Oilers hire Mike Babcock after NHL clears coaching comeback
Edmonton made Babcock its 19th coach after the NHL said his Columbus review left no current basis to bar him. The move reopens a comeback that ended after 78 days.
The Edmonton Oilers turned to Mike Babcock on Tuesday, putting one of hockey’s most polarizing coaches back behind an NHL bench after the league said its review of his Columbus tenure left no current basis to restrict his employment. The hire made Babcock the 19th coach in franchise history and immediately raised the stakes around how the league, the club and the locker room define second chances after a workplace-conduct controversy.
The NHL said on June 18 that it had completed its review of Babcock’s time with the Columbus Blue Jackets. That review began after the NHL Players’ Association asked the league to examine the situation once Edmonton’s interest became known. Babcock’s Columbus stint lasted only 78 days; he resigned in September 2023 before coaching a regular-season game there, after allegations that he asked players to show him photos on their phones.
Edmonton’s choice came after the club fired Kris Knoblauch on May 14, 2026, ending a three-season run that produced a 135-77-21 regular-season record and a 31-22 mark in the playoffs. The Oilers made no secret of the urgency around the job opening. With Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl still driving a roster built to contend, the franchise chose experience and a long coaching résumé over the caution that might have kept Babcock out of the conversation.
That résumé remains the central argument for the move. Babcock led Anaheim to the 2003 Stanley Cup Final and guided Detroit to the 2008 Stanley Cup championship, the high point of a career that also included a run of major international success. Reports said he last coached an NHL game in 2019, making this return a notable one after more than six years away from the league’s sideline spotlight.
The question now is not whether Babcock has coached winning teams before, but whether an NHL clearance is enough to rebuild trust in Edmonton. The Oilers are chasing another deep playoff run after coming close with one of the league’s most productive cores, and Babcock’s new staff includes D.J. Smith as associate coach. Connor McDavid entered the 2025-26 season with 48 goals and 90 assists, numbers that show why the Oilers are pressing their championship window so hard. For Edmonton, the hire is a bet that pedigree can still overpower doubt.
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