When asked if he heard the comments from former Edmonton Oilers legend Mark Messier, the current head coach of the team chuckled as he confirmed he did. Mike Babcock said, “Yeah, they sent it to me yesterday. I just sent it to my family, so…”
As Edmonton-based media gathered around Babcock after a Thursday morning skate, just hours after Messier’s comments went viral, the coach didn’t take the bait as TSN’s Ryan Rishaug opened the door for the often-direct Babcock to respond.
Coach Babcock on Howard playing in the #Oilers three preseason games.
@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilersBabcock was all smiles and spoke highly of his limited interactions with the Oilers legend throughout their respective careers. “You know, one of these teams is Team Messier, right? He won four Cups here. I’m younger than him, so when I’d watch him, hard, leader, two-way, competitive. Went to New York, hard, two-way, competitive, real leader.”
He added, “I’ve dealt with him two times in my life; one time we were presenting Olympic gold medals here. My daughter was seven or eight then; he treated us great. Another time was at the Hall of Fame thing; he treated me great. Like I said, Team Messier is a legend here. It is ESPN that he does? He does great on that. I have nothing but respect for him?”
Messier Was Horrified By the Oilers’ Decision to Hire Babcock
Babcock could have grabbed the low-hanging fruit. No one would have blamed him had he responded to the comments made about his hiring from a player he respected. Then again, Babcock and the Oilers had to have expected this kind of reaction, even if it wasn’t from a player whose jersey hangs in the rafters of Rogers Place.
“I am just horrified about the whole thing, to be honest with you. I could go on and on and on, but I think you get my point.”
“I am absolutely shocked they hired him,” Messier said on ESPN. “I’m absolutely shocked from the stories that I heard from very good, reputable, character people about the way they were treated. It’s been no secret. I agree with Ray — the way that he was onboarded through the players interviewing him is absolutely something that I’ve never heard of before. Maybe the game has changed, and that’s the way it’s going. Great. I don’t know. It certainly wasn’t like that.”
Has Babcock Changed?
Babcock looks like he’s very much the coach the Oilers hired, but also like a changed person. The fact he didn’t take a shot back at Messier speaks volumes in respect to his approach this season. Why? Frankly, Messier left the door open to be criticized.
Messier was instrumental in Mike Keenan becoming coach and GM of the Vancouver Canucks in 1997. While suggesting that the Oilers leadership group shouldn’t have been allowed to lead the way in terms of the Babcock hiring, Messier’s comments are somewhat hypocritical.
“I got to Vancouver via Mark Messier,” Keenan said years ago. “Mark Messier went to the owner [John McCaw]… Mark went to John and said, ‘I’d like Mike Keenan to coach this team.”
Could Babcock have fired back at Messier? Sure. That he chose not to may only grow the support he’s starting to receive from the fan base.
Babcock Has Surprising Response After Messier Rips His Hiring in Edmonton