June 26, 2026 by Ryan Lotsberg

The Edmonton Oilers’ hiring of Mike Babcock is nothing if not controversial and polarizing. There’s no arguing that Babcock is an experienced and successful hockey coach. He’s the only coach in history to win a Stanley Cup, an Olympic gold medal (something he has done twice), a World Hockey Championship, a World Cup of Hockey, and a World Junior Championship. However, there are many stories from some of his former players involving bullying and psychological manipulation.

My initial opinion on this was that it was a mistake to pursue Babcock. The stories of his off ice conduct were enough to make me not want him behind this team’s bench, he hasn’t coached an NHL game in nearly seven years, and his most recent results don’t inspire confidence. 

I’ve listened to the introductory press conference and all the interviews with Babcock, Oilers GM Stan Bowman, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman that have been released this week. I waited to write this piece until my initial disappointment in this decision had subsided and I had heard from everyone involved in the decision that we will get to hear from because I believe in objective analysis.

Here’s what I like about Babcock. I like that he’s honest. He’s honest to a fault, and I think that gets him into trouble sometimes. His honesty can come out in harsh ways. Regardless, I like that ownership, management, and the leadership group are all on the same page with this decision and the lines of communication between all parties are open.

I like that Babcock is a thorough and prepared coach. Hyman talked about how Babcock is “second to none” among the coaches he has had in terms of preparation. Babcock talked to Bob Stauffer about all the projects that he and his coaching staff will do this summer to determine which strategies work and which ones don’t.

The list of things I don’t like about Babcock and this hiring is longer. The stories about how he treated former players like Johan Franzen, Mike Modano, Chris Chelios, Jason Spezza, Mike Commodore, Landon Ferraro, Frank Corrado, Jason York, German Titov, Denny Lambert, and Mitch Marner are concerning. I don’t know what happened in Columbus, but he made at least one player feel uncomfortable enough that management became uncomfortable with him and he resigned as a result. Whatever happened warranted an investigation before the Oilers were allowed to hire him. The results of that investigation showed that Babcock did not do anything that warranted blocking him from working behind an NHL bench again, but the whole thing doesn’t sit right with me.

I’ve watched Babcock’s interview with Christine Simpson where he was given a chance to share his side of the story in regard to many of these stories. His version of what happened with Marner was that he had Marner rank his teammates in terms of their work ethic to see where he thought he ranked on that list during a private meeting. The intent was to show Marner that he needed to work harder. That list got left on his desk, and other players saw it when they had meetings with Babcock. I have a hard time believing that Babcock made Marner do that in front of his teammates and display it on a big screen. Hyman said that he didn’t know about the Marner incident until well after it happened, so the big screen display version of the story is unlikely to be true. If his story is true, then Babcock’s biggest mistake there was keeping a sloppy desk. The problem could’ve been avoided if he had simply asked Marner if he felt he was the hardest working person on the team. If his answer was no, then he needed to work harder. I would’ve supported that message. Having Marner rank his teammates was an odd way of getting the message across.

Babcock’s version of what happened with the viewing of player’s photos on their phones in Columbus was that he asked players to share photos of their choosing during one-on-one introductory meetings as a way to get to know them better as people off the ice. I can understand and appreciate the intent behind that. It’s one thing for a player to volunteer said photos as part of that type of conversation, but it’s another to go about it by asking them to share photos. It isn’t the worst thing a coach could ever do, but it was an unusual approach that clearly wasn’t received well by everyone.

I’m not going to go through the stories about what happened with the other players I mentioned earlier because you can find those stories with a quick Google search. Those are the more concerning incidents in my opinion. The one thing they all have in common is they serve as examples of the lack of respect Babcock showed those players. Being a “hard ass” is one thing. Players being held accountable is a positive thing, as long as it is done respectfully. Being totally disrespectful towards others doesn’t sit well with me.

This isn’t about people being “soft”. It’s about the mental health of the players on the team and the organization’s staff members. When that begins to erode, it has a ripple effect on team culture and team performance. I’m not saying that Babcock will cause such a ripple effect, but his past behaviour is behaviour that can take a toll on a player’s mental health. Being aware of mental health and thinking it’s a valid concern doesn’t make someone “soft”.

Babcock evaded the difficult questions that the Edmonton media asked of him during his introductory press conference on Tuesday. None of his answers showed any level of remorse, contrition, or growth. It doesn’t surprise me. I wasn’t expecting a sincere apology. I was hoping for a better answer about growth though.

63-year old men aren’t known for making drastic personality changes, but there’s room for the idea that Babcock has at least become open to the idea of needing to be a little bit more respectful of the people he works with. He is who he is though.

DJ Smith, who the Oilers hired to be their new associate coach, has enough of a rapport with Babcock to be able to keep him in check. Smith will let Babcock know if he crosses a line. However, that won’t necessarily stop Babcock from crossing the line. Smith was on Babcock’s coaching staff with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and their time together was not incident free.

I envision Babcock playing nice and putting on a show for the cameras in the early stages of his tenure behind the Oilers bench. I’m not expecting his employment to be terminated because of another odd incident stemming from his treatment of players. I would be surprised if at least one story about a player having an encounter with Babcock where he was treated disrespectfully by the coach doesn’t come out several years down the road though.

I’m don’t support this hiring based on Babcock’s previous treatment of his players, but there’s obviously the hockey side of thise hiring to evaluate as well. I’ll do that in part two of this piece.

Related: Reaction to the Babcock hiring – Part 2: The hockey aspect