BLOG: Oilers tee up off-season moves & changes from Zach Hyman Celebrity Classic

TORONTO, ON – 'Teeing up' what’s already been a busy offseason in Oil Country.

From the seventh annual Zach Hyman Charity Classic golf tournament at Oakdale Golf and Country Club on Monday, captain Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman and Leon Draisaitl all spoke about some of the exciting changes made in Oil Country this summer with the start of the 2026-27 NHL season now closer (66 days) than it is to theirfinal game of last season’s first-round exit in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

McDavid lauded the off-season changes made and how it’s an exciting time in Edmonton after they added big pieces to the roster, acquiring some extra stability in a three-goalie system by adding a Stanley Cup champion in Frederik Anderson and on the blueline in Ryan Shea, who was one of only two defencemen in the NHL last season to have at least 35 points and a plus/minus of +30.

“He was really solid," McDavid said of Andersen. "It’s really exciting, and bringing in Levi too, having a kind of three-goalie system, Carolina’s done that for a little bit and obviously had success. Injuries happen, and you have to have somebody ready to go in there, and we’ll always have that."

“I talked to Freddie,” Hyman added. “He just got married, so big congrats to Freddie, and he just won, obviously. So, two rings for him in one summer, which is pretty good. But Freddie … he's an unbelievable person, unbelievable teammate, and an unbelievable goalie who's now won, right? And that's his pedigree. So, we're lucky to have him.”

That said, it's still a tough part of the business when you lose a long-time teammate like Darnell Nurse – one of only three (Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins & Nurse) who McDavid has played with for his entire 10-year NHL career spent wearing Blue & Orange.

“It’s very exciting, first and foremost, with the new guys coming in,” McDavid said. “Obviously, it’s disappointing to lose someone like Darnell and the rest of the guys, but it's part of the business.

“Unfortunately, it’s hard to really put into words what Nursey has meant to not only me, but the whole group and everybody in Edmonton. So, extremely disappointed to see that happen, but at the same time, I’m really excited about some new additions in a new coach and new players.”

The Oilers will have a new face behind the bench in Mike Babcock – an experienced head coach with 700 career wins and sits 17th in NHL history with 1,301 games in 17 seasons – whom McDavid, Hyman and Draisaitl are excited to have at the helm after meeting this offseason prior to his hiring to discuss how they can adapt and bring a Stanley Cup to Edmonton following multiple close attempts.

At this stage of their careers, winning is all that matters, and a change in approach is something they feel can have the biggest impact and make them better players, says Draisaitl.

“I think it's just the time that we're all at in our career, I guess the age that we're at, and I think he's the right guy to get us to where we want to get to,” Draisaitl said. “Obviously, it's a different look, a change in personality, but very excited  to learn from him, very excited to work with him, and yeah, like I said, very excited to get going.”

McDavid added by describing Babcock as "the perfect fit" for where they are both as players and an organization that's on the cusp of winning a Stanley Cup.

“I think that what obviously we see is a great opportunity to be coached by someone who's coached in every single big game there is to coach in, who's been successful, won Cups, gold medals -- you name it, he's done it,” McDavid said. “It's a great opportunity for us players to be coached by somebody like him and learn from him with where our group's at and what we're looking for."

Hyman, whose golf tournament has raised over $3 million since its inception, is one of the few who are currently on the Oilers' roster to have played previously under Babcock (Andersen, Kapanen), says that his impact on him as a younger player in the Maple Leafs' organization earlier in his career helped him into the player he's become today.

“Obviously, when you're the guy who's played for a coach that's coming in, everybody wants your opinion or your take on it,” Hyman said. “And I obviously had a very good experience with Mike in Toronto. I thought he did a great job with a lot of the young players there. A few of the young guys that were there, all of us have had pretty long careers and are still playing, and he set the foundation for us. So, I think he's a phenomenal coach.”