The Edmonton Oilers held an introductory press conference after officially hiring new head coach Mike Babcock on Tuesday, and it went just as expected for those with deep concerns about the hire.
Babcock, who infamously resigned from his last job with the Columbus Blue Jackets after blatant misconduct, almost immediately declared that he doesn’t think he did anything wrong in Columbus, seemingly absolving himself of any blame. Instead, he threw the burden of his quick departure from the Blue Jackets, which came before even coaching one game, on his wife.
“It was very evident before the year started — I hadn’t benched anybody, I hadn’t talked to anybody, I hadn’t sat anybody out, and it was evident that we weren’t together as a staff right from the get-go,” Babcock said Tuesday. “My wife gave me a call, and she said it’s time to get out of there. I’d been retired. I was pretty good at it. I got back to being retired.”
Babcock, who was already carrying a tainted reputation from his time with the Anaheim Ducks, Detroit Red Wings, and Toronto Maple Leafs, arrived in Columbus and, nearly immediately, invaded his players’ privacy. According to complaints, Babcock reportedly asked players to show him photos from their cellphones, launching investigations by the NHL and NHLPA.
The reports were ultimately found to be true, putting an end to Babcock’s short-lived redemption tour. He also committed other undisclosed potential offenses that the league recently reviewed after the Oilers expressed interest in bringing Babcock out of retirement. When pressed further about his past behavior on Tuesday, Babcock continued to insist he had never crossed the line with players.
“No, to be honest with you, anytime you make anybody feel uncomfortable in your life, you should take a look at yourself, and you should say, ‘How could I do that better?'” Babcock said. “And I think that’s what you do, as a person, is you try to always be better at what you do. The situation in Columbus, they’ve had a full review, and I’m thankful, NHL and NHLPA, for doing that. It didn’t work out for us. We’re excited about making it work here.”
Some of Babcock’s other notable incidents from previous stops in his career include verbal assault that led to former Red Wings forward Johan Franzen dubbing Babcock “the worst person I have ever met” and forcing then-rookie Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner to privately rank his teammates — and then revealing the list to those teammates.
Just last week, Daniel Winnik, who Babcock also coached in Toronto, lambasted his former bench boss, saying “he’s the only guy that’s ever made me hate hockey.” Winnik also urged the Oilers to backtrack on their decision to bring Babcock in, but that ship had seemingly already sailed.
Babcock will lead an Oilers team that was eliminated in the first round of this year’s playoffs after playing in the Stanley Cup Final for two years running. Edmonton is desperate to stay in contention with superstar center Connor McDavid having just two years on his contract before he is set to become an unrestricted free agent.
McDavid, Draisaitl, and winger Zach Hyman had conversations with Babcock before the Oilers inked him to a contract. During those conversations, Babcock says he made it clear that it’s going to be his way or the highway.
“Unless you’re 100 percent all-in on Mike Babcock, I have no interest in coming in and being the coach,” Babcock said.
