edmonton's past
Edmonton terminated Kris Knoblauch and assistant Mark Stuart over the summer. Stan Bowman hired Babcock on June 23.
That hire arrived with baggage. He resigned from Columbus in 2023 without coaching a game, over alleged invasions of players' privacy.
Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman backed the move alongside their captain.
“I'm excited about that challenge to be pushed by a coach, because it's been a really long time in Edmonton. It's time to have that happen in Edmonton. It's time.”
- Connor McDavid
Saturday showed everybody what he means by it. Spector had Babcock pulling the McDavid line 15 seconds into the opener after a Draisaitl turnover.
Both of them scored anyway. Each finished with a goal, an assist and a +4.
Neither cracked 20 minutes either. McDavid went 19:13 and Draisaitl 19:11, which is the whole point of what Babcock keeps saying.
Evan Bouchard handed out 4 assists across 25:09. Ryan Shea added a goal and 2 assists from the back end.
Tristan Jarry stopped 15 of 16 in that 5-2 win over Winnipeg.
Edmonton visits Winnipeg tonight for the rematch. Another practice week, another chance to be told it wasn't good enough.
So does any of this hold in February? Setting a standard in September works like a new manager's first memo. Everyone reads it. Nobody knows yet whether it sticks.
McDavid asked to be pushed and got a coach who pushes. The awkward night arrives the first time the pushing stops producing wins.
Source : Mike Babcock Already Holding Oilers' Feet to the Fire
Was hiring Mike Babcock the right call for the Oilers?
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