Oilers training camp preview: Can Babcock push team over the top?

Are they simply an above-average team that went to two Stanley Cup Finals, tripped up last season, and are now poised to resume their spot as a true Cup contender?

Or, must they reclaim a place among the five or six teams we would say have a legitimate Cup shot, as camps open across the National Hockey League? Have they descended below Carolina, Florida, Colorado etc., to the point that the Oilers should no longer be spoken of in the same breath — despite playing more playoff games over the past five seasons than any other NHL club?

Edmonton still has the core of a team that rolled through the West in the springs of ’24 and ’25. It is well-rested with two of the best players in the world, the best power play in hockey, a 95-point defenceman and a beefed-up defensive game with depth additions over the summer.

New head coach Mike Babcock arrives with solid ideas on how to improve on the razor-thin shortfalls that stood between Edmonton and two Stanley Cup victories. But will those solid ideas be overcome by Babcock’s historic shenanigans?

Will Babcock celebrate New Year’s as the Oilers coach? Or on the unemployment line?

While there are fan bases across the NHL that would trade their roster for Edmonton’s in a heartbeat, until they see a Stanley Cup parade down Jasper Ave., folks will doubt the Oilers’ ability to finish the job. And that is fair.

But we’d predict that a rested, hungry, and still (mostly) in its prime Oilers lineup will reclaim its spot among the elite teams this season. And if a team that’s done what this team has done over the past three seasons can’t be considered a true Stanley Cup contender, then perhaps the bar should be reset.

Salary cap space: $1,078,334 GM: Stan Bowman Head coach: Mike Babcock Assistant coaches: D.J. Smith, Paul McFarland Key additions: Frederik Anderson, Devon Levi , Alex Formenton , Mathieu Joseph , Ryan Shea, Shakir Mukhamadullin. Key subtractions: Darnell Nurse, Adam Henrique, Jack Roslovic, Connor Ingram, Curtis Lazar, Calvin Pickard.

As with any veteran team at this point in their arc of contention, this roster is dominated by players who have spots nailed down.

The Top 6 group is established, with Connor McDavid , Leon Draisaitl , Zach Hyman , Vasily Podkolzin , Ryan Nugent-Hopkins , and whoever gets the chance to fill in for an injured Matt Savoie. So we’ll learn if Ike Howard can nab a spot on the second line or if Babcock leans on a veteran like Kasperi Kapanen — but not much more.

The bottom six is well stocked with NHL experience, if not particularly sexy, a group from which Babcock will try to form the foundation to hand more responsibility to than previous Oilers coaches. That has been his stated goal.

The bottom six starts with a trusty 3C in Jason Dickinson , a young Josh Samanski at 4C, and a group of wingers like Kapanen, Trent Frederic, the controversial Alex Formenton, Colton Dach , Max Jones, Mathieu Joseph and Eduards Tralmaks, whose skills vary. Whether the injured veteran Mattias Janmarks plays again is up in the air.

Signing Frederik Andersen , then third-stringer Devon Levi, was supposed to give Edmonton a three-goalie system.