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Oilers letters to the editor: Fan expectations for coaching accountability

Photo credit: Screengrab/Edmonton Oilers

By Zach Laing

Aug 30, 2026, 19:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 30, 2026, 21:53 EDT

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It’s time to dig into this week’s Letters to the Editor. Want to join in the fun? Details about how to reach out are at the bottom of the article.

What accountability are McDavid and Draisaitl seeking under a new coach?

There has been a great deal of optimism that a coaching change will result in players playing better this season.

A new coach is expected to address many issues: holding players accountable, implementing a new defensive structure, and play the bottom-six more, to name three of the more popular ones. Whatever you see as the biggest problem, Mike Babcock will fix it.

However, the coaching was motivated to some extent by the dissatisfaction of star players with Kris Knoblauch. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have both been quoted as looking for more accountability.

I know that Gregor is the only ON columnist who has media privileges with the Oilers. I would suggest he ask, when he gets the opportunity, what McDavid and Draisaitl are expecting Babs to do as opposed to Knobby.

Ed McConaghy

(I’d be curious to know in more detail about it, too. Will they play less on the power play? Will their five-on-five minutes drop? One has to imagine they won’t kill penalties, at the very least.

Zach Laing is Daily Faceoff Edmonton’s managing editor and The Nation Network’s news director. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.

Letters to the Editor

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Daily Faceoff Edmonton wants to hear from you, the reader, in our new weekly “Letters to the Editor” segment. Letters can be emailed to Daily Faceoff Edmonton’s managing editor Zach Laing (zach.laing@bettercollective.com), titled “Letters to the Editor.” Please include a letter up to 200 words, including your name and place of residence (city, town, province, or state). Your letters may be edited for length and/or clarity. Letters must be submitted by Sunday morning to be considered for that week’s edition.