The Edmonton Oilers have now officially entered panic mode by officializing the hire of Mike Babcock as the team’s next head coach.
The announcement made on Tuesday highlighted the 63-year-old’s track record in the NHL. While there’s no denying that “Babs” comes with a solid resume, the optics of this move scream panic.
The Oilers were hellbent on landing former Vegas Golden Knights bench boss Bruce Cassidy this offseason. However, the very public refusal by Vegas to allow Edmonton to even speak with Cassidy set The Oil into full-blown alert.
The organization reportedly interviewed various candidates but opted for Babcock. According to insider Elliotte Friedman, Babcock had an interview with several unnamed Oilers players who “grilled” the former Toronto Maple Leafs head coach.
Following the meeting, the players in question gave the organization their seal of approval on the hire. While financial terms are undisclosed at this point, it’s likely the agreement comes with some term.
Generally speaking, head coaches get three-year contracts when first hired. That’s why it’s safe to assume that Babcock will be the coach to see the final two years of Connor McDavid’s contract in Edmonton.
Oilers Taking Risk with Babcock Despite Known Reputation
The Oilers don’t seem to mind that Babcock comes with a known reputation of less-than-admirable behavior. While the NHL’s investigation did not uncover anything illegal or substantiative enough to restrict his employment, the fact is that the optics are no bueno.
This very interesting Twitter thread outlines just some of the incidents involving the new Oilers coach, which have done little to endear him to former players.
With reports Edmonton wants to hire Mike Babcock as head coach, and the NHLPA pushing the NHL for an investigation into his 2023 Columbus resignation, here’s a detailed public record of player and staff accounts across his career. 1/
Some players, like former Leaf Daniel Winnik, have publicly decried some of the antics Babs has been known for.
Nevertheless, none of that seems to matter. The Oilers are out of options and don’t care about optics at this point. Their ghastly gaffe that led to Kris Knoblauch’s dismissal has put the organization in a tough bind.
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Interesting Family Connections between Babcock and Zach Hyman
Another former NHLer, Matthew Barnaby, tweeted an interesting family connection between Babcock and Oilers forward Zach Hyman.
While Hyman and Babcock go back to their days in Toronto, it appears that the Hyman family, which owns the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs, has recently hired Michael Babcock, son of the now-Oilers coach, to be the OHL squad’s head coach.
Perhaps that’s just a coincidence. But doesn’t it seem like the Hyman family has some significant pull in hiring the Babcock clan to coach their teams?
No, this isn’t a case of collusion or anything like that. But it just goes to show how deep connections can go in the NHL.
Could Hyman have so much input in Edmonton that he could have swayed Oilers ownership to overlook the senior Babcock’s transgressions? Who knows, Edmonton fans might want to get used to the idea of the senior Babcock paving the way for the junior Babcock to take over as the NHL club’s eventual bench boss.
Oilers Panic Now Official with Babcock Hire