Edmonton Oilers seriously considering Mike Babcock for head coach job: report
The Edmonton Oilers are not letting prior controversies deter them from considering Mike Babcock to be their next head coach.
As the Bruce Cassidy saga continues with the Vegas Golden Knights blocking the Oilers from talking to the veteran coach, and Peter Laviolette being hired by the LA Kings, it appears Edmonton is taking a new direction in its search.
The team has already talked to ex-Toronto Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube, and now a new report from NHL insider Darren Dreger has connected the team to Babcock. The Oilers are reportedly doing the background work to see if they can hire the 63-year-old coach.
“The Edmonton Oilers are consulting with the NHLPA to see if there are objections that must be resolved before potentially hiring Mike Babcock,” Dreger reported. “Amid allegations of invading players’ privacy, Babcock resigned [with the Columbus Blue Jackets] as head coach in 2023.”
Sources: The Edmtn Oilers are consulting with the NHLPA to see if there are objections that must be resolved before potentially hiring Mike Babcock. Amid allegations of invading players privacy, Babcock resigned in CBJ as Head Coach in 2023. Further investigation may be required.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 8, 2026
Fellow NHL insider Elliotte Friedman went on to confirm the Oilers’ interest in Babcock and added that the former coach has already spoken directly with owner Daryl Katz and with members of the Oilers leadership group.
“According to those same sources, Babcock has met with or spoken to several members of the team’s leadership group,” Friedman wrote. “Whatever happened in those meetings was enough to get the players on board with the idea.”
Babcock was once considered one of the best coaches in the NHL during his time with the Detroit Red Wings and Maple Leafs. However, he has been plagued by claims that he mistreats players that he coaches.
He resigned as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023 before coaching a single game after reports surfaced that he made players let him go through their phones.
While with the Leafs during the 2016-17 season, Babcock was alleged to have made then-rookie Mitch Marner rank his teammates on a list, only to reveal that list to the rest of Toronto’s roster, which caused some tension in the dressing room.
Ex-Red Wings players Chris Chelios and Johan Franzen have also accused Babcock of being verbally abusive towards players during his time with Detroit.
Those controversies created a stigma around Babcock, who hasn’t coached an NHL game since November 2019. Yet, it appears as though the Oilers are willing to look past all the red flags and see Babcock as a legitimate option for their head coach vacancy.
The move wouldn’t make a lot of sense from the Oilers’ perspective, who are desperately trying to convince Connor McDavid to stay in Edmonton as his two-year extension kicks in next season.
The Oilers captain will be eligible to re-sign next summer, meaning Edmonton will likely need to put together another lengthy Stanley Cup run if they hope to get a deal done before the 2027-28 season. If they can’t do that, Edmonton may have to consider trading McDavid as soon as next year, rather than letting him walk into free agency.
It feels counterproductive to bring in a coach maligned with player mistreatment allegations to help retain their star player, and it feels far-fetched that Babock could turn this ship around in a single season after so many years out of the league.
Even if the players signed off on the move, it’s still an incredibly risky gamble from a team that cannot afford a misstep.