Babcock a polarizing potential coaching choice for Oilers in crucial offseason
The Stanley Cup Final is in full swing, but on Monday, the biggest headlines came from one of the teams that was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that the Edmonton Oilers are checking in with the NHL Players Association as to whether there would be any outstanding objections to be resolved to hire Mike Babcock as their next head coach.
Babcock, who was hired as the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets in July of 2023 before allegations of misconduct surrounding his treatment of players surfaced and were investigated, resulting in the team deciding to dismiss him that September, before he coached a single game with the club.
On Monday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and Nation Network personality Irfaan Gaffar discussed the growing possibility that Babcock really could be returning to an NHL bench with Edmonton next season.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Darren Dreger reporting today that there could be a Mike Babcock connection to the Edmonton Oilers. Obviously he had that very short and controversy-filled stint with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and there’s the NHLPA thing and all of that. Do you really think there’s a chance the Edmonton Oilers go the Mike Babcock direction here?
Irfaan Gaffar: Yeah, absolutely. Well, they’re not getting Bruce Cassidy, unless the Vegas Golden Knights magically say that, yeah, you have permission to speak with him. And I think that this has probably been happening behind the scenes for a little while. There’s obviously been some conversations that have had very early on with Mike Babcock and the Oilers organization. The reason why things get out like this is because it’s moved. It’s progressed in a way where it could happen. And I think the Oilers fans and the organization, and people that watch and follow the team, need to be prepared that this is a very true reality that we’re living in, that Mike Babcock could be the next head coach of this hockey team. Obviously, there’s going to be an investigation, and things like that go through the NHLPA. I think Darren Dreger reported a decline to comment on the situation. So we’ll see where it goes. But here’s the thing. I don’t think the Edmonton Oilers went to Mike Babcock without either Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl or members of that leadership group being involved. Whether it was Mike Babcock having a meeting with them, or it having their input, there’s no chance that Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Mattias Ekholm, Zach Hyman, there’s no way that those guys weren’t involved at some point in this.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Well, and it’s such a big off season for the Oilers. Obviously, you might only have one more year with Connor McDavid. Like if this next season goes poorly, if whatever coach you hire doesn’t work out and doesn’t get along with McDavid, there is a very real chance that 12 months from now, much like we’re doing with Dylan Larkin right now, we’re talking about a Connor McDavid trade list… That’s a very real possibility.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…