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There will be swagger and a confident air.
There will be talk of puck possession, and the Edmonton Oilers will be a more disciplined team under Mike Babcock.
That will be the story from the organization when Babcock takes charge of the team in the coming days.
As we get closer to training camp, expect Leon Draisaitls name to become more prominent as the new coach gets comfortable with the idea of playing him as the teams No.
1 centre.
If Babcocks first Oilers team is anything like his final Toronto Maple Leafs team, prepare for a mammoth season from the big man.
If the book on Babcock remains as it was last time he coached an NHL regular-season game, Draisaitl will be asked to play even more against the oppositions best players than hes done in the past.
Embrace the challenge Draisaitl has the range of skills to deliver a 200-foot game in a style reminiscent of Florida Panthers pivot Aleksander Barkov.
That should be Babcocks first major tweak.
Playing on a line with Kasperi Kapanen and Vasily Podkolzin last year, Draisaitl was already doing heavy lifting against elites.
Heres a look at Draisaitls numbers, without captain Connor McDavid on the ice, over the past three seasons versus elite competition.
| Category | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | |---|---|---|---| Minutes | 205 | 187 | 260 | DFF Pct | 56 | 58 | 50 | DFF%Rel | -1.3 | 3.6 | 1.24 | Goal Pct | 40 | 50 | 50 | Shooting Pct | 8.3 | 3.9 | 10.5 | Save Pct | 0.857 | 0.941 | 0.879 | Off.
Zone Start | 43 pct | 42 pct | 48 pct | PDO | 940 | 980 | 985 | All numbers five-on-five against elite competition, via Puck IQ PDO is the sum of on-ice shooting percentage and save percentage when a player is on the ice.
Draisaitl has been living a tragedy in this area against elites over the past three seasons.
The save percentage was an enormous drag, save for 2024-25, when the teams shooting percentage cratered when Draisaitl was on the ice.
An average PDO should land around 1.00, and a player of Draisaitls quality might see it run as high as 102.
Luck hasnt been on Draisaitls side.
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Remember, these are numbers away from the captain, so Draisaitl was playing against elite competition while alongside wingers who were stretched to capacity during these minutes.
Babcock can afford to push Draisaitl deeper into those tough minutes, especially if he can find top-end linemates for the tough minutes line.
In Toronto during the 2018-19 season, Babcock deployed a tough minutes line that saw massive minutes versus elite competition.
The trio of John Tavares, Mitch Marner and Zach Hyman played 817 minutes together, delivering a goal share of 61 percent, courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.
Puck IQ had Hyman playing 50 percent of his five-on-five minutes versus elites, Marner 48 percent and Tavares 47 percent.
Thats a tough minutes line, and the trios success meant the Auston Matthews line saw less time versus top-level competition.
Babcocks deployment should have unlocked Auston Matthews at five-on-five.
He scored well enough; his five-on-five points per 60 (2.76) ranked behind only Tavares and Marner on the Maple Leafs, and placed him in the leagues top 10 that season.
However, Matthews suffered a shoulder injury at the end of October and was out of the lineup for 14 games in the fall.
That season, William Nylander held out until December, and never did recover his scoring touch in 2018-19.
Matthews outscoring (just 49 percent goal share five-on-five) suffered because his wingers were below elite-level that season.
Matthews floated some boats (Kapanen, Andreas Johnsson) but couldnt pull Nylander and Patrick Marleau to a 50 percent goal share.
Babcocks vision was correct in terms of deploying his top two lines.
Applied to the Oilers, Draisaitl would take on increased importance in the Tavares role.
Who plays on the top line? Right after the season ended, there was talk of playing Draisaitl and McDavid together on a line.
McDavid is the best player in the game, but Draisaitl should be the centre on the line.
His size and edgy play give him a standout quality among elite NHL centres.
The quickest way for Babcock to construct a No.
1 line that can dominate elites at a 61 percent outscoring clip is putting McDavid and Draisaitl together.
In fact, its the only way.
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Hyman, Podkolzin, Matt Savoie and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins would all be options.
The player not on the No.
2 trio would land on the top line with Draisaitl and McDavid.
Among Oilers forwards last season, McDavid (493 minutes versus elites), Podkolzin (385) and Hyman (326) led the way (Draisaitls total was 368 minutes, including time with the captain).
If the Oilers run Draisaitl and McDavid on the same line, the strongest possible second line would include Podkolzin, Hyman and Nugent-Hopkins.
That would make Savoie the default third man on the top line.
It would make signing Jason Dickinson, a pending unrestricted free agent, a priority signing for the third line before July 1.
Draisaitl and McDavid on different lines The traditional alignment has Draisaitl and McDavid separated.
If Babcock decides to go that route, the lines will likely resemble Kris Knoblauchs deployment one year ago.
McDavid and Hyman have been music together for years, and Savoie replaced Nugent-Hopkins down the stretch in the spring.
Draisaitls top winger is now Podkolzin, who plays a rugged game thats a good match for the big man.
Among currently available options, Nugent-Hopkins is the top choice, but theres a chance the Oilers bring in an established winger like Jordan Kyrou.
If Nugent-Hopkins lands as the No.
3 centre, Babcock might try to add some size on the line, with Trent Frederic and Colton Dach possible options.
Ike Howard will be in the mix, and if the Oilers re-sign Kapanen, he would be a solid option on right wing.
A Dickinson signing would make things interesting.
Acquired at the deadline from the Chicago Blackhawks, Dickinson has shutdown ability at centre and can kill penalties.
Bottom line Babcock should have complete room to wheel and set the roster as he sees fit.
The Oilers are stronger overall with McDavid and Draisaitl on separate lines, but there seemed to be a real urgency to load up the top group during the postseason media avails.
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1 line will be the best in the NHL.
Babcocks second line is going to need some help from GM Stan Bowman this summer.
Kyrou would be a strong fit in that scenario.
No matter what happens with the lines, Edmonton will need an upgrade on last seasons goaltending.
For Babcock, the big man in the middle will be key.
Draisaitl can play a 200-foot game, and the Oilers have a coach who is devoted to possession of the puck and suppressing opposition goals.
More than any other Oilers player, Draisaitl is a perfect fit for the Babcock template..