The Stanley Cup has been won by innovators. I wrote about Carolina over and over again during their run to the Cup, and it was validating to see them experience success as the postseason rolled along en route to the ultimate prize.

But I save that stuff for my other, non-Oiler-fanaticism website. And a lot has happened since then.

Since hockey is a copycat sport, what conclusions can we draw from the Hurricanes’ victory that might apply to the Edmonton Oilers today?

Hire a beloved coach? Not a match.

Stick with the said coach for nearly a decade? Not a match.

But Kelvin Cech is here to say that Mike Babcock simply might not possess the gene that requires buy-in from his players. More on that in a second. Kelvin watched the press conference, and Kelvin came away feeling… nothing.

Which is better than how Kelvin felt about the situation when Kelvin first learned about it a few weeks ago.

I don’t believe Babcock believes he’s a bully because I don’t think he’s self-aware enough to understand that what he’s doing is bullying. He definitely isn’t empathetic enough. He’s the last of an old breed, and the fact that he’s even in the conversation to lead a team in the NHL when his counterparts (Mike Keenan, Kevin Constantine, and whoever coached that horse that ran for so long before perishing after winning the race) have all been fired into the sun means something.

Or it doesn’t. Who cares?

True story: one time, I told a story about Kevin Constantine when he was coaching the Vancouver Giants. He got booted from a game, then stood on the boards and slowly walked across the rink as the entire crowd went bonkers. He loved it. I made fun of it, and his assistant coach at the time chastised me for making light of the situation. Constantine was beloved by at least some of his players, and eventually the system bent toward the moral arc of justice, and he’s no longer employed by the league.

Everything is so personal now. Which is a positive thing, no question. Confidence improves performance, and positive reinforcement improves confidence.

And I cannot imagine a better way to be hired than by being hired by the players. I’ve been hired by owners and board members and athletic departments, but none of them matter as much as the players.

And in the words of Mike Babcock, the players have hired Mike Babcock. He said this. At the start of every season, I strike a verbal contract with the team that any video depicting them in a less-than-favourable light is for their benefit and, more importantly, for the improvement of the team. So if Mike Babcock doesn’t require buy-in from his players to do what he thinks is right, yet the players came to him with their buy-in… oh man. Perfect storm. Dream scenario as a coach.

So no mind games, please. They’re unnecessary. Unlike the young Leafs or the Blue Jackets, the Oilers are a veteran team that just needs to be tightened up. Everyone needs a role (we’ve been saying it here for months), and everyone needs to know exactly what the daily expectations are.

The associate tag is a big deal. Like everyone else, I believe the key to this hire is DJ Smith. In interviews, he sounds like a head coach. He should be doing the post-game pressers. He seems to understand the situation, and I don’t think he’ll have any problem reining in his head coach.

One of the biggest areas for improvement is the penalty kill, and Smith’s responsibilities are clear. The gold standard for killing penalties was smack-you-in-the-forehead obvious in the playoffs, so I encourage you to read this post to see how Carolina did it.

D.J. Smith ran the penalty kill in Los Angeles, as well as in the recent World Championships for Team Canada.

Smith told Jason Gregor he prefers a 1-3 forecheck on the penalty kill and wants to stop opponents from gaining easy access at the blue line. Hey, isn’t that exactly what we said Darnell Nurse would excel at?

This forecheck needs forwards who can skate and cover a lot of ground. It needs one defenceman who’s aggressive and willing to step up, and another who’s comfortable under pressure and can clear the puck down the ice.

Carolina plays an all-out pressure system where, if one player goes, they all go. Non-negotiable. It’s why they’re able to roll through six, or sometimes even eight, forwards on one penalty kill shift. It’s beautiful. They’re forcing the opponent to make a perfect play to beat the pressure. But again, you have to be able to skate.

I’ll be honest, these clips have changed my mind on a lot of things. Darnell Nurse thrived on the PK at the World Championships, coached by DJ Smith. I’ve been using a passive top push-down on the PK for years. But watching this, wouldn’t you rather cheer for a penalty kill that goes absolutely all out every shift? If they get scored on, it won’t be for lack of effort.

Faceoffs are a war zone. Team Canada looks ferocious but organized. They’re trying to score off these draws. Watch how the defenceman cheats up the wall in anticipation because the forward is so aggressive after losing the draw.

This is a demonstration of “one guy goes, everybody goes.” These faceoffs paint a clear picture of how Smith wants his team to play throughout the kill.

So, I think Smith and the Oilers will adopt some of Carolina’s tactics, but not all of them. Carolina has been collecting players to play a certain style for years, and the Oilers might have a new GM by sundown. But all Smith can do is work with what’s right in front of him.

I’m excited to see it. I can cheer for this PK. Forward pairs and D pairs for fun:

Dickinson – Savoie
Podkolzin – Samanski
Dach – Frederic

Nurse – Murphy
Ekholm – Emberson

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