Mike Babcock Is the Oilers' New Coach: What Actually Changed in Edmonton
The NHL cleared Mike Babcock to work recently. Edmonton hired him as head coach the same day. He brings a Stanley Cup ring from Detroit and two Olympic golds with Canada to a team that made back-to-back Cup Finals and lost both. Owner Daryl Katz pushed for the change. Connor McDavid signed off. Now the real questions start.
The NHL said there was "no current basis to restrict his employment." Lawyer-speak. Not exactly a ringing endorsement from the league office.
But here we are.
Babcock hasn't coached an NHL game in quite some time.
His Columbus tenure lasted only a brief period. He asked Blue Jackets players to share personal photos from their phones before ever running a practice. The whole thing collapsed in about six weeks. Now, a franchise with two of the best players on the planet is betting he left that version of himself in Ohio.
Key Takeaways
- The NHL cleared Babcock after reviewing his Columbus resignation. - He won the Stanley Cup with Detroit and coached Team Canada to Olympic gold. - Edmonton fired Kris Knoblauch despite back-to-back Cup Final runs, finishing with a solid record. - Babcock met with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the Oilers leadership group in Toronto before the hire.
Why the Oilers coaching change happened now
Kris Knoblauch got fired.
That's the short version.
Edmonton stumbled down the stretch.
They finished with a solid record and then got eliminated in the first round. Ownership decided the roster wasn't the problem. The voice behind the bench was.
Owner Daryl Katz was "actually unhappy" and "a driving force" behind the decision, according to Elliotte Friedman. The playoff no-show stung because the previous two years ended in the Cup Final. Back-to-back Finals. Zero rings. That's a specific kind of frustration.
Stan Bowman made the call. Knoblauch still had years left on a contract worth a significant amount.
The team eats that hit either way.
Babcock met with Katz and multiple players before the hire. By all accounts, McDavid and the leadership group came away impressed.
When your best player is buying in, the owner listens.
The Babcock-Columbus mess, explained briefly
Let's not rewrite history.
Whatever Babcock asked players to do with their phones, it wasn't a minor misunderstanding.
The NHL and NHLPA dropped the matter when he resigned.
Years later, the league finished a fresh review and said there was "no current basis to restrict his employment."
"Cleared to work" and "someone you want setting the tone in your locker room" are not the same sentence. Columbus wanted no part of him, and he never even coached a regular-season game there.
Edmonton is wagering that the Babcock who won in Detroit and behind Canada's bench is the one walking through the door.
Not the one who couldn't survive a brief tenure in Ohio. That's the gamble.
What should Oilers fans actually watch
The real test starts the first time something goes wrong.
Does Babcock adapt?
The game has shifted. Players have more sway now than they did when he was dominating in Motown. The old-school approach that worked in the past does not automatically translate to a room full of guys handled with kid gloves since they were teenagers.
McDavid and Draisaitl aren't kids, though.
They've been through enough to know what works. If the positive vibes from that meeting are real, if those two are genuinely aligned, Babcock walks into the best situation he's ever had. Two elite players already on his side.
The question nobody's asking yet: what happens when the losses pile up? Every coach eats losing streaks. How does Babcock handle a tough stretch with a roster built to win now?
That's when we find out if Columbus was a wake-up call or just an anomaly.
Why did Edmonton pick Babcock over other candidates?
After firing Knoblauch, Edmonton wanted experience and a winning history.
Babcock's accolades made him the most decorated available candidate. The Oilers also tried to interview another candidate, but the team withheld permission.
With the league clearing Babcock, ownership and GM Stan Bowman moved fast.
McDavid is in his prime. His window isn't getting wider. Edmonton decided now was the time.
What happened with Babcock in Columbus?
Babcock resigned as Blue Jackets head coach before coaching a single regular-season game. Reports said he asked players to share personal photos from their phones during a meeting, creating internal friction that ended his tenure within weeks. He never ran a practice. Never called a timeout. Gone.
Is Babcock allowed to coach in the NHL again?
Yes. The NHL announced that there was "no current basis to restrict his employment in the League." Whether teams wanted to take that risk was another question. Edmonton decided yes.
Can Babcock actually help McDavid win a Cup?
That's the multi-million dollar question.
Babcock has the pedigree. Whether he can connect with a modern roster and avoid the friction that ended his Columbus stint — that's what determines whether this move pays off or implodes.
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The Oilers are all-in.
They hired a coach most franchises wouldn't touch years ago. If it works, McDavid finally gets the Stanley Cup that's eluded him his entire career. If it doesn't, Edmonton just wrote the definitive case study on why some second chances should stay declined.