Rumor: Rumors & Proposals Thread | If Babcock is Our New Coach Will Players Want to Come Here?

[MessierII]

That’s because he isnt consistent when he plays in the top 4. He’s a really good 3rd pairing guy that you can move up in a pinch. The longer he plays in the top 4 the more his weaknesses are exposed.

Looked pretty good all the way in 2025. Colorado rode him for big minutes in this past playoffs as well.

 

[ConnorNova0929]

Players wanted none of that... didn't want Pickard sent down at all lol

Players hiring coaches, deciding roster moves lol. Who is actually in charge of the Edmonton Oilers?

 

[McTonyBrar]

Stauffer said Columbus is an interesting team to watch. Something may shake loose there.

He's also more inclined to go with a younger goaltender

 

[oXo Cube]

Players wanted none of that... didn't want Pickard sent down at all lol

OK? Who's in charge here?

(Part of the problem here is the real answer is the wrong one a lot of the time)

 

[foshizzle]

Stauffer said Columbus is an interesting team to watch. Something may shake loose there.

He's also more inclined to go with a younger goaltender

Because he is in love with Cossa. Oilers aren't in the window of trialing a young goalie

 

[foshizzle]

OK? Who's in charge here?

(Part of the problem here is the real answer is the wrong one a lot of the time)

Exactly

 

[foshizzle]

Players wanted none of that... didn't want Pickard sent down at all lol

Then the players should be happy with Jarry

 

[McTonyBrar]

Because he is in love with Cossa. Oilers aren't in the window of trialing a young goalie

I would do it instead of running it back with the same bad goalie tandem lol

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Helle wants an easy path to a Cup
American players I tell ya

 

[ThePhoenixx]

Oilers 2026 NHL Draft preview: Goalie situation, Nurse trade loom large

Lineups are being formed across the NHL, and nobody is under more pressure to fill roster gaps than the GM whose team may well be looking at the final stages of the Connor McDavid era. Mark Spector previews the upcoming draft from the Oilers' perspective.

www.sportsnet.ca

So Spector believes Bowman is going to make a bad trade because he is in a hurry to grab something shiny on the first. That the other GMs' are playing him.

Sigh.

He's probably right.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

OK? Who's in charge here?

(Part of the problem here is the real answer is the wrong one a lot of the time)

Yeah, like it's not the players' job to make off ice decisions of any kind. That whole Pickard deal was downright stupid. I'm sorry if you like the guy but he was awful this year.

 

[McDrai]

Helle wants an easy path to a Cup
American players I tell ya

The rich get richer
Except for us. Whenever we go to the final, the GM slowly dismantles the team

 

[BeranekAndNeck]

The Jets would be dumb to take Nikishin for Helle unless they already had a plan in place to flip him for a pick/picks like the Sabres did with Byram. Their left side is one of the few bright spots of the whole roster.

Fortunately for all his flaws Chevy is good at getting fair value out of trades so I can see him holding out until next year when Helle’s NMC becomes a 10 team NTC.

 

[Da McBomb]

Then the players should be happy with Jarry

Maybe players have learned to keep their mouths shut now after that and just let management deal with roster moves... and why no one has objected to a Nurse trade. Or maybe secretly they just want Nurse gone too like the rest of us.

 

[McTonyBrar]

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

Players hiring coaches, deciding roster moves lol. Who is actually in charge of the Edmonton Oilers?

Unfortunately the ones in charge have diluted an elite level team to the point of super elites speaking out both in season and garbage day pressers. Sit back and let mediocre sink this precious Window was not an option.

management group fumbled the beginning of this critical off season too. Go coach hunting without first pink slipping the current guy. Get outed and fully paint themselves into a corner with a very, very short prospective replacement list.

Without the super elites sounding the alarm (and McDavid generously ‘loaning them money’ with a below market salary gift), this bumbling management group would be just floating along. Good to have this dissatisfaction on public record with the McDavid Doomsday Clock ticking. This goes bad and it will trace back to the start of the Jackson Bowman Era (Error).

They’ve made it even harder to win with mediocre evaluations and roster decisions. Through that McDavid Draisaitl have not only had to carry oversized roles onice to chase down winning but insert themselves into management that’s largely made their jobs harder.

 

[Jarvi]

Just won the Cup, and still trying to improve. Gotta respect it, compared to our lazy "run it back" management.

That said, i dont think Helle should be the move. He hasnt done well in playoffs, and they just showed how you can win with a waiver goaltender. Its simultaneously the most, and least important position depending how you look at it.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

Just won the Cup, and still trying to improve. Gotta respect it, compared to our lazy "run it back" management.

That said, i dont think Helle should be the move. He hasnt done well in playoffs, and they just showed how you can win with a waiver goaltender. Its simultaneously the most, and least important position depending how you look at it.

No kidding. The lazy “We made it to the cup finals” excuse by bowman was just pathetic.

 

[ConnorNova0929]

Unfortunately the ones in charge have diluted an elite level team to the point of super elites speaking out both in season and garbage day pressers. Sit back and let mediocre sink this precious Window was not an option.

management group fumbled the beginning of this critical off season too. Go coach hunting without first pink slipping the current guy. Get outed and fully paint themselves into a corner with a very, very short prospective replacement list.

Without the super elites sounding the alarm (and McDavid generously ‘loaning them money’ with a below market salary gift), this bumbling management group would be just floating along. Good to have this dissatisfaction on public record with the McDavid Doomsday Clock ticking. This goes bad and it will trace back to the start of the Jackson Bowman Era (Error).

They’ve made it even harder to win with mediocre evaluations and roster decisions. Through that McDavid Draisaitl have not only had to carry oversized roles onice to chase down winning but insert themselves into management that’s largely made their jobs harder.

You can trace this back to when Katz hired Bob Nicholson (who hired Chiarelli and Holland). Then Katz hires Jeff Jackson who hires Bowman lol.

 

[Frank the Tank]

Just won the Cup, and still trying to improve. Gotta respect it, compared to our lazy "run it back" management.

That said, i dont think Helle should be the move. He hasnt done well in playoffs, and they just showed how you can win with a waiver goaltender. Its simultaneously the most, and least important position depending how you look at it.

The Oilers tried to improve after the 2024 SCF by replacing younger guys who faltered under the pressure with veterans. The problem was that it didn't result in a Cup and they lost key development pieces. Nonetheless, the 2025 Cup run was more dominant with more depth scoring. They just suddenly looked slow and old in Games 5 & 6 of the SCF.

 

[foshizzle]

I would do it instead of running it back with the same bad goalie tandem lol

Ingram had pretty solid underlying metrics. This coming off the death of his mom and not training in the summer as much, and significant time away from the game. Whe. He was a regular- he was trending (by his metrics) to be a top 7 goalie in the league

 

[foshizzle]

Yeah, like it's not the players' job to make off ice decisions of any kind. That whole Pickard deal was downright stupid. I'm sorry if you like the guy but he was awful this year.

He was awful the year before too. Had some of the worst goals saved above expected in the league. Oilers were just that good they kept winning. Pickard would only start against bottom feeders so had a good record and the media fell in love

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

You can trace this back to when Katz hired Bob Nicholson (who hired Chiarelli and Holland). Then Katz hires Jeff Jackson who hires Bowman lol.

Butterfly Effect aside this team’s NHL elite process measure x-stats and actual results were Cup Final 1 and preceding Vegas playoff season lost in the margins. They finally made it to top of the heap elite measures to begin rolling down hill regression leading to this mediocre season in all areas except elite PP followed by a first round exit. Lots of work to do to attempt to reset their performance measures to elite team levels.

 

[McSuper]

So Spector believes Bowman is going to make a bad trade because he is in a hurry to grab something shiny on the first. That the other GMs' are playing him.

Sigh.

He's probably right.

Sounds more like 1/2 the fans on here. All gloom and doom if a trade isn’t done immediately

 

[McShogun99]

Because he is in love with Cossa. Oilers aren't in the window of trialing a young goalie

It’s that kind of thinking that made us pass on Walstedt. In the last 8 years there have been numerous young/rookie goalies that played a key role in winning Cups. Murray, Binnington, Hill, Busse. Then you had a guy like Dobes taking Montreal to the Conference final.