Why Oilers are making a huge mistake hiring Mike Babcock as head coach

The Edmonton Oilers are sick and tired of falling short of winning the Stanley Cup. After getting to the Stanley Cup Final and losing in 2024 and ’25, the Oilers regressed last season and were eliminated in the first round by the Anaheim Ducks. Management decided to send head coach Kris Knoblauch packing, coming to the conclusion that he did not have the requisite control of the players in the locker room.

The Oilers and general manager Stan Bowman wanted to bring in former Vegas Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy, but the VGK would not give permission to one of their primary rivals to interview for the position. That forced the Oilers to change their outlook and they made the shocking move of hiring Mike Babcock as their next head coach.

The 63-year-old Babcock has been on the sidelines since he was hired and fired by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023. Babcock did not get a chance to coach a regular-season game because it was revealed that he wanted his players to send their personal photos from their phones to him. The Oilers did not forget about this incident and asked the NHL to investigate Babcock because they wanted to make sure that he was in the league’s good graces.

Babcock brings toughness, discipline and structure, but …

The NHL gave Babcock a passing grade, and now he gets a chance to resume a career that has seen him coach 17 years in the league, including 10 years with the Detroit Red Wings, 5 with the Toronto Maple Leafs and 2 with the Anaheim Ducks — known as the Mighty Ducks during Babcock’s tenure.

The Oilers wanted a stronger and more demanding leader, and they are getting just that with Babcock. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the team’s two superstars, were frustrated with the team’s play last season and there was a strong feeling that they needed tougher and more demanding coach behind the bench.

Babcock has had quite a bit of success and at one point during his career, he was one of the most accomplished head coaches in the league. He led the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup in the 2007-08 season and also coached Canada to the Olympic gold medal in 2010 and 2014.

But the idea of Babcock leading a team in 2026-27 is asking quite a bit from a coach who demands control. The Oilers almost certainly need a firmer hand behind the bench than they had under Knoblauch and previous head coach Jay Woodcroft. They have the best player in the world in McDavid, and he was unhappy with the team’s lack of consistency from season to season, and game to game.

McDavid is tired of losing and he is certainly correct in wanting a stronger and more experienced boss who won’t let players take advantage of a coach who yields his authority. That certainly won’t happen under Babcock. However, he is a my-way-or-the-highway kind of leader. He is not going to put up with anything he sees as less than cooperative.

Babcock has not been behind an NHL coach for seven years

The Oilers are getting a head coach with a clear vision of what it takes to win a championship, but it has been multiple years since he led the Maple Leafs into battle. He says that he understands that the game has changed quite a bit in the ensuing years and certainly since he was hired by the Ducks in 2002. He professes that he knows that the NHL game is a cooperative venture between coaches and players.

“You can’t coach the same way now that you did then,” Babcock said at his press conference (13-minute mark). “I met with Connor, Leon and Zach (Hyman), and we were all on the same page. I wouldn’t be here if that wasn’t the case.”

Old habits will die hard for Babcock

It’s one thing to say that at a press conference in July, it’s quite another when he is running the Oilers’ training camp in September or the team loses three games in a row in January. That’s when the big, bad version of Babcock comes to the surface.

His former players in Detroit and Toronto did not appreciate the way Babcock treated them. He is demanding, difficult and detail-oriented. When he doesn’t see the results he likes, Babcock starts pushing harder and asking for more. He has been called a bully by some of his former players. Babcock may say that he has changed and evolved, but that is just talk.

Babcock has been one of the most stubborn and single-minded coaches the game has seen in the last 25 years. His style was once quite common in the 1960’s and ’70’s. However, it is not the way things are done any longer.

Change has come to the coaching profession in the NHL, but the old-school ways are ingrained in Babcock. He is not going to change now, and as the long NHL season progresses, his approach may wear thin on his players.

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