The Edmonton Oilers have started consulting with the NHL Players’ Association as they consider Mike Babcock for their vacant head coaching job, a sign the club is checking for objections before making a move. If the process uncovers a need for a formal review, the NHL would handle it.
The timing matters because Edmonton is still searching for a replacement after firing Kris Knoblauch last month, and the search has already stretched into a high-stakes test of how far the team is willing to go for a proven name. Babcock, 63, has not coached in the NHL since the 2019-20 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but his resume still carries weight: he won a Stanley Cup with Detroit in 2008, guided Canada to Olympic gold in 2010 and 2014, and owns a career regular-season record of 700-418-164 with 19 ties.
That history is part of why his name remains in circulation even after the controversy that ended his brief run with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Three years after leaving Toronto, Babcock took the Columbus job but resigned before the season started after a report that he had asked players to share personal photos from their mobile devices; the NHLPA investigated that episode before he stepped away, and then-general manager Jarmo Kekalainen later called the hiring “a mistake.”
Edmonton’s inquiry also lands against a wider coaching search that has not yet narrowed cleanly. The Oilers had interest in interviewing former Vegas Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy, but Vegas has withheld permission so far, and TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun has said he would not be surprised if DJ Smith ended up on Babcock’s staff if the veteran coach returns to the league in Edmonton. Smith spent this past season as interim head coach of the Los Angeles Kings, but Peter Laviolette was hired on Monday and he lost out on the full-time job.
For now, the Oilers are not just weighing a coach; they are trying to determine whether the path back for Babcock is clear enough to justify taking it. The next move depends on whether any objections surface and whether the NHL must step in before Edmonton can make the hire.
