The first day of free agency was eventful for the Edmonton Oilers. Once Darnell Nurse was traded to the San Jose Sharks, the free-agent signings started popping up on the newsfeed.

In one of the Oilers’ final signings on July 1, it was announced that Stanley Cup–winning netminder Frederik Andersen was coming to Oil Country on a one-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $2.8 million.

That said, Oilers GM Stan Bowman mentioned on “Oilers Now” that head coach Mike Babcock played a role in helping to acquire Andersen, as the goaltender previously played under him with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2016 to 2020.

While there were questions about whether Babcock’s presence behind the bench could impact free-agent interest in Edmonton, it instead appeared to have a positive effect with the new goaltender, given his previous relationship with the coach in Toronto.

By all accounts, the two developed a strong connection during their Maple Leafs days, with the head coach playing a big part in helping Andersen work through early struggles and find success, which we’ll dive into below.

Babcock helped Andersen overcome the mental hurdles early with the Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs acquired Andersen from the Anaheim Ducks in June 2016, in exchange for a first-round draft pick and a second-round draft pick and on the same day they signed him to a five-year $25 million contract extension, which was a big payday for a netminder with just 125 regular-season games under his belt.

However, Andersen had a slow start to the 2016–17 season. In his first month in Toronto, he lost five of his first seven starts while posting a .873 save percentage (SV%) and a 3.71 goals-against average (GAA).

At the time, Andersen admitted that his struggles at the start of the 2016–17 campaign were largely mental. The pressure of playing in a hockey hotbed like Toronto got the best........

© Oilers Nation