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Mike Babcock takes playful jab at Edmonton Oilers reporter

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
|
Nov 5 2026, 11:29 pm
Mike Babcock takes playful jab at Edmonton Oilers reporter
Edmonton Oilers

Mike Babcock has delivered some epic soundbites since being named the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers.

Though the hiring was extremely controversial at the time, there have been few, if any, detractors as of late.

The Oilers have gotten off to a tremendous start this season, sitting atop the Western Conference with 25 points through 16 games. The strong start has also allowed for Babcock to have some fun and show his personality with reporters, which we got to see once again following Thursday morning’s skate.

Kicking things off in the scrum was TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, who was going to poke some fun at Babcock for getting on the ice later than the vast majority of his players for practice. Rishaug started his question off by saying, “I’m not trying to create any problems here, Mike,” before the Oilers bench boss cut him off.

“No, you are, let’s be honest,” said a smiling Babcock. “The more problems you create, the more clicks you get. You and I know that. Now let’s get through the bullsh*t. What do we got?”

Babcock then went on to explain why he was later than the vast majority of his team getting onto the ice for morning skate. His answer may have given some insight into how the Oilers have gotten off to such a strong start.

“It’s interesting, because it was the first time since I’ve been here, [Connor Murphy] and [Evan Bouchard] were still in the room… I went with the last guys and [we] were five minutes early, not 20 minutes early. But I appreciate a good tightening.”

It’s quite clear, watching this Oilers team compared to a season ago, that they are having much more fun at the rink right now, and Babcock certainly deserves credit for that.

While this group will undoubtedly hit some adversity at some point this season, it’s been quite refreshing for their fans to see this team playing back at the level everybody expects from them.

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