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Mike Babcock spent summer stealing systems from across the NHL

Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

By Michael Menzies

Sep 10, 2026, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 10, 2026, 01:30 EDT

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There’s a common expression in media: “Good artists copy, great artists steal.”

So what has Edmonton Oilers head coach Mike Babcock been up to this summer as he prepares to end a seven-year gap of standing on an NHL bench? Stealing.

“We tried to see both playoff-wise and regular season-wise what works, what’s best,” said Babcock on Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer on Tuesday about his coaching staff’s off-season preparation.

“By doing that, you’ve got a plan of how you’re going to play, and basically you’ve stolen from multiple teams. Then you’re going to look at your group, and you’re going to say, ‘Can we do this?’”

Unabashedly, Babcock is telling us what we already know — it’s a copycat league. You add what works, delete what doesn’t.

On the doorstep of rookie camps and training camp, Babcock highlighted a few things in his most recent interview, done from South Dakota while hunting elk (yes, seriously).

For one, he reiterated that he wants to have fun. He even used the word “riot” again.

Babcock also talked about how much he wanted Misha Donskov in the fold as a consultant and wants an environment where his assistant and associate coaches can challenge him. As he says, “It’s not about what you think. It’s about the best idea.”

But the most revealing is that there’s the plan, there are the things you want to implement with your personnel, but until you really know your players, you just don’t know.

Babcock said he’s spoken on the phone with all of the Oilers, but other than The Meeting with McDavid, Draisaitl, and Hyman which led to his hiring, he hasn’t met most of the team in the flesh.

Now, that might be for the best, considering Babcock’s methods of getting-to-know-ya created a lot of trouble in Columbus, but for the focus on the ice, everyone can say the right things. There’s only one way to find out.

“Everything’s great in June. ‘Yeah, I’m going to do this. Yeah, I’m going to do that.’ Wait till we go to camp, and we have to do that,” said Babcock.

“Only time will tell. Obviously, they’re going to get to know me. I’m going to get to know them, and we’re going to try to make each other better. I think one of the words you started with was fun. I’m too old not to have fun.

“The bottom line is, until I’m out there with them every day, until I watch them, I’m not going to know. We have a plan. We know exactly what we’re going to do, but we’re ready to adjust a little bit at the start as well, and then build a foundation of just trying to get better every single day, making each other accountable, and having a great time doing it.”

Changing lines? Or adapting systems?

This touches on what I believe to be the key for the Oilers to try and push that last one per cent, as McDavid put it after Babcock was hired.

Under Kris Knoblauch, the response when things weren’t going well (or even when they were) was to change the lines. Perhaps too few system or technical changes, especially in the most important games.

But I think a coach’s biggest area to maximize their team is by playing systems that enhance their skills, not forcing a system onto the players when it isn’t working.

Don’t get me wrong, there are the non-negotiables a coach needs. Particularly away from the puck, the Oilers need to be better. But looking at what Carolina, Vegas, and Florida are excelling at, and seeing what’s transferable to these Oilers ought to be a good approach.

Now, using Babcock’s words against him, that’s easier said than done in June. No doubt, Babcock has his player preferences. But the Oilers also can’t keep “trying the same thing over and over again, just banging our heads against the wall,” as McDavid said after losing in the Final in 2025.

In a playoff series, how they adapt to the new streams of information they’re getting game to game could make all the difference. Until then, though, Babcock has to get to know his players.

“I think the number one focus for our group, without any question, is our play without the puck, and then create more depth in our roster for you to win,” said Babcock. “In the end, you have to have 12 forwards that you count on. Everybody’s got to be important on a team to have success, and so that’s going to be our focus.”

Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and co-host of PreGaming and Oilersnation After Dark. He’s also been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years of news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, Menzies collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues. Follow him on X at Menzies_4.

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