The Edmonton Oilers have officially hired Mike Babcock as the team’s new head coach following the NHL’s ruling that he was cleared to coach in the league once again.
After a nearly 3 year hiatus, Babcock will return to an NHL bench after a rather public resignation in Columbus following allegations that he had violated his players right to privacy. According to reports, the NHL conducted video conference interviews with members of the Blue Jackets who went through the alleged situation with Babcock, and were comfortable reinstating him into the league.
“The League has completed its review of Mike Babcock’s tenure in Columbus, and of certain alleged conduct associated therewith,” the NHL said in a statement last week. “Our investigation has concluded that, even in a light least favorable to Mr. Babcock, there is no current basis to restrict his employment to the League.”
The 63 year old brings a career 700-418-183 record to Edmonton, and has coached at the NHL level for over 17 seasons. Over the course of his career he’s the only coach to have won the Stanley Cup, Olympic Gold, IIHF World Championship and a World Cup of Hockey title.
A 3x Jack Adams award finalist, Babcock’s resume has never been in question. However, after clashing with players, followed by the off ice “incident” in Columbus, it appeared as though the veteran bench boss had worn out his welcome in NHL circles. Now, with Connor McDavid’s future in question in the prairies, Babcock appears to be the Oilers’ front office “Hail Mary” attempt to finally make good on their team’s window to compete.
If Edmonton ultimately proves unsuccessful, and McDavid does indeed either request a trade, or leave via free agency, it’s extremely likely that Edmonton would enter a full blown rebuild, clearing out the coaching staff and front office in the process. As such, it’s possible that Babcock could end up being the final coaching hire of Stan Bowman’s career with the organization if they don’t get the results they’re hoping for.
Photo: Tom Gromak. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.