The Edmonton Oilers made things official on Tuesday, hiring Mike Babcock as their next head coach. Additionally, they hired D.J. Smith, the former head coach of the Ottawa Senators and a former assistant on Babcock’s staff with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Babcock’s hiring has proven to be nothing short of controversial so far, especially given the past allegations of how he’s treated former players combined with his alleged actions while briefly with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023.
However, Oilers GM Stan Bowman believes that Babcock is the best man for the job, and now, Babcock is revealing what his first conversation with Oilers star players like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman consisted of.
Mike Babcock Reveals First Conversation With Edmonton Oilers Stars
According to Babcock during his introductory press conference with Oilers media on Tuesday, he held a private discussion with stars Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman that helped convince him that taking the job in Edmonton was the right move for him.
“The interaction with star players who want nothing more than to win and tell you how they’re willing to change and adjust to make that happen, that’s pretty exciting for a coach,” Babcock said on Tuesday afternoon. “I went through in detail the changes that would have to be made for us to have success when it mattered. And when they said they were all in, the next step was to get together with ownership.”
“Unless you’re 100 percent all-in on Mike Babcock, I have no interest in coming in and being the coach.”
Apparently, the Oilers trio gave their stamp of approval regarding the move. They’ve played under several head coaches, but is Babcock the one to get them over the hump and bring the Stanley Cup back to Edmonton for the first time since 1990?
“Those are all real good coaches (Tippett, Hitchcock, and McLellan) and I know them all real well and they would have done their thing here. I wasn’t here and I don’t know what happened,” Babcock said. “All I know is the conversation I had with these gentlemen (McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman) and I just talked to them again yesterday, and they know exactly what’s expected and we’re going to make sure that happens.”
Mike Babcock Is Now In Charge Of The Oilers Bench
Babcock said that he intends to make Oilers fans proud and that players may be asked to to difficult things in order to put them on the path toward a championship.
“We have to do whatever is best for the team on a daily basis, that’s what we’re going to do,” Babcock said. “We want the fans of the Oilers to be beyond proud. It doesn’t matter what I say here, it matters what we do going ahead.
“The reality is that’s what’s going to happen. We’re going to make everybody more inclusive and everybody more important. At the same time, those guys are going to be huge players in it, but they’re the ones asking for this. Sometimes when you’re 18 you don’t think like that, but when you want to win a championship, that’s how you start thinking.”
What Mike Babcock Told Oilers Stars, Including Connor McDavid