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Can Matt Savoie and Isaac Howard succeed under Mike Babcock?
Photo credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
By Jason Gregor
Aug 6, 2026, 16:30 EDT
We are 40 days away from the start of training camp for the 2026-27 season. The Edmonton Oilers have made some changes to their roster, but the most significant change will be on the bench, with head coach Mike Babcock and associate coach D.J. Smith taking over from Kris Knoblauch and Mark Stuart.
The only new forward signed in the offseason was Mathieu Joseph, but the Oilers currently have 15 forwards who played 20-plus NHL games last season, and with the team expected to carry three goalies, only 13 of them will be on the opening-night roster. One question/comment I keep hearing/reading about is if Matt Savoie and Isaac Howard can succeed under Babcock.
We hear these same concerns with every coach. Many claimed Knoblauch didn’t like young players, even though Savoie played the most penalty-kill minutes of any forward last season. The truth is, not all young players are ready to play right away, but if they are good, coaches will play them.
How has Mike Babcock historically utilized young forwards?
Babcock played loads of young players in Toronto. In his first season, the Maple Leafs finished dead last and 21-year-old Morgan Rielly played the most minutes of any Maple Leaf. In Babcock’s second season, he gave rookies significant minutes: Auston Matthews (17:48), Mitch Marner (16:49), Zach Hyman (16:42), Connor Brown (16:12) and William Nylander (16:01). They all reached double digits in goals and scored between 28 to 69 points.
They were top eight in ice time per game among Toronto forwards. They surprised many by making the playoffs and exceeded expectations, but unlike this edition of the Edmonton Oilers, Toronto was not expected to compete for the Stanley Cup.
But Babcock’s previous team, the Detroit Red Wings, was a Cup contender in 2008 and 2009. They won the Cup in 2008 and lost in the final in 2009, so it is likely better to look at how young forwards on those teams were used by Babcock.
The 2008 Red Wings were carried offensively by Pavel Datsyuk (31-66-97) and Henrik Zetterberg (43-49-92). Dan Cleary and Jiri Hudler tied for third among forwards with 42 points. Those two, along with Tomas Holmstrom (40), Mikael Samuelsson (40), Johan Franzen (38) and Valtteri Filppula (36) rounded out their top eight scoring forwards. They didn’t get much offence from forwards nine to 13 with Kris Draper chipping in 17 points, Tomas Kopecky (12), Kirk Maltby (10), Dallas Drake (6) and Aaron Downey (3).
They did get a lot of scoring from their blue line with Nick Lidstrom (10-60-70), Brian Rafalski (13-42-55) and Niklas Kronwall (7-28-35) chipping in over 35 points.
Here’s a look at their five-on-five play, including points as well as shots for/against, goals for/against, PDO as well as O-zone, D-zone and On the Fly zone starts.
Filppula logged the third-most minutes while Hudler was sixth. Hudler was 22 and in his second NHL season while Filppula was 23 and also in his second NHL season. Hudler had scored 15 goals as a rookie while Filppula scored 10. Filppula averaged 11:16 per game as a rookie while Hudler played 10:02, but in 2008 Filppula logged 16:58 per game while Hudler played 13:10 per game. Both finished in the top eight forwards in ice time per game. Hudler did play on the second power-play unit and got some time on the first unit, while Filppula played the eighth-most minutes on the penalty kill among forwards.
It is difficult to compare special-teams ice time to today because in 2008, the Red Wings had 391 power-play opportunities (second-most in the NHL) and were shorthanded 357 times (tied for 12th). Last season, the Oilers had 220 power-play opportunities (26th) and were shorthanded 221 times (tied for 25th). Florida had the most power-play chances at 266, which is still 125 fewer than the 2008 Wings had.
When I look at Filppula and Hudler, I don’t see why Matt Savoie and Isaac Howard can’t both play in the top nine and average at least 13 minutes per game. Savoie had a great rookie season, scoring 18-19-37 while averaging 14:47 per game. He played very well after the Olympic break, producing 19 points in 24 games. Savoie played the most minutes on the penalty kill last year. With Jason Dickinson here now, I don’t see that happening, but Savoie should get top-six minutes as well as some power-play time.
Howard played just over 10 minutes per game in his 29 games last season, while thriving in the AHL, scoring 24 goals in 47 games. He played more than 26 games last season, so he won’t be considered a rookie by the league, even though it would be his first full season in the NHL. I see Howard in a similar light as Hudler. He’s a smaller, skilled forward with very good offensive instincts. He’s a shooter and the Oilers don’t have a pure shooting winger. Leon Draisaitl is the best shooter on the team, especially on the power play, while Zach Hyman is excellent around the net, but he rarely scores from outside of eight feet from the goal.
Babcock has shown a willingness to play young players, if they show they can play. Filppula played over 16 minutes per night in the playoffs, while Hudler scored 14 points in 22 playoff games when they won the Cup.
In 2009, the Red Wings didn’t add any young forwards to the team. Marian Hossa was the only new addition, but Filppula still played over 16 minutes in 2009, and Hudler scored 57 points while averaging 13:39 per game.
In both seasons the Red Wings went to the Cup, Babcock had two young forwards as regulars in the top nine, and both contributed.
OILERS’ TOP NINE WINGERS…
Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Jason Dickinson are the top three centres, while Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Vasily Podkolzin, Kasperi Kapanen and Savoie should be five of the top six wingers. Howard will compete for ice time with Trent Frederic and Colton Dach. I don’t see Joseph, Mattias Janmark, or Max Jones as regulars in the top nine, unless one of them has a great start and bullies his way into the top nine.
The Oilers will have a healthy competition for ice time, and if Howard comes in and plays well early, I won’t be surprised at all if Babcock plays him regularly in the top nine. He did it in Detroit as well as in Toronto with multiple young, skilled forwards. Hyman and Kapanen are two players who played regularly in the top nine under Babcock early in their careers, and they did it by playing Babcock’s system. It isn’t just about points—it is about being responsible with or without the puck.
Savoie showed he could do that last season, and I expect he will continue that this year, and Howard is a smart player. He has the skill to finish plays, more than many of the other wingers, and if he shows he is competent defensively, I expect Babcock will play him between 11 to 13 minutes per game.
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Edmonton OilersTeam Cap Summary
Cap Summary
2026-27
2027-28
Projected Cap Hit
$99,274,166
$87,350,000
Projected Cap Space
$4,725,834
$26,150,000
Current Cap Space
$4,725,834
$26,150,000
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23/23
15/23
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