Oilers owner sidesteps Stan Bowman as coaching search takes unexpected turn
The Edmonton Oilers' leadership group has met with Mike Babcock and is reportedly on board with the direction, according to insider Ryan Rishaug this Monday morning.
That's a significant signal.
When the players in a locker room are already aligned with a coaching hire before it's even official, the organization is not just considering a candidate. They're building toward a decision.
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Babcock, 63, is one of the most decorated coaches in NHL history, with a Stanley Cup, two Olympic gold medals, and the kind of resume that commands respect in any room. He's also one of the most polarizing figures the game has seen in the modern era.
His departure from Toronto was messy, and the public accounting of his behavior there left a lasting mark. That's not a small thing for a franchise with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, two players at the peak of their earning power and their competitive window.
McDavid carried 138 points this season and carries a $12.5 million cap hit. Draisaitl put up 97 points in 65 games at $14 million. These are not players a coach manages into submission.
Babcock hire would be a high-wire act for Stan Bowman
The Oilers finished 41-30-11 this season, 93 points, and ranked 14th overall in the NHL. Good enough to compete, not good enough to go deep.
Edmonton went 6-2-2 in its last 10 regular-season games. The team clearly has talent. What it's been missing is a defined identity and, now, a head coach.
The entraineur file lists only GM Stan Bowman for the Oilers bench staff. The head coaching seat has been open, and apparently Babcock is the front-runner the room has already heard from.
Here's the thing about hiring Babcock: he wins. He pushes. He demands. For some rosters, that is exactly what they needed. For others, it unravelled the whole thing.
Think of it less like a coaching hire and more like bringing a table saw into a carpentry shop where the existing crew has been working with chisels. The work gets done faster. But someone might lose a finger.
The Oilers went 19-16-6 away from Rogers Place this season. That road record is the kind of number that points to inconsistency, not just bad luck.
Whether Babcock solves that or adds friction to an already-pressurized room is the real question nobody in Edmonton can answer yet.
Rishaug's report suggests the players have already had a real conversation with Babcock, not a courtesy call. That changes the timeline.
Bowman now needs to decide how much weight to give that player endorsement, and whether the history that follows Babcock around is a risk the franchise is ready to absorb with McDavid entering his age-30 season.
The only thing for the GM is that he doesn't seem to be the guy in charge. Owner Daryl Katz is and that's an interesting path.
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YESTERDAY
JUNE 6, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mitch Marner | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Tomas Hertl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jordan Staal | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shea Theodore | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Brayden McNabb | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Taylor Hall | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Martinook | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jackson Blake | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Eichel | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Seth Jarvis | - | 1 | 1 | |
| William Karlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jaccob Slavin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Logan Stankoven | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||