The Edmonton Oilers‘ precarious Mike Babcock-based venture looks like it could be over before it truly started.
Reports emerged Monday that the Oilers were consulting the NHLPA before potentially hiring the highly controversial bench boss. Now, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast, the Oilers are likely to immediately reverse course after finding out how serious the NHLPA is about investigating Babcock’s prior transgressions at his short-lived last job with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
So the latest news, the way we understood it leading up to before Tuesday was that if the Oilers notified the league that they were going to hire Babcock, the league would look into it. I don’t think the Players’ Association has a choice here. If they want to show they have any teeth and are mindful of the players, they have to step in and say, ‘Hold on.’ And I was told, and I didn’t realize this, the reason the Players’ Association is adamant about this, is that when Babcock resigned in Columbus, the NHL was about to do an investigation into everything that happened there, and Babcock just resigned. He just said, ‘Look, it’s not worth it.’ Whatever his rationale was, he resigned. And so the league just said there’s no point in having an investigation. I think everybody felt at that time Babcock was going to retire, and we weren’t going to see him in a head coaching role again.
Well, now that this has come up, the Players’ Association has said, ‘Hold on a second. There was supposed to be an investigation that never happened because Babcock resigned. Now we want it to happen. He shouldn’t be able to come back without that investigation.’
And I don’t necessarily think it would stop the Oilers from being able to hire him, but I do believe the league will grant this. I don’t think they’re really happy this is happening during the Stanley Cup Final, but I do think they’ll grant it at some point. I don’t know when. I just can’t see the Oilers moving forward with the hiring if they know this is coming. I think the Oilers know now that if they really are going to hire Babcock, they’re going to do it in the face of an investigation. So how do they feel? We’ll find out.
The primary known allegations against Babcock from his short stint in Columbus centered around reportedly asking players to show him photos from their cellphones almost immediately upon arrival. The reports were ultimately found to be true, but it now sounds like those transgressions were just the tip of the iceberg.
According to another hockey insider, Frank Seravalli, the NHLPA has received “significant” additional claims from its own investigation involving players that were not publicly reported in 2023. Servalli additionally revealed that asking to view photos on players’ phones was not ultimately what led to Babcock’s resignation. It was the subsequent, currently unknown, allegation that cost Babcock his job.
Babcock resigned from the Blue Jackets in September of 2023 before the season even began and was widely believed to be retired from coaching. The Oilers, seeking a veteran, hard-nosed presence after a first-round playoff exit, turned to the 2008 Stanley Cup champion as superstar Connor McDavid is set to begin the first year of his two-year contract extension with the club.
McDavid and fellow star Leon Draisaitl were reportedly consulted about the organization’s interest in bringing Babcock to Edmonton. The high-scoring forwards’ input was sought after McDavid noted that the “organization as a whole has taken a step back,” and Draisaitl said he was “concerned because we’re not trending in the right direction.”
If the Oilers now balk at going through the hiring process with Babcock, they could turn back to hoping the Vegas Golden Knights will allow them to interview Bruce Cassidy. The club’s other primary coaching target, Peter Laviolette, is now off the market after signing with the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.
