Real uncovered reason the Oilers hired Mike Babcock has finally come out
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
The framing on the Mike Babcock hire is wrong.
McDavid's group didn't accept their new coach.
They auditioned him.
Babcock made that explicit at his June 23 press conference. Before accepting the Edmonton Oilers job, he told Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman directly: if they weren't fully committed to him, he had no interest in coaching the team.
"I told them [McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman] if you're not 100% all-in on Mike Babcock, I have no interest in being the coach."
- Mike Babcock
- Mike Babcock
That is not what desperation sounds like. That is what leverage sounds like.
The Athletic's James Mirtle called the hire an act of desperation. The criticism is understandable.
"It seems fair to call it desperation."
- James Mirtle
- James Mirtle
Babcock resigned from the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023 before coaching a game, amid an NHLPA investigation into allegations that he asked players to show him personal photos on their phones.
He has not taken a team past the first round since 2012-13.
The stars had a say this time
ESPN reported that the Oilers' core leadership group was consulted before the hire and gave direct input to management.
That is not how this story is being told.
The prevailing frame is an organization so squeezed by McDavid's contract clock - he can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, 2028 - that they grabbed the only credible name available after Vegas blocked access to Bruce Cassidy.
But Babcock set the condition. He walked into a room with three franchise players and told them their full buy-in was non-negotiable.
They gave it.
What the condition actually reveals
Babcock is the sixth head coach the Oilers have hired since drafting McDavid first overall in 2015.
None of those coaches required documented player approval before taking the role.
This one did.
That changes the accountability structure going forward. If the season falls apart, McDavid's group endorsed this hire.
They own part of what comes next.
GM Stan Bowman said the Oilers wanted experience and a winning pedigree after two straight first-time coaches.
They got both.
Whether the baggage matters more than the buy-in is the only story worth tracking now.
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