Report: Oilers consulting with NHLPA before potential hire of Mike Babcock
Just when you thought you’d seen the last of Mike Babcock in the NHL, he continues to creep back into the picture.
As first reported by TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Edmonton Oilers are currently consulting with the NHL Players’ Association to see if there are objections that need resolving before potentially hiring Babcock.
The consulting is required after Babcock’s tenure as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets was ended extremely prematurely due to allegations about invading the privacy of his players, most notably asking to look through pictures on their phone. These allegations surfaced ahead of training camp for the 2023-24 season, and with Babcock’s hiring already considered a controversial one, he elected to resign from the position, with associate coach Pascal Vincent taking over the role for the season.
This came after his previous head coaching position with the Toronto Maple Leafs also had allegations surface after he was fired from the team in 2019 of manipulative and mentally abusive tactics towards his players. The most notable story from his tenure was telling then-rookie Mitch Marner during the 2016-17 season to rank his teammates by their competitiveness, with Babcock then taking that list and telling the teammates he had ranked towards the bottom. While Babcock had been fired due to poor team performance during the 2019-20 season, these reports tarnished his image and left few teams wanting to work with him until the Blue Jackets hired him in 2023.
While Babcock’s reputation has been rocky for the past seven years, he does come with plenty of success and pedigree at both the NHL and international level. During his ten-year stint with the Detroit Red Wings, he won a Stanley Cup in 2008, and in two turns as head coach of Canada’s Olympic team in 2010 and 2014, he captured gold medals on both occasions.
The Oilers are in need of a new head coach after firing Kris Knoblauch last month. They had reportedly been looking for replacements before even moving on from Knoblauch, as they had inquired with the Vegas Golden Knights about Bruce Cassidy before Vegas infamously declined teams from interviewing with their former head coach. However, they still opted to fire Knoblauch, and while they are still looking into adding Cassidy, are exploring other options like Babcock.
TSN and The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun later reported that, should Babcock be hired by the Oilers, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see D.J. Smith join Babcock on the Oilers’ bench. Smith is currently without a job after being let go of his role as interim head coach with the Los Angeles Kings, and has previously worked under Babcock as an assistant coach with the Leafs from 2015 to 2019.