The last 20 hours or so have been a struggle. I usually have a reaction to whatever the Edmonton Oilers do in real time, but it rarely has an impact on me as an individual. The news of Mike Babcock being the choice of ownership, management and the leadership group among the players is not an easy fact to digest.
This is a decision that could have major impact on someone’s life. The leadership group of the team, along with managers and owner, are no doubt looking at the disciplined reputation Babcock possesses and seeing it as a positive. However, the style Babcock employs won’t work for everyone, and those who have played for him before have chronicled the negative impact it had on them.
I guess it comes down to what you will give up for your goal. I understand bullying and it’s impact, and wouldn’t wish that on another human being. I also understand forgiveness and redemption. Everyone deserves a second chance. I think, in this case, it’s called Columbus.
Five years from now, we might read about someone who has been impacted by this decision and be furious about it. Perhaps that fury should be in evidence now, today. I’m disappointed in the organization.
I am also flummoxed by the idea that Mike Babcock can turn this team around and turn the roster into a button-down, shutdown team. You know, he had Nick Lidstrom on the club when the Detroit Red Wings won Stanley, right? Chris Osgood had a .930 save percentage, leading a goalie depth chart that also included Dom Hasek? During the regular season, that team had a 1.76 expected GA-60 at five-on-five. The defense included Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski and Niklas Kronwall. The forwards featured Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterburg and Johan Franzen.
The Oilers would take several years to acquire enough two-way talents to rival that team. By then, the captain would be long gone. In my opinion, this is a Hail Mary with little chance of success. The Oilers don’t have the Babcock horses. They just don’t.
Word late last night the Oilers are finalizing a deal for Sebastian Cossa. The target is fine, his save percentages over the past three seasons in the AHL are .913, .911 and .915. I wish the club would look at Michael DiPietro, whose AHL SP’s over the last three seasons are .918, .927 and .930. I believe DiPietro would be a less expensive acquisition and may be a better goalie over the next five years. I don’t know a lot about goalies, they are voodoo. I do know that a .930 save percentage in the AHL last year is a kick-ass number.
On the Lowdown today, our feature guest will be Rachel Kryshak from Betalytics. We’ll talk about the Mike Babcock news and what may come. We’ll also talk SCF, NBA final and more. Noon to 2pm, Sports 1440 and You Tube.
Frank Seravalli
@frank_seravalli
If Oilers elect to continue down the path with Mike Babcock, sources say the NHLPA is in receipt of “significant” additional claims from their own investigation with players that were not publicly reported in 2023.
Those claims were presented to #NHL prior to his resignation.
Pierre LeBrun
@PierreVLeBrun
The NHL is moving ahead with its investigation on Mike Babcock and events in Columbus as per NHLPA request.
Darren Dreger
@DarrenDreger
There’s no timeline on how quickly this can be carried out. The Oilers are aware of this. Players involved, etc in 2023 will have to be interviewed. If Babcock were to back out at this stage, a league source says there would be no reason to investigate.
I hope that they hire Babcock. I think that he is potentially the best head coach not under contract.
I also have exactly zero interest in seeing the outrage mob being catered to. People who create drama for the sake of drama hang from the bottom branches of my imaginary tree of social hierarchy. They’re not to be taken seriously and their wailings should never influence the sober decisions of a pragmatic (wo)man.
At the end of the day we only have two options. Truth, which is self evident and open to change. And lies which wear many different coats. Exaggeration, fake incomprehension, charades, appeals to emotion, etc. The list is endless.
I refuse to stand on lies, which in one form or another is where a lot of the folks condemning Babcock are currently standing. Even if it’s only with one foot.
I fully acknowledge the possibility that my extreme anti-popular opinion stance can and has clouded my own judgement on issues. I accept that and choose to err on the side of truth.
Outrage mob.
Just like when Chia sent out picks for G Reinhart or traded Hall for Larsson.
Yes, exactly like that. The outrage mob is outraged at absolutely everything. Just because the outrage is occasionally justified in hindsight, it changes nothing.
Cherry picking a few situations where the outrage appears justified in hindsight is just another form of soft dishonesty.
Obviously the accounts of Franzen are pretty damning, on a highly skilled/successful team where my perception of him was always Smyth-esque.
The Marner story was jarring as well. Catty and sociopathic behaviour. Like Babcock was into teen dramas at the time.
Columbus – sending you a lifeline and you still F it up? What strike was that?
But someone just reminded me of the Modano story. That is the all-timer for me. Imagine being so egotistical that you choose to deprive a generational player of his 1500th game.
milestones coming up in the next 2 years could include Draisaitl’s 1000th game, McDavid 1500th point – is he going to make these impending moments about himself?
No AI on this post… donkey ass.
There’s another few litres of fresh water wasted because a human is unable to articulate their thoughts. Pathetic.
Every business, in times of change or desperation, brainstorm and come up with options. Options!
Cassidy was never their only target. Babcock is not the new “only target”. Wake up folks.
Servalli pushed back “there’s no rush”… well no coach has been hired yet, champ.
Edmonton media is atrocious. The playoffs aren’t even done and I’m tired of Spec, Matheson, Stauff, Friedman and all this BS. No one has been hired. No organization has one option.
I think the conversation around Mike Babcock has drifted so far from reality that it’s almost impossible to discuss him without someone invoking the caricature instead of the coach. And that’s the problem: we’ve replaced the man with an unfair characterization that is eas to hate.
Babcock’s reputation today is built almost entirely on selective retellings, and a social‑media echo chamber that rewards outrage more than accuracy. None of that changes the fact that he’s one of the most successful coaches of his era. You don’t stumble into a Stanley Cup, two Olympic gold medals, a World Cup, and a World Junior title by accident. You don’t get hired repeatedly by NHL organizations if you’re the villain people pretend he is. The truth is more complicated, and far less convenient for the “Babcock is a monster” narrative.
1. The “abuse” label has been stretched beyond recognitionDid Babcock push players? Yes. Did he cross lines at times? Sure. Just like a player that is known for playing on the edge, sometimes the individual crosses the line. But the way those incidents have been inflated into a career‑defining moral indictment says more about the modern hockey discourse than it does about him.
The Mitch Marner story, for example, has been retold so many times that the details have mutated. Even Marner himself has repeatedly said he holds no grudge and that the situation was blown out of proportion. But that nuance never makes it into the conversation because it doesn’t fit the villain arc.
2. The Columbus situation was trial by social mediaThe phone‑photo controversy became a public execution before anyone even knew what actually happened. Multiple players — including veterans with no reason to lie — said the interactions were harmless. But once the narrative machine got rolling, there was no stopping it. Columbus cut ties not because of what happened, but because the optics became radioactive. That’s not justice. That’s PR.
3. Babcock’s coaching record still speaks louder than the noisePeople forget that Detroit’s Cup team wasn’t a superteam. They forget how he turned a declining roster into a perennial playoff club. They forget how Canada’s 2010 and 2014 Olympic teams played suffocating, disciplined hockey under him — the kind of structure that wins when the stakes are highest. Isn’t that what the Oilers need? They tried Mr. Nice Guy, who barely utters a swear in Knobloch, that did not turn out as hoped. If you have been frustrated over the lack of accountability recent Oiler coaches held their players to, then you should be DELIGHTED with Babcock as the next HC in Oil Country. We are in WIN NOW mode, no freaking passengers, no excuses. We’re not building a team or a culture, we need to win NOW.
You can dislike his methods. You can argue the game passed him by. But pretending he wasn’t an elite coach is revisionist. If he can get an average of just 10% more out of every player on the team, what a contender we would be.
4. Hockey culture changed — and Babcock became the symbolThe sport needed to evolve. No question. But somewhere along the way, Babcock stopped being a coach with flaws and became the avatar for every bad thing about “old‑school hockey.” That’s not fair to him, and it’s not honest to the conversation.
He became the lightning rod because he was the biggest name, not because his actions were uniquely egregious. Wanting your team to be focused on winning (BlueJackets), wanting your team to win hockey games (sorry Modano), wanting your team to work hard (Marner), holding players accountable, are these not things a head coach should be instilling in order to get the maximum results? These aren’t kids, the players are all adults, living out their dream. At this point in the Oiler Arc, I think a Babcock could be just what they need.
5. We all make mistakesBabcock has said repeatedly that he’s reflected on his past and adjusted. Whether you believe him or not, the idea that he should be permanently exiled is not something I am going to blindly follow.
Bottom line:
Mike Babcock is not the villain people want him to be. He’s a demanding, sometimes abrasive coach who has made mistakes, and has also crossed the line. I don’t recall any criminal trials involving the man. He is also one of the most accomplished bench bosses of his generation. The discourse around him has become so distorted that defending him feels taboo, but someone has to say it: the man deserves a fairer assessment than the internet mob ever gave him.
I cannot know what his past motives have been, and neither can any of you. In sports, a great many star athletes have become aggressive, difficult, pissy, or rude while trying to win. Maybe Babcock is exactly what some people say he is — a bully. Maybe he isn’t. The point is: none of us were in those rooms, and pretending otherwise is just moral grandstanding.
There is no doubt he cracked a few eggs along the way and upset some players. But if you’ve ever been around competitive minor hockey, you know real bullying when you see it — and it doesn’t look like a demanding NHL coach pushing grown men to perform. If you want to fix hockey culture, start at your local rink, not by piling onto a man you’ve never met because it’s fashionable online.
And you know who was actually there? Zach Hyman. A player whose character, integrity, humility, and compassion are beyond question. If Hyman — of all people — is comfortable with Babcock, then that carries more weight with me than the recycled outrage of people who were never in the room.
At the end of the day, if Mike Babcock can squeeze even 10% more out of this roster, the Oilers become a nightmare for the rest of the league. That’s the part everyone seems to forget while they’re busy shouting into the void.
“Chat GPT, write me an essay on why Mike Babcock isnt that bad”
What a disrespectful response.
I immediately suspected this as an AI post as well. AI posts should be banned.
There is using AI poorly, and there is using AI well. This is the challenge most of us have to learn to master for the rest of our lives.
AI is extremely useful when prompted well, and one has an original idea “directing” the AI.
If one is just asking AI to think for you, then it is sort of pointless and prone to hallucinations and mistakes.
Prompt your argument in your own voice, and an AI can really help and enhance the argument, in your voice.
It is literally copy and pasted text from chat GPT. Theres a bunch of signs – all the em dashes, bolded headers, “thats not justice, it’s PR” sentence structure
If that’s the case, then I take back my comment fully. Perhaps it’s my own ignorance with AI, as it wouldn’t occur to me to use AI for the purpose of blog posts and I pictured someone who put a lot of time and effort into coming up with a persuasive counter point.
I understand! it’s tough to tell if you don’t know what to look for.
Stauff better watch out, there’s a brand new car salesman on the block and I’m about to buy a pinto.
I thought a sports franchise with an owner who interferes was a bad thing? Have we not looked at other orgs and pointed out how this is always a disaster? And the leadership group giving the OK to Babcock as a good thing is the spin? You’re telling me a team that has the owner and star players making the decisions is the way to run a team? The mental gymnastics people are doing to make this look like a good idea boggles the mind. This off season ao far has been a train wreck starting with the Cassidy leak and has somehow gotten steadily worse.
Owners making decisions is pretty common across sports. Someone has to be at the top and that someone is the richest but often not the smartest.
That’s his point, it isn’t a good thing to have an owner making hockey decisions.
Bussi, Carolina’s goalie tonight and DiPietro split time in the AHL last year (24-25)
Bussi – 33GP – .907, .913 yr before
DiPietro – 40 GP – .927, .918 yr before
Bussi was .895 splitting time with Andersen this season.
Bussi is 4” taller but I would love to see us grab DiPietro if Cossa doesnt work out. He shouldn’t be too expensive, passed through waivers last fall. Has insanely good stats in the AHL playoffs the last two years too (.928 and .931).
Goalies are the hockey equivalent of NFL RBs right now.
Pretty sure the Bruins are going with DiPietro as their backup.
Bruins have had the same 3 goalies the last 2 years. Swayman, Korpisaloo, Dipietro in that order and with Korpisaloo signed for another 2 years it’s unlikely to suddenly change.
Friedman says the Oilers interviewed Jim Hiller so it wasn’t only cup winning head coaches.
Hiller spent 5 years as an assistant coach to Babcock. Not saying they were looking for him to be an assistant or head coach but it could be either.
Spec’s article is fairly straightforward. He said the players grilled Babcock on his transgressions and how he became known as the hardest of hard-asses and they came away with the message for management that this is their guy.
The player leadership group and the owner have to do the job of Jackson and Bowman, because they are incompetent.
The players are running the show in today’s world management just collects the cheques
Sorta pointless when it’s documented that Babcock is generally great to the core players and a bully to the marginal and young players.
Job interviews are mostly pointless for this reason. Babcock can say anything he wants to. He might even really, really believe it. Just like he did in Columbus. Will he be different? Who knows. Do they want him to be? Maybe not.
I have more respect for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl than that and have little doubt they would do what they needed to do to protect their teammates if any such situation came up.
I doubt the greatest player in the league, now mature and proven, would allow for the bullying of players.
I could see Draisaitl being even more protective, with how he speaks about his teammates and spends time with them after practice.
No closed doors.
Huh?
Marner wasn’t a core guy?
Franzen wasn’t a core guy?
Modano?
Frederic is Edmonton’s rep on the NHLPA. Might this be his most important role as an Oiler?! Investigate
Also, presumably NHLPA never previously investigated because they thought that surely, no other team would be so stupid…
That’s an interesting little piece. And from what I’ve seen from Freddy, he seems a bit sensitive (I mean that in a good way) compared to most NHL tough guys. Thinking of a few comments like when he got chirped about his salary and said “I know I get paid too much”.
So it’s nice that Stan went to 97, 29 and 18 about this but did 97/29/18 check with any of their “lesser” teammates?
So now you care about replacement level players, and those barely above that?
Freddy demands a trade?
Yes? Why wouldn’t I?
Its not going to help much if Frederic gets bullied and goes into a shell or head games with Ike Howard have him spinning like a top or RNH gets healthy scratched going for goal 300.
These misplays and unforced errors from management since the Oilers off season started is just baffling. These are the types of decisions and processes must be what Leon was referring to when he said the whole organization needs to be better. We just didn’t hear about all of them.
I mean, I don’t care who you are, this coaching situation is completely and utterly embarrassing and wreaks of ineptitude and desperation.
Someone needs to lose their job over this debacle. How do you expect to match up with the best when you can’t even run a simple hiring process?
On a separate note, I expect Vegas to retain Cassidy for next season. That’s why they aren’t releasing him.
I think they were hedging. If Torts doesn’t screw up too much they keep him especially if they win
What misplays and unforced errors?
At this point, all they’ve done is fired their coach who’s decisions were questioned from training camp through the end of the playoffs, who’s team underperformed, who had top players that he couldn’t get to invest in the games, etc.
That’s all they’ve done.
They leaked that they tried to hire a coach that wasn’t actually available before they actually fired their current coach. That’s bad form.
Then they said they were doing a thorough search for replacing that coach, only to leak that they are going to hire a coach that is renowned for being an all-time bully. Multiple players literally outlined his transgressions in detail. How often does that happen?
Now it’s out in public, that, yes, if you want to hire this guy, we have to go an investigation. Is this really what you want to do?
Regardless of how they progress, it looks bad.
It’s either. Yes. Yes. We know that he’s probably not a great person, but we want to try and hire him anyway. Maybe he isn’t the worst person, just not a great person.
Or… Actually, no. We don’t want you to go through with that investigation. I guess those claims really are that bad. This was probably a bad idea in the first place. Why did we go down this path again?
This is it, really. Most every team has been denied permission to speak to someone from another team. It would be embarrassing and incompetent not to ask. That’s how Nashville got their new GM. Had Colorado said no, that would not be embarrassing.
Babcock potentially being investigated isn’t a huge issue unless there is something we don’t know. Rick Tocchet ran an illegal gambling ring, plead guilty and has now coached 4 separate NHL teams. If he’s really the Oilers guy, they all knew this was coming and feel that it’s worth it. If they don’t go through with the investigation, then it was all for theatre and we’re going to hire the lesser of two weevils.
“Simple hiring process” goes out the window when some of the Oilers top candidates are still under contract with another team, and another is league known donkey.
The simple hiring process you desire is also happening with the likes of Laviolette (gone to LA, oh no), Gallant, Franklin III and now Hiller. Hiller!?! Reports were 18 total, the “news” just doesn’t report it because it’s boring. The Oilers are doing exactly what you desire.
Hiring process, we just hear about the crazy.
I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a team that more aggressively pinches their D than these Hurricanes. They play like a team that is constantly 1 goal down.
So the Oilers leaked a coach they wanted but couldn’t hire.
Then panicked and leaked another coach they couldn’t hire.
Hahahahahahahahahahaha
Holy Crap this is a different level of pathetic. Bowman, Jackson and Coffey are complete and utter embarrassments here today hahahahaha.
Fire em all!
Or perhaps Cassidy was the smoke screen and they wanted Babcock. Listening to former players they are a lot less down on it
I don’t think either situation was hugely unexpected and I very much doubt that McDavid et al. aren’t at the forefront of it. If the ask was an experienced coach who has won before, the list is quite short. The other coaches we know they’ve talked to are Laviolette and Berube.
Barry Trotz, Darryl Sutter, Claude Julien, Dan Bylsma, Randy Carlyle, John Tortorella, Bob Hartley, Larry Robinson, Marc Crawford, Jacques Lemaire, Mike Keenan, Jacques Demers, Scotty Bowman, Terry Crisp, Jean Perron and Glen Sather are your choices for coaches that have won a cup, aren’t currently employed and are still alive. Eliminate everyone over 70 or who has retired and you don’t have much of a list.
Unless Barry Trotz wants to coach again, Cassidy, Babcock and Laviolette seem like the best of the group assuming Tortorella signs an extension with Vegas.
Someone should point out it’s a silly ask considering Scotty Bowman is the only one to pull it off
Laviolette went to the finals with 3 different teams. It’s not the worst thing to go after.
Mike Babcock got off going after training staff, and guys down roster who’s careers he could end. He took joy in tormenting a rookie and withholding a career milestone from the best American born player at the time.
He won diddly squat when he wasn’t coaching all star teams.
He’s a loser, a true blue to the core loser. Keep him the hell away from this team.
So, the Oilers asked for permission to speak to a cup-winning coach and asked the NHLPA how they would feel about another cup-winning coach and this is hugely embarrassing? Really? It’s not like they didn’t know either thing could happen.
It’s unfortunate but it’s really no different than trying to trade for Matthews and being told no. You get fired for things you do, not for exploring your options.
I thought the problem was that they weren’t exploring all of their options? Pick a lane.
In my opinion, they narrowed their search to 4 or 5 candidates. One is team controlled, one is an outcast and no one cares about the others, because they don’t write a story.
Due diligence, you’d pursue all candidates and take the appropriate measures to ensure their availability. Enter Vegas and NHLPA. You’d speak to your leadership group about the options, but probably not the final decision.
Juicy content for any journalist.
I hope they hire Gallant and all of this will have been for nothing.
Enough with the doom and gloom has the Cossa rumour gathered any speed today?
Weekes is saying he’s on the move soon – mentioned Utah as a destination.
Ooh no I guess Yzerman will pry more out of Utah. I do think Cossa will shine once he’s given opportunity. It just baffles me that Yzerman soured on giving Cossa a go at it before trading him.
If I had to pick a coaching comp for Mike Babcock, in hockey it would be Mike Keenan. Given how dated that comp is, a better one is likely Bill Belichick.
And there’s two things I know about Belichick from the many books I’ve read on the Patriots. 1) His my way or the highway approach only worked cos he also held the GM title, and 2) Once Brady left, it became obvious to all how much BB’s success was a result of the talent on the roster and much less so to any supposed coaching genius on Belichick’s part.
What’s particularly interesting in the context of Babcock is how poorly Belichick has done in his transition to the college game at UNC. Cranky old man just doesn’t work with the young modern athlete. Honestly, why would anyone think it would?
Except the top coaches are all demanding. The difference is Babcock bullied players without status and support staff
I’m sorry but BB has changed the way football is coached. There are quite a few examples but the most obvious, winning the coin toss and getting the ball in the second half. Everyone does it now.
It’s a great tactic when Brady is running your two minute offense. With Bailey Zappe, not so much.
Bill Belichick’s career head coaching record without Tom Brady is 84W 103L (44.9% winning percentage).
Brady handled the offence Belichick ran the D. The man has 8 Super Bowl titles under his belt. The 2 titles in New York were because of his defensive schemes. Just because the old fool is drunk on a young vixen doesn’t take away from him being the greatest coach in NFL history and it’s not even close.
Greatest coach is NFL history in my books is Don Shula. There’s a reason he has the most wins in NFL history. He once took a team quarterbacked by David Woodley (who?) to the Super Bowl. His first dynasty was nicknamed the No Name Defense with good reason. With Marino, he completely changed his philosophy to embrace the aerial game and won even more games. #2 is Bill Walsh. The West coast offence truly revolutionized the game and is still used today in some variant or other. There’s no Sean McVey or Kyle Shanahan or Andy Reid without Bill Walsh.
Belichick IS one of the greatest D coordinators in NFL history. As a Head Coach, when he doesn’t have Tom Brady under center, he is a career loser over a large sample size.
Where’s the love for Tom Landry. I do agree on your take on things but as Patrick Roy once said about Jeremy Roenick I can’t really hear you because I have 2 Stanley Cup Rings plugged in my ears. It’s all about winning in professional sports. Nobody but a few of us can remember how good the Sabres were in the mid 70’s with a team that was stacked and panicked after getting goalied by Bernie Parent. It’s all about winning Leon-Connor know the cloak is ticking. I’m sure Leon-Connor could jump on another horse later on and be second fiddle and get their ring like Hall is doing but I guarantee they want the ring in the city that drafted them. The core is tight knit group and they want to win it together.
The two most damning things for Belichick are 1) Brady wins another title immediately on a new team while the Patriots quickly circle the drain without him, and 2) BB’s coaching tree is pretty bare. The great coaches in NFL history typically begat great assistants who in turn become good coaches themselves. Belichick’s assistants have all failed outside NE. Vrabel is doing well as an ex Pat player under Bill now HC. He’s the outlier.
Via Dreger: The NHLPA has asked the NHL to move forward with an investigation into the allegations Mike Babcock invaded players privacy during his time in Columbus.
Via Pierre Lebrun:
Further to what DarrenDreger
reports here, the NHL is awaiting word from the Oilers. Which is to say, if Edmonton wants to go ahead with the Babcock hire, then the league will go ahead with its investigation as per the NHLPA request. But that’s if the Oilers decide to go ahead with the hire.
So the sky may not be falling?
“So you’re telling there’s a chance…” Lloyd Christmas
Seravalli: sources say the NHLPA has specifically requested that the NHL delay Mike Babcock’s hiring by the Edmonton Oilers until a formal investigation can be completed.
Good!!!
This is so bizarre it’s hard to know if this is the plan or completely unexpected.
Like, “sorry guys, we tried to get Cassidy and Babcock but now you’re stuck with….Nelson, Woodcroft, Berube, Coffey…..a 92 year old Scotty Bowman back for more?”
So, is Bob Hartley next or Marc Crawford?
They should hire Patrick Roy.
at this point…fine.
Why? He’s not done much as a coach and his stupid down early butterfly cost Canada a champ win. I knew it was coming
This seems like a lot of work for everyone, let’s just hire Sutter/Trotz/Nelson/Julien/Cassidy
i actually think Sutter might be awesome for a year or two
Ex-squeeze me? Complete an investigation? And then what? Present the evidence to the Oilers? To the NHLPA? So they can veto? To an internal NHL official so they can do what exactly? Does the PA have a veto on who can coach?
Would be amazing if a procedural hiccup totally killed this idea.
I said this yesterday and I’ll say it here again. I don’t think Babcock makes it to game 1. Something will happen (my sense, Babcock will implode).
Having worked for good bosses and bullies, I can tell you bullies don’t change their stripes.
I think some on here underestimate just how sore the League continues to be at Edmonton.
This is the league trying to prevent them Oilers from harming themselves.
Cassidy is not a good coach, he’s very médiocre. Babcock is a donkey.
This is the NHL going – dudes, find better people! Why in gords name are you aiming so damn low?
It is inexplicable how regularly the best players on this team can lapse into bad habits. If they are self aware enough to realize they need an extreme alpha to prevent that, good on them for signing up for the discipline and abuse.
But it is possible to manage egos as an alpha without being an ahole (Scottie Bowman, Phil Jackson, Bill Walsh, Joe Torre).
This is a fundamentally different era of workplace dynamics with emotional intelligence and empathy dominating the ecosystem. Hard to envision how Babcock’s bully boy tactics can possibly succeed with the modern athlete.
If you hire Captain Bly, you shouldn’t be surprised when the crew mutinies.
From all reports Scotty was not well liked. The Cups were
Back in the day when you could rip on players without social media throwing a pity party for multi millionaire feelings.
Given everything that has happened over the last year, hell, last 20 years, does Oilers management focus group test decisions beforehand?
It’s almost like they have intelligence to suggest picking the most contentious, and PR unfriendly path before doing anything.
That’s the only way I can explain this world.
It is baffling.
If the Babcockadook is indeed the next coach hired, this management team’s desperate maneuvers may go down in infamy as some of the very worst of all time. That’s saying something for this franchise.
And a very special shout out goes to Stauffer, who I now realize has been playing the dual roles of Deep Throat and the Kool-Aid Man.
Per Kevin Weeks:
I will be disappointed if the Oilers do not get Cossa.
DiPietro is a good consolation option. He seems like he might be just as good, i just hope they get one of them
His numbers are better, but he’s older. A better option in my opinion, couldn’t believe they didn’t claim him on waivers last year.
Claiming on waivers came with issues though as they would have had to keep him on the roster and waive Pickard.
Trading for him, post-clearing, similar to Ingram, was the other option, but they had Ingram.
Perhaps, I wanted him last season.
Cossa is 3.5 years younger and that matters.
With the sticks nowadays a 12 year old can rifle the puck top shelf with little effort. We all know that the goalies are getting taller and taller and getting as wide as lacrosse goalies.
Friedman on Stauffer’s show worries about how this will impact our ability to get players in trades and free agency. Bob thinks it’s all about the star players driving recruiting now. I can’t see that being the case for role players and young guys if the coach is the one driving your ice time.
That’s probably one of the more important things here. If this hampers our ability to get players in FA or college/Europe then that is a major problem. We have been very good at attracting players the last 6-7 years.
It really depends on how the players see Babcock. If this is being pushed on the Oilers players by the owners/management, they’re in trouble. If this is being pushed by the players themselves, it may change the type of player that wants to come here. Whether that is good or bad probably depends on your perspective.
Prime Marian Hossa came to Detroit under Babcock, on a one-year, highly discounted contract. And he left Crosby’s left wing to do so. He wanted to win, with the team that had just beaten his Penguins in the Final.
(Ironically, the next year, the Penguins beat his Wings in the finals.)
But the point stands.
It is not about Cassidy, that is the mistake being missed.
It was always about Babcock. Cassidy was just another interview.
Right from the very start, the day after letting Knoblauch go, Stauffer was sneaking Babcock into the conversation. Then starting dropping his name regularly while people laughed it off.
This takes time. Not “talked to” but Babcock “met with” numerous management and players.
It is tough to realize Babcock was the number one target.
This is exactly right.
Stauffer has been soft pitching Babcock for weeks.
Bob Stauffer was not surprised in any way. He was ready, he wasn’t measured, he was fully committed. He would have had talks himself with Babcock and was ready to go full badger defending him.
Ugh
Even worse. Oilers had to sign him before Cassidy was made available. Cassidy unavailability is the perfect excuse.
Wait until they have a chance to speak to Cassidy then sign Babcock? Even worse PR if Cassidy is sitting right there, readily available and you pass.
Right now they have some shade. Vegas denied us, and the players wanted him. Who lets a group of players pick their own coach by the way?
Good point on your initial comment. I don’t think the players picked him I think it was more about accept. They are aware of all of the bad. It seems the decision was top down, so vetting if everyone was on board was necessary. Still seems dumb
Don’t know that it’s always been about Babcock, but I think the Oilers realize there is no way VGK is going to let Cassidy go to a division rival.
Problem is the Oilers Plan B (or 1A) is not a good plan.
Where have you gone Dallas Eakins? Oiler fans turn their lonely eyes to you.
Apparently has been interviewed for the Toronto opening.
failed attempt at posting Dallas Eakins death stare gif
Is that what you’re looking for? 😀
Hahaha thank you – thats the one!
Woo, woo, woo
Apparently the swarm is in favour again
This is building to the monster sequel that is absolutely horrid.
I’m ok with Babs on a 1 year deal.
Then, Vegas releases Cassidy to talk with other teams, and the Oilers fire Babs and hire Cassidy.
Babs gets some cash. The Oilers get Cassidy, but are paying 3 coaches next year. It’s not salary cap cash, and it’s just the owner’s money.
Maybe McDavid should just sit out a wasted year then to avoid injury.
Why expose yourself to this guy for 1 year if you have no intention of keeping him. They want him, not Cassidy.
What makes you think they wouldn’t prefer Cassidy if he were to suddenly become available?
Before Knoblauch was let go, Oilers asked for permission to speak to Cassidy and it leaked. I believe they were having conversations with multiple coaches, why wouldn’t they? The process started.
The Bob Stauffer and his little hints, mentions Babcock the day after Knoblochs release. They were already in talks with Babcock but were scared to go forward.
What makes you think it would be a wasted year?
This does seem different in terms of hockey if McDavid is also so willing to commit that he’s agreeing to a 7 year extension (though at least a year from now).
We’re angry at damage control but at least they aren’t against criticism. Throwing in all the positive moves to distract (Cossa, 97 extension) is PR 101.
Thankfully, this isn’t Vegas where you aren’t allowed to ask questions or voice your opinion. The Oil have been taking debatable characters for a while now. I think the players want a hardass.
Winning cures everything. Not sure this is the move they think it is.
— setting aside my extreme revulsion for the type of man that would on purpose bench an icon so he can’t hit 1500 games streak just because he wanted to display some flex about how he’s in charge. Plus he just sounds like a smug caveman
— To me it’s a worseTippett-type hiring, even more removed from hockey. Tippett took two years to get rehired after a long unimpressive tenure in terms of results with Arizona
— Babcock is many more years away from being a coach and many more years on top of that removed from being an elite coach.
— It does fill in the blanks in case there was any doubt about how destructive the ownership meddling has been for decades.
— Italy with no kids for a week amazing : went to la Scala, and Sicily.
— log onto LT to see this as we are tarmac !
We wait.
I know many don’t like Spector but his piece today at SN kind of nails it with the situation
Spector has such a random level of quality. Generally he’s bad, sometimes awful and every once in a while is brilliant. Which may actually be worse…….🤔
I prefer his work as Moon Knight.
I am hoping that the Oilers have permission from Babcock to throw his name around in an effort to get the NHL / NHLPA to prod Vegas to give Cassidy permission to sign with the Oilers. Babcock is the wrong choice.
Why would the Oilers asking about Babcock lead to the league prodding Vegas about Cassidy? That makes zero sense.
I posted above with reading… They sign him as a decoy.
Michael McCarron signs extension to stay in Minnesota. 6yr $3.33mil per.
McCarron has averaged 8-9-17 per 82 games over his career. And this contract takes him through age 37!
This provides a little bit of retroactive context to the Trent Frederic signing through age 35 (and Frederic had a 38 ESP season at age 25). It may have been a bad contract, but it’s not radically out of the norm.
But Bill Guerin signed it, so it must be a good deal.
He gets Yzerman Aura because Helleybuck made him look smart 1 time.
I wish we had Guérin as our G.M. The Minnesota team he’s building will pop
and become like Vegas which is a hardass team to play in the playoffs.,
Thank you for this comment. Players like this get overpayed and overtermed because they are rare and do one of the hardest things other than scoring goals. And most teams want them. Keeps the flies off
Michael McCarron – $3.33 million – Cap $104 million – NMC 3 years
Trent Frederic – $3.85 million – CAP $95.5 million – NMC 8 years
Given the cap just jumped by 8.9% Frederic’s deal would have been almost $4.1 million in today’s dollars.
Not to mention McCarron plays 3C in Minnesota which cries more value than a bottom 6 winger
Thanks for enlightening me, champion goalpost-mover!
Frederic was signed when it was known that the cap was going up by about that amount.
And he was signed to be a 3C. And if he played in Minnesota, he *would* be a 3C. (Of course, if Minnesota acquires Dylan Larkin or any other long-coveted 1C, then McCarron will most certainly not be playing 3C ahead of Ryan Hartman or Joel Eriksson Ek.)
And, right on time.
Everyone here was wondering how long it would take you espouse more of your man-crush for Billy Boy.
You are such a meatball. Look up McCarron’s toi. He ain’t no 3C.
This is fact. McCarron was 4C on a Nashville team that was weak down the middle. I didn’t watch him after he was traded to Minnesota, but if he’s playing higher than 4C, it tells you how weak down the middle they are at that position.
McCarron is a fine penalty killer and 4C. He’s not a 3C and that contract is an overpay.
https://puckpedia.com/team/minnesota-wild
Is this babcock thing done? A forgone conclusion?
According to Bob. The only thing to stop it is the NHLPA or league. I don’t think the league will though, legally they may not be able to stop him from working as there was no offense he was convicted of. Might be different for the Association however those rules work. I doubt they do anything either though as he can show somehow he’s done personal work, apologized etc. But, things could get dragged out so why not then check on Cassidy?
But i mean, even if the PA signs off, its not done right? Like, its not like the papers are signed, pending approval….right?
Yeah, it’s still at the likely but not legally binding point.
Forlorn delusion
What is with the silence on Ingram?! This is a guy who established himself as a Top-15 goalie at a young age, then encountered difficulty, then came back to save our season and put up average-to-above average numbers (1.7 GSAX). All this team needs is reliable league-average goaltending, and we could very probably get it from Ingram for $2-3M on a short-term contract.
Acquire Cossa, fine. But start him in the AHL. Bring back Jarry-Ingram, and if one of them falters, then bring up Cossa.
In today’s NHL, goalies are so random that you need more than two of them. But that means having someone who won’t be bitter about being stashed in the AHL. (I’m going to keep banging this drum.)
I know Cossa is tired of the AHL, but I’m sure he could put up with another half-season with a new team. He has 1 game of NHL experience. You don’t gift him the backup job (on a team with a highly questionable #1 in Jarry).
Again, run Jarry-Ingram and start Cossa in the AHL.
Cossa is no longer exempt from waivers and is sought after, so any team acquiring him via trade is not going to give up assets and then demote him to the AHL. They would lose him to waivers.
Ottawa is very interested in signing Ingram I’ve heard.
With good reason. He’s a good goalie. This post season gets uhg-lier, daily.
Ottawa is also interested in signing Stuart Skinner, I’ve heard.
The guy who helped the Oilers get to two SCFs? I hear he has a great WIN%.
He certainly did.
He certainly did not this past season and was part of the problem, no?
The NHL is in the middle of another game of goalie musical chairs. For instance, if Larkin is traded to Minnesota and Gustavsson or Wallstedt goes the other way, Detroit has Cossa or Gibson to send away, Adin Hill needs a new home, Toronto would like to move Stolarz or Woll so they can play Hildeby, Boston has Swayman, Korpisaloo and Dipietro with one maybe moving, Buffalo has 4 goalies including Levi who would need to pass waivers, Fred Andersen is playing in the finals but also a UFA. The Oilers may or may not keep Jarry.
Oilers gonna Oiler. Like they have many times with mid-level UFAs, they’re gonna tell Ingram they’d like to have him back but he needs to wait for them to clear cap, move a player, create space, etc, etc and everybody waits. If the Oilers acquire long-time crush Cossa but can’t move Jarry, they’ll start the season with Jarry/Cossa and maybe sign a #3 that isn’t Tompkins
Taking away the fact that Cossa is now waivers eligible (and zero chance he clears, of course), we don’t know what conversations are being had with Ingram.
We haven’t heard anything about any of the UFAs or RFAs, not a single thing.
Not hearing does not mean that nothing is happening vis-a-vis discussions.
Friedman on the Babcock hire: “This is ownership driven, this is right from the top. A lot of what has happened in Edmonton from the end of the season has been right from the top: coaching change, the pursuit of Cassidy and this, is right from the top.”
That concerns me. Someone as polarizing as Babcock needs widespread buy-in from top to bottom.
Yikes.
My nose isn’t that sensitive, but the whole post season has stunk of impatient owner meddling.
I know there is not much love for GMSB, but how can any GM operate with this level of interference, if the stink is accurate?
Welcome to being an Oiler fan. This is how our fan base acts when we’re winning. If you continue to be an Oiler fan once we start losing you better have a strong stomach because it’ll get downright in the trenches nasty.
Thanks. As a fan I was feeling somewhat optimistic in the final weeks of the season, then disappointed with the injuries and subsequent early playoff exit. But after that —whoa! It’s quite the spectacle unfolding here in Oilerville.
I’m here now to watch how the organization builds (or not) through the late years of the McD Era.
ps. I commented elsewhere that the good folks of Habsville are already imagining McD fleeing the Babcock experience for Montreal.
This is driven by the incompetence and failure of Jackson and Bowman forcing extreme measures out of desparation.
We have heard one side of the story, with Commodore, Modano, Franzen, Marner, etc.
We haven’t heard the other side of the story.
Maybe Babcock deserves some credit for not punching back in public?
I heard that he, and CBJ mgt, did push back on the original reports. Then quietly folded.
CBJ said “it was nothing” The NHPL did an independent investigation but did not disclose what was found. However, their conclusion was he should not be a head coach. Only then did CBL fold. The details were not released.
It sounds like the league (and certainly the media) really had it out for Babcock. No coach could live up to the standard of perfection against which they were going to hold Babcock to account.
Interestingly, Columbus *still* lacks the dressing room accountability that Babcock was brought in to fix. Patrik Laine, of all people, thought CBJ had too much acceptance of losing.
Chris Chelios has publicly vouched for Franzen. It is not “he said, he said”. The Marner story did not come from Marner, and has never been denied by Babcock..
Commodore spoke out as a lone voice against all odds, when Babcock “ruled the world”.
Sure, I’m not questioning that.
Do we know that Modano/Franzen/Marner weren’t being jerks to Babcock? There are always power struggles, and if a coach doesn’t win them, he won’t be employed for long. Again, I’m not saying Babcock looks great in those stories, but I am saying we only know one side of the story.
TML’s D corps in ‘17-‘18:
Reilly, Jake Gardiner, Ron Hainsey, Zeitsev, Carrick, Polak.
That team won 49 regular season games.
”But they surrendered a lot of goals!”
I would imagine. They won anyway.
Small world – Ron Hainsey, assistant executive director of the NHLPA was in Columbus interviewing his players about the phone stuff
On Sam O’Reilly:
Much teeth gnashing over EDM dealing him, but Pronman has this to say:
How long has Edmonton been seeking a competent right shot centre…like they are now?
Roughly as long as you’ve been a thorn in the behind to so many on this blog, I reckon.
They don’t have 5-6 years to marinade one.
They can’t even find room for a 22 year-old Hobey Baker winner that plays the easiest position in hockey. K.K was afraid of his own shadow maybe Babcock will give each player and line an identity.
This organization never ceases to amaze me, not in the good way.
Professional sport leagues are social formations. In social formations, convention overrides formal agreement. Tacit knowledge, action, and agreement rules the day. Notwithstanding, where there are formal agreements signatories can choose to follow the “letter of the law”. If they do, all bets are off (conventions fall apart, the centre gives and the formation falls away).
In the NHL, convention held that teams would allow the coaches they fired but still have under contract to talk to and reach agreements with other teams. Vegas decided to follow the letter of the law and to forego convention.
Historically, Bettman and Daly have worked hard to establish and maintain a convention that teams will not do things to take away from the playoffs, and in particular the final series. They need to promote the sport, and there is only so much typeface, air time, and megabytes devoted to ice hockey in media based in most cities in the league. The league sided with Vegas and the “letter of the law”.
Maybe the Oil have decided that the social formation will no longer hold them to abeyance. Conventions be damned! Yesterday, a day between games in the final we learn they are “seriously considering hiring Babcock” by none other than Bobby Clobber. Later the same day, we learn they are going to deal for Cossa. Today, the day of game four in the finals we hear from Mr. Clobber that McDavid is going to sign a 7-year contract extension. They are controlling the news cycle and eclipsing league promotion of its flagship event.
Recently a poster on this site advocated to “Burn it down!” Is this the Oil mimicking Seth F-ing Rollins?
The Oilers are never boring.
But I would prefer to see quiet competence rule the day.
And because it was convention, Vegas put an ironclad legal provision in its employment contract with Cassidy to clearly signal to Cassidy when he signed his deal that the convention did not apply. Bill Daley said the Vegas contract was not like other contracts.
The legality of contracts is tested by court action. In part, teams follow conventions to avoid court action which would be a very inefficient and costly way of running a league.
Bill Daly says lots of things. Until a team of legal eagles unpacks a host of coach contracts and provides public documentation of their findings we are in the dark about the unique nature of certain contracts, and whether they can be challenged in court or otherwise. Given enough money, any documentation can be challenged in court.
Convention is always easier than formal documentation (at least, most of us can grasp the convention fairly quickly even when we are totally flummoxed by documentation). That doesn’t mean convention is absolutely better. When buying a house, get the legal documentation!
Unless someone blocks the hire, given Bob’s verging on a boner like verbal it’s a done deal. One thing I do know is that the players should start training harder than they ever have. MB is like Rod and is nearly as fit as the players. Pics of him strutting around proud of his 6 pack are why I called him a narcissist yesterday, always struck me as that. Maybe he’s just into fitness. Really into it
In 2014 when Mike Babcock coached Canada to Olympic gold he was widely considered the best coach in the game, similar to how Jon Cooper is viewed today.
The Maple Leafs paid him a record amount to coach the team out of a re-build and he did just that, turning the Leafs into a playoff team in years 2,3,and 4, with the young Leafs winning 49 and 46 games those last two seasons.
Is he obnoxious to young and insecure players? It seems so but it’s far from a crime. The Oilers are a veteran group who want to instill discipline up and down the lineup. I believe that is the appeal of the man.
I mentioned yesterday that it’s either a homerun or a massive whiff. I don’t mind that – as long as it’s the same “Babs” who managed the Wings bench for a decade where they were considered the model franchise of the NHL.
On a final note Mike Babcock appears to be a good family man. No dramas outside of the fact he wants to see your lake photos. Does the fact he rubbed a young Mitch Marner the wrong way really tee you off? It doesn’t bother me in the least.
I mean, those locker rooms in Toronto and Columbus have been a mess without Babcock in the picture. In both cases there was pushback against a guy who wanted to insert some accountability.
I am on board with this take.
I don’t understand why the org would want to take on the crazy negative PR this comes with but they know its coming and are moving forward – they must really want this guy.
This guy knows hockey and knows how to coach hockey. Is he the right guy for this team? I don’t know but he very well may be.
Zack Hyman played for this coach for 5 years and I think we can rest assured his opinion was taken in to consideration, large consideration.
If nothing else, the leadership core signing off on this coach signals their commitment to want do what needs to be done to win – I don’t think they’ve always shown that on the ice, in particular this past season, but the accounts that they want to “be coached harder” are clearly accurate – lets see how they do with it.
Haha. The Oilers know that the only PR that matters is winning.
Fans came to like Kassian (except Godot), Evander Kane, and loved Corey Perry. The PR hawks hated each move when the rumours surfaced.
If McDavid is happy then I’m happy.
I’m of the opinion the Oilers are blowing smoke. They still have their eye on the prize, and that’s Cassidy.
Wish that were true but Vegas will make them wait a year to hire him…and it’s very possible that they’ll let him go anywhere before the end of the next regular season and he’s the first coach hired after someone else is fired.
How on earth can you rest assured Hyman’s opinion was taken into consideration?
This is nothing more than Bowman lining up his scapegoats for the eventual fail.
because we’ve be told that the leadership core of this team was involved in the decision making and Hyman is part of that group and Hyman played for 5 years under Babcock. I don’t imagine for a second that Hyman was not consulted for an opinion if nothing else.
Uhh what? He didn’t “rub Marner the wrong way”, he attempted to bully and humiliate him in front of his teammates.
Babs has also bullied many veterans. I suggest you google Babs and Modano, Franzen, and Commodore.
This is truth. While I think a lot of the moral grandstanding is facile, the guy has treated many players like crap, not just Marner. Yet maybe that’s what the players want – an ahole ass kicker.
Who wins. Don’t forget that part.
Babcock’s tenure with Toronto:
2015-2020 Regular Season: 173 wins, 133 losses + 45 OTL = 5 more losses than wins.
2015-2020 Playoffs: 8 wins, 12 losses.
Toronto’s roster for a few of those years was lauded as being one that could make deep cup runs.
2018 was the “plan the parade year”.
Sure, he got them to the playoffs but I’m not convinced that other coaches couldn’t have done the same, or even a better job.
It’s also not just younger players who are “sensitive” towards Babcock.
1499 games played Modano was robbed of game 1500 by Babcock and did not appreciate it.
Why do we think the vets on the team will be “hardened” enough to deal with Babcock? An asshole is an asshole, and there is no generational divide on that.
He wasn’t just obnoxious, as someone said below you should look up Chelios, Franzen, Commodore. There’s no reason to bring this guy back. He also hasnt made it past the first round since 2013. The Leafs immediately improved when he was fired for Keefe.
“What (Babcock) put that poor kid through when he was suffering through the concussion thing,” Chelios recalled. “Literally, he was calling him into his office once a week to call him a fat pig and say that your teammates hate you and why don’t you just quit?”
“Some of the things [Babcock said to Franzen] on the bench, I don’t know what he said to him behind closed doors one-on-one, but he blatantly verbally assaulted him during the game on the bench,” Chelios told the Spittin’ Chiclets Podcast in an episode released Monday.
https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/mike-babcock-coaching-franzen-chelios-1.5381813
That 1651 gp, multiple stanley cup winning Chris Chelios must be one sensitive, virtue signalling guy to speak such hearsay over something that “allegedly” happened to Franzen!
Lol – no kidding. Chelios was one of the dirtiest players of his era. I’m pretty sure he said much worse to opposition players in the scrum.
Finally, some balance amid the hate.
I’m a little uneasy about Babcock. But treating him like some maleficent villain is a bit rich. I would bet that plenty of Cup-winning coaches from before the last ten years would look at Babcock’s tactics as standard operating procedure. I bet that 2004 Tampa-Cup-winning John Torotorella would probably look at Babcock as a players’ coach.
Hmm….how’s that hardass Tortorella doing now? You know, that guy who hasn’t won anything in 20 years?
Babcock’s tactics have long past.
Vegas is laughing
How can any of us, other than people who know Babcock personally (and even then) credibly claim he is a good family man.
Moreover how is that relevant to whether he is the right man for the job?
As for the Mitch Marner fiasco, if true (and it seems that it is), it was a massive breach of trust which reflects either terrible judgment or outright unkindness.
McDavid is a player, not a GM. I don’t care whether he has green lighted this or not.
I just don’t see the case for Babcock over Cassidy and certainly not before the Vegas situation actually plays itself out.
Why don’t we also hire some great players from 2014?
Oh yeah, because they are too old now and out of date. Forget about the character part for a minute.
Somebody please find me evidence that Babcock knows anything about the modern game and how he will game plan for the recent success of the high pressure tight forecheck game.
Sutter, Hitchcock, Quinn, hundred others – at some point you need to retire and be happy.
If the NHL allows Babcock to coach again in the NHL and Carter Hart wins a Stanley Cup and perhaps a Vézina, then June will have been a triumphant month for Bettman and nudge the NHL ever closer to a bush league. For those who argue for second chances. Remember, it is suppose to be a honour to play in the NHL and not a fundamental human right. Hart could ply his wares in a lesser league and not in – allegedly – the best hockey league in the world. He would not starve
The problem with this is he was not convicted of anything. By a female judge. There could be legal consequences for not allowing people back without significant reasons. I don’t want to go back to times when there wasn’t rule of law, or what remains of it. If justice isn’t blind everyone becomes at risk of getting the short end of the stick
Babcock was a repeated work place bully. It’s possible that is grounds for barring and we may still see that
I think it’s enough to know that the NHL found the players’ behaviour unworthy of its standards. That these standards were quietly eased a few months later says a lot about the NHL. That these players are, where possible, choosing to play in cities where their fame/infamy is not so public says something about the situation.
I have daughters and granddaughters. Given the low standards of the professional league, I hope none of them ever dates a hockey player. I’m very sad to say this. But the players and the leagues have not proven themselves worthy of trust.
Side note: whatever you may think of GMSB, the man publicly owned his mistake, participated in an educational program, made the effort to make amends to the individual who was harmed by his negligence. As far as I know, none of the acquitted have made any public statement about their ignoble behaviour, or participated in any educational program to learn about how to better handle the kind of ugly situation they created. You don’t need to be proven guilty to step up and be a better man.
I keep responding to these types of comments because they are usually harsh judgments from places where it’s not possible to have enough information to do so. I forgot to mention this in my response to LDT, but to use that standard fairly would exclude an awful lot of the NHL players from playing. Pro athletes in general, both sexes
The players were found to not have committed a crime. Bettman is a lawyer, and outside of possible legal ramifications would also know that it isn’t fair to bar players without a very good reason when they have been acquitted
I’m not aware of any other league that bans people for moral reasons only. Criminal yes. In today’s world who sets that moral standard? A team might decide to move on, and the other 4 guys aren’t getting an NHL job it seems
Thanks for your reply. There are avenues this discussion could go down, but I don’t think this is the place.
Welcome no worries
Not close to the same, not similar analogy, not similar conclusion. Cant get into it any further.
Thanks.
My bad. The Conn Smythe not the Vézina
Stauffer in the Fan 590:
“I don’t think there’s anybody more committed to Edmonton than Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl… I expect the next contract to be a seven-year extension.”
I hope they follow Crosby-Malkin where they stay loyal to the team that drafted them and the City and organization that has embraced them. If McDavid-Leon-Bouchard continue to be injury free for the playoffs we have at least 7 legit chances to win. We have 2 young wingers looking to explode maybe Babcock can find the secret for the bottom 6. If we get Cossa I do feel comfortable with that rotation hopefully Jarry being older will mentor Cossa and have him ready in 2 years to be the A-1 goalie.
The dynamics are completely different.
At Connor’s age, Crosby, Malkin and Letang had 3 cups wins in hand.
While all remain productive in their dotage, it’s very tough to win it all at that age and doubly so if your aging stars are gobbling up huge portions of the cap.
Pittsburgh even has an advantage thanks to Crosby’s willingness to limit his pay cheque to $8.7 million but it’s been 9 years without success for thecPenguins.
What’s your solution then?
Perhaps LT should just fold this space up.
The Stanley Cup will be awarded via a limited tournament of US teams in the southeast, or to a matrix of 10 teams that DSF submits, based on cap room, prospect and young player prospects, and executive acumen.
The rest of the league is simply here for filler or revenue generation.
The solution is to move ultra expensive vets before Father Time inevitably wins.
The Sharks waited too long and it cost them a decade of irrelevance that is just now ending…Anaheim started a bit sooner.
The emergence of Montreal gives lie to your southeastern rant and unless Craig Conroy blinks, the Flames could be building something special if the draft falls their way…we”ll see in a couple of years when their new arena debuts.
So now the Flames are building something special. You have friggen list nearly every team as building something special, except for the Oilers and Leafs.
So pathetic.
Hopefully Babcock doesn’t break Jarry. I have wondered why there has been so little chatter about Ingram. Given this seems to have been in the works for a while, it would probably not be good to bring Ingram back given his mental health situation
You never know some players surprisingly react in a positive way to a hardass coach. If Babcock is clear on every players mission this might turn out positive. Will Babcock get the Veteran coach respect from the Refs? I think Frederic will be a positive net threat under Babcock. I also think Babcock will handle the media better and will take the load off Connor-Leon and the rest of the team.
Could be
Sure Bob. Damage control.🙄
Exactly. Bob is not journalist, has no credibility as an independent journalist, and could not be more biased. He runs PR for the team that he is directly employed by and grew up in that real nice part of Edmonton where the owner is from.
Bobby doing damage control today
Bob says what he’s supposed to say.
Baghdad Bob.
If Babcock is the best man for the job, hire him.
I really don’t care who is behind the bench. Just win.
I mean, isn’t the whole point of this blog to discuss these signings?
I also seriously doubt he is the best man for the job.
A lot of people don’t think he is the best man for the job and do care who is behind the bench though.
So you would hire Graham James if he was the best man for the job?
Apparently lol
This is a ridiculous false equivalency.
I agree. Is Hitler the best man for the job? What about Josef Stalin? Pol Pot?
Babcock isn’t Graham James though is he?
The best man for the job is being blocked, I do wonder if this is a mastermind way for the Oilers to force the NHL and Vegas’s hand in allowing Cassidy to be hired.
Largely agree with sentiment and comments here, it feels like the Bowman hire. Lacks imagination and seems purely based on past reputation of “winning” with the added bonus of even more baggage to explain away. Like this is seriously the best solution they could come up with?
I think the thing that isn’t being mentioned as much is that this Babcock direction is coming right from the very top of the organization (ie. the owner). A meddling, impatient owner does not give me optimism for the future. This is a trend that’s become a pattern since 2024 playoffs.
The bat cave in Mount Doom has funny smelling smoke coming out of it once more, signalling the owner’s displeasure. We await Bob “The Mouth of Sauron” Stauffer to interpret the smoke signals, filtering out the nasty, inconvenient details to save us the trouble. Apparently the 1993 CIS cup win at the beginning of the 2nd Age is highly relevant to success in 2026, and Gollum goes by Smeagol now and he’s totally turned over a new leaf.
Speaking of which, I would love to know more about the process of transition from Holland to Jackson to Bowman went. Who was influencing this process and calling the shots? IMO that was the time the water started smelling faintly like DOD sewage again, and the stench has only grown since then.
The Coffey saga, firing of Knob, Jarry trade, and now the Babcock hiring all speaks to organizational dysfunction and poor decision making processes by management, which IMO is being compounded by the owner’s impatience and dissatisfaction with results so far. Coffey is the conduit for the owner, right? Did the OBC weasel its way back into power just as it seemed they had finally been usurped by the Old Dutch? After all, the OBC still knows a thing or two about winning….
The one positive to the return of DOD style management is it means the return of gallows humour to cope. The gallows humour of Oiler fans was/is some of the best around. Baghdad Bob comment from another poster yesterday had me laughing, same with the timely return of “we hoped for the best and it turned out like always.” A poster on another site suggested hiring R. Kelly for anthem singer lmao…
I genuinely don’t think I could have survived the decade of darkness without the community here. I don’t post much, but I read almost every day. My first visit here was around the time TheCaptainAndrewFerence was anointed captain before playing a game with us, but I started watching enthusiastically back in the days of the ‘Bhulin Wall and HOPE. We’ve crawled through a river of s**t only to find ourselves back at the entrance…
All this to say, in spite of our management, at least we still have 97/29/2. Also, it can still get a whole hell of a lot worse than this. Might as well laugh at the absurdity
It was such a weird thing to run out the clock on Holland. They “mutually parted ways” on June 27, 2024 the day before the June 28&29 draft and his contract officially expiring on July 1st. Like, he was good enough to keep all through 2023-24, the trade deadline, the SCF and then he’s out right before the draft and they don’t replace him for 30 days like they somehow didn’t see this coming? Jeff Jackson was hired in August of 2023 so if he didn’t want Holland to remain as GM, why keep him so long? Why do nothing to find a replacement?
Great post!!!
I have tried a couple times in the past 20 years to “not care” about the Oilers and I’ve failed miserably every time. There was a time I was too immersed in the team and the drama, and for my own sanity (to ensure I focused more on family life and my career), I dropped out of sight from the message boards, blogs and the daily Oiler news. It was hard at first, but I was able to do it for about 10 years. I only recently came back, but I am selective about where I go to read about the Oilers and I’ve only joined this blog to share my comments. I enjoy player interviews and “The Drop” for the behind-the-scenes features, and I try to avoid the click bait that’s out there.
I may disappear now and again when life gets busy, but when I watch the Oilers, it is a feeling. I have a few other teams I care about, but when they play the Oilers, it’s the Oilers I am rooting for. I can’t help it, they are my team. They are going to make decisions I don’t care for as a fan, and I’m going to be disappointed and miss certain players, but when the Oilers take to the ice, I can’t not cheer for them. I understand if people are upset about the latest reports, but if those reports are true, give yourselves time to make any decisions about your fandom when they are back on the ice. You’ll know.
Seravelli has been all over this for a month but, again, has said straight up that Cossa is not returning to the Detroit org.
do you know if Cossa requested out or DET just wants to move him (I know they have another excellent goalie prospect in the NCAA) …
Don’t know but I think they want to move him as they have other plans for the NHL goaltending this season and he requires waivers.
They have two other excellent prospect goalies – Trey A. and Postava.
Maybe there’s another reason the Oilers are thinking of hiring Babcock…
“Landon DuPont, a right-handed defenseman for the Everett Silvertips (WHL), is widely considered the consensus favorite to be selected first overall in the 2027 NHL Draft.
A generational talent from Calgary, Alberta, DuPont made hockey history by being granted exceptional status to compete in the WHL as a 15-year-old—becoming only the second player (and first defenseman) to achieve this after Connor Bedard…”
😐
Nevermind… Bowman traded away the 2027 first round pick already. I got nothing.
and most likely the 2028 …. and 2029 …..
Sorry can you explain? I don’t understand.
Sorry Travis, I was trying to make a joke that hiring Babcock (and all the negative that could come with it) would allow the Oilers to play poorly and draft really high next summer. But in my second post, I realized that we don’t have a 1st round pick next year.
His junior stats are eye-popping.
18 goals and 73 points in 63 games played and another 23 points in 18 playoff games.
Not too bad for a 16 year old. (he turned 17 in late May.)
And point-a-game the previous year as a 15-year-old!
If the leadership of this team ie: McDavid signed off on this, then he should sign a contract extension and live with consequences of his actions.
Why? A coach can be fired at any time so the zero implications to the team going forward but for the owner’s check book.
The implications going forward are a non factor.
“The implications going forward are a non factor”.
You’re joking.
How about burning another of an aging core?
How about managing the distraction in the locker room, the media, in thr community?
How about free agents saying no thanks to playing for Babcock?
How about NHL execs not wanting to be associated with an organization that hired Babcock?
The “implications” go far beyond owner’s cheque book.
If they didn’t, no one would care that Babcock is being hired.
“The implications going forward are a non factor”.
You’re joking.
How about burning another of an aging core?
How about managing the distraction in the locker room, the media, in thr community?
How about free agents saying no thanks to playing for Babcock?
How about NHL execs not wanting to be associated with an organization that hired Babcock?
The “implications” go far beyond owner’s cheque book.
If they didn’t, no one would care that Babcock is being hired.
Maybe because it looks and smells like McD is implicated in the coaching turnstile, every firing and hiring (and expressly this one, Knob/X) having non-zero implications for the next one?
It may be the wrong conclusion, but that’s what it looks like from where I sit.
You can only hope that this is one hell of a counter-trey and that the NHLPA doesn’t clear Babcock and somehow Cassidy is the next coach.
Or they’re using the Babcock mess to hire a coach that hasn’t won a cup…..like Nelson or Woodcroft……
They could have hire Nelson or Woodie already without the drama. Wouldn’t that be boring.
This could be a move by the Oilers to pressure Bettman.
“Ok, you won’t let us talk to Cassidy? Then we’ll flirt with the pariah coach with the horrible optics for the league.”
We’re a long way from the WHA and the ex Whalers franchise is in the final, so why does it still feel sometimes like the NHL seats the Oilers at the children’s table?
Do you think Edmonton is that smart or whatever you call it?
smart, no. Bitter and vengeful? Could be. Especially if they think the NHLPA will say no.
I had the same thought, is this the Oilers way of putting the screws to the NHL finally?
I’m not impressed by the thought of Babcock, but I’ll keep my powder dry until this all shakes out.
Do you really think the Oilers are smart and strategic enough to play 4d chess like this? I don’t.
I suspect the Oilers owner who shall not be named is likely quite astute when it comes to boardroom power politics.
I was today years old when I learned that the Whalers were partially named so because it looks like WHAlers.
Are the Oilers trying to pull off a sting on Vegas. I don’t get it? Maybe they think they will believe all this Babcock stuff and decide it’s ok to release Cassidy to talk to any team he likes.
In the mean time, if Babcock is coach Nurse will gladly sign off on a trade. And good luck in free agency, because who will want to sign in Edmonton with Babcock coaching?
This is an INSANE development. Why not just wait until the SCF is complete before making any rash decisions?
Do you think the NHL will step in now and tell Vegas to let Cassidy go? Because Edmonton is seriously trying to bring Mike Babcock back into the NHL coaching ranks.
no the NHL won’t. Bettman endorsed Vegas’ position the other day, it is within their legal right not to let Cassidy speak with Edm.
That was before Babcock was in the equation.
Get used to the stern Babcock post game interviews. Buckle up Edmonton is always in the news compared to their crybaby attention seeking younger sister 280km south.
I’m still seeing this as a mirage, until it isn’t.
As long as 97 and 29 are the top Dawgs, players are going to sign with the hopes of playing with them.
They still run the show. They can listen to Babs, or tune him out, like everyother coach they’ve had. Nothing changes. And Babcock will have to be on his best behavior if he wants to be an NHL coach.
Just saw that Michael Babcock, the son, is the new coach of the OHL Brantford Bullgogs. That’s the team the Hyman’s own. For whatever that is worth.
https://www.brantbeacon.ca/brantford-bulldogs-hire-michael-babcock-as-head-coach/
I would say Hyman’s voice has a lot of pull concerning everything. I do believe Connor-Leon and the rest of the players value greatly what Hyman has to say.
I think Hyman will be on the Oilers coaching staff 10 years from now. Boooook it…….
from the Bulldogs site:
Receiving his first call to the bench in 2021-22, Babcock spent two seasons with the University of Saskatchewan as assistant coach while earning his MBA in the process. In 2023, Babcock joined the Ottawa Senators briefly in an assistant/development coach role before moving to the St. Louis Blues for a pair of seasons as the team’s skills coach, including working with former AHL Bulldogs head coach Claude Julien. For the 2025-26 season, Babcock moved to San Diego where he served as assistant coach with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls.