It all comes down to one player: the real reason the Oilers are hiring Babcock
Zach Hyman might be the quiet reason Mike Babcock's name keeps surfacing in Edmonton, at least the way Steve Simmons tells it.
Simmons connected the dots Monday. Hyman thinks the world of Babcock, in his words owes him his career, and the loyalty runs deep on and off the ice.
He went further. Hyman's brother just hired Babcock's son to coach their junior team, and Simmons says it's no coincidence the Oilers are now considering Babcock.
That's a real columnist putting Babcock squarely in Edmonton's coaching conversation. Not a fan hypothetical anymore.
Simmons also made a point of it: Hyman is one of the best people in hockey, period. The endorsement was the whole thrust.
His take reframes a debate that had been all backlash, with the player-relationship angle finally entering the picture.
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Edmonton was supposed to be chasing Bruce Cassidy
Here's the wrinkle that makes this interesting. Every prior report had the Oilers pushing hard for Bruce Cassidy on a long-term deal.
Now Simmons drops Babcock into the same room. Either Edmonton is genuinely weighing two very different coaches, or the search is messier than it looked.
The Hyman piece matters because it cuts against the loudest criticism. Days ago the conversation was the Mike Modano milestone scratch and whether Babcock belongs back in the league at all.
A respected veteran vouching for him is the counterweight. Players who've thrived under a coach defending him carries real evidence, more than any old anecdote.
And Hyman is no bystander on this roster. He scored 31 goals with 52 points and a plus-13 this season, a $5.5 million difference-maker on a Stanley Cup hopeful.
Here's my read: a star endorsement is worth something, but Simmons's no-coincidence logic is a leap. Hiring a coach because a key player likes him is how teams talk themselves into the comfortable choice.
Edmonton just got bounced in the first round. Stan Bowman needs the right coach, not the popular one. Those aren't always the same name.
The McDavid question still hangs over all of it too. Whoever takes this bench inherits the best player alive and zero margin for error.
Cassidy or Babcock, the Oilers are about to tell us exactly what kind of room they want to build.
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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 | ||||