In the dog days of the offseason, it’s a good time to get better acquainted with Edmonton Oilers fans.That goes double for a team entering another Cup-or-bust season under the helm of a controversial bench boss who hasn’t coached an NHL game in nearly seven years. With over 900 responses to our fan survey, respondents expressed a mix of optimism and trepidation regarding Mike Babcock. As to be expected, public opinion of the 63-year-old has yet to crystallize before the Oilers’ Sept. 29 season opener.Meanwhile, general manager Stan Bowman received a solid report card on his offseason work, including widespread belief that he has improved the blue line. Still, there are concerns over the three-headed goaltending situation, with plenty of skepticism directed toward Tristan Jarry.Without further delay, here are the results, alongside my analysis. With 17 total questions, I’ve divided it into two parts.The blowback to Babcock’s hire was swift and deafening back in June, but there is now cautious optimism among Oilers faithful — over two-thirds of respondents are at least somewhat confident in the new bench boss and his track record. There’s certainly a vocal minority who believes his tenure will be an unmitigated disaster, but the majority says he has more trust than the outside noise might suggest. It will be interesting to revisit this question early in the season, when Babcock will have implemented lines and systems and thoroughly communicated his vision for the team.By a large majority, defence is the name of the game for Oilers fans. The blue line was dismal in the club's opening-round playoff defeat, allowing an abysmal eight power-play goals on 15 attempts and 26 goals over six games. To that end, Babcock is known for instilling cultures of defensive accountability, and that hasn't excluded his top point-getters. Nobody should expect a free ride.Unsurprisingly, depth scoring was the No. 2 issue, a symptom of another Oilers roster that relied too much on its top-heavy approach. Babcock has hinted he may prefer to deploy Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together to reclaim more minutes for the rest of the lineup. Perhaps that gives the bottom-six forwards meaningful minutes to find an offensive rhythm.Considering some of the early blunders in Bowman’s Oilers tenure, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that much of the fan base is on the fence about his ability to deliver a championship to Edmonton. The loss of Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg via offer sheets in his first summer continues to grow more disheartening as they blossom with the St. Louis Blues while the Oilers remain in search of top-of-the-lineup talent.Toss in Trent Frederic’s eight-year, $30.8 million contract along with the acquisition of Tristan Jarry and his $5.375 million annual cap hit, and it’s possible to argue Bowman has pushed the Oilers further from Stanley Cup contention with a few simple moves. That said ...There is overwhelming consensus that Bowman had a constructive summer, seemingly restoring some goodwill among fans. He rebuilt the crease, shuffled the blue line and inked Jason Dickinson and Connor Murphy to five-year extensions, all while leaving the team with ample salary-cap flexibility. More than three-quarters of fans gave the GM a B grade or higher for his moves, indicating there is indeed merit to the “Summer of Stan” title. Indeed, there is a noticeable gulf in perception between Bowman’s overall tenure and his more recent work.Perhaps the crown jewel of Bowman’s summer was wriggling out of Darnell Nurse’s hefty $9.25 million cap hit in a swap with the San Jose Sharks. According to PuckPedia, that gives the Oilers roughly $4.725 million of cap space heading into the season. It’s a level of financial flexibility virtually unheard-of in the McDavid era.