In a move that three months ago would have looked like an April Fool’s joke, the Edmonton Oilers have finally made the official announcement of their new head coach. And the man they chose to lead the team in one of the most consequential offseasons in team history is Mike Babcock. Yes, that Mike Babcock. He will be joined by DJ Smith on his staff as an associate.
Babcock, once thought of as one of the best coaches in the league, has had his reputation obliterated over the past decade as former players went public with their stories of mistreatment, mental, and psychological abuse while playing on teams he coached. He was most recently let go by the Columbus Blue Jackets before coaching a single game with the team after reports of him invading players’ privacy while trying to get to know them by scrolling through their phones, and other undisclosed actions. The NHL recently cleared Babcock after an investigation was required before he could coach again.
Smith, who worked on Babcock’s staff with the Toronto Maple Leafs, will be taking over coaching of the defence. He was most recently with the Los Angeles Kings, where he worked as an assistant and associate, as well as the interim coach for the latter stages of the 2025–26 season. Smith has past head coaching experience, as he was the head coach of the Ottawa Senators from 2019 through the 2023–24 season. He won a Memorial Cup as a coach of the Oshawa Generals in 2014–15.
How did we get to this decision?
Of all of the available coaches in the league, this is what the Edmonton Oilers have settled on. Rumblings suggest the decision came from the very top of the organization, with the backing of the core players. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman pushed hard for Babcock to get the job. These players wanted a coach who would push them in ways that past coaches may not have.
The onus is now on those core players to protect and maintain what they have built in the locker room. Babcock has a history of bullying and abusing players, particularly younger players and depth players. This has been a regular pattern in past organizations, and the way Babcock talks about these behaviours makes it sound like he has not learned his lesson (still) and blames the victims. There is nothing to suggest he will not continue to try to do this with the Oilers.
McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman, and Nugent-Hopkins now have the responsibility of both having this decision placed on them and on making sure Babcock doesn’t cross any more lines.
Is Babcock’s record enough to justify this move?
Often times in hockey, a person’s behaviour is glossed over or justified because they are good at what they do. One thing often attributed to Babcock is past successes. Winning a Stanley Cup, winning gold medals at the Olympics. Things that, on paper, make it look as though he’d gotten results. Is that the truth, however? Or is there more to the story. More context that may discredit the results ever so slightly. There is an argument to be made that this is the case.
Sure, Babcock has a Stanley Cup on his resume. He did so with a roster that included Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Nick Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, an (albeit older) Chris Chelios, and a goalie tandem of Dominik Hasek and Chris Osgood.
Babcock has also won Olympic gold medals in 2010 and 2014. Coaching some of the greatest rosters of hockey talent ever assembled. He won a gold medal at the 1997 World Junior Championship, at the tail end of an era where Canada won seven of eight years.
What might end up being the main credential on his coaching resume is a gold medal at the 2004 World Championship and coaching a one-year blip of success for the (then) Mighty Ducks of Anaheim as they reached the Stanley Cup Final on the backs of an incredible goalie tandem of Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Martin Gerber. Giguere put on a nearly perfect performance in the Conference Finals, stopping 122 of 123 shots in a four-game sweep.
On top of this all, the only thing Babcock has won in nearly 20 years is the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Needless to say, the impressive resume that Babcock supposedly possesses can be easily disputed.
Regardless, the Edmonton Oilers have committed to yet another controversial figure. Another unforced error that there was no need to make.
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