Mike Babcock hasn't coached a regular season game in Edmonton yet, and Greg Wyshynski has already predicted he won't move the needle.
Babcock makes no statistical difference for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. That's the ESPN writer's bold prediction for the year.
He put McDavid at 4.4 points per 60 minutes last season and Draisaitl at 4.2. The bet is that neither one beats it.
Wyshynski called it astonishing that Babcock got another NHL job at all, pointing straight at what happened in Columbus.
He also noted Kris Knoblauch coached this team to two Stanley Cup Finals but apparently didn't coach Connor and Leon.
The sarcasm has a real point buried in it. Two trips to a Final is not a résumé anybody waves off casually.
David Staples pushed back with the number that actually matters more than points do.
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Mike Babcock faces major Oilers skepticism before coaching his first game
McDavid and Draisaitl scored 18 goals together at even strength last season and gave up 16.
That put their goals for percentage at 52.9, the second lowest it has ever been for the pair.
There's the genuine case for this hire. Not more points, better defence.
Thomas Leary ranked Babcock second among every coach in the league for pressure. Only Jim Hiller in Toronto carries more.
No hire on this list carries more built-in scrutiny, Leary wrote. Every practice, quote and lineup call gets filtered through it.
Babcock resigned from Columbus in 2023 amid allegations he violated players' privacy. That's the lens Leary means.
Justin Bourne backed him anyway on Sportsnet. He's a good coach, Bourne said, and he didn't hedge it.
Nick Kypreos went further. Bigger presence, more authority, better at getting those guys to push harder.
Mark Spector already had Babcock pulling the McDavid line 15 seconds into the first shift after a Draisaitl turnover.
Both of them scored anyway in that 5-2 win over Winnipeg, and neither cracked 20 minutes.
Edmonton visits Winnipeg tonight for the rematch, and Hiller's group still hasn't won an exhibition game.
So who's right in February? Predicting a coach's effect before a season works like reviewing a restaurant off the menu in the window. Everything looks fine printed.
Wyshynski bet on the points staying flat. Staples bet on the goals against. Only one of those actually decides whether this hire worked.
Source : 'I'm quite skeptical': Edmonton Oilers coach already under fire
Will Mike Babcock get more out of Connor McDavid than Kris Knoblauch did?
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