Oilers’ coaching search draws Mike Babcock name again, with NHLPA clearance a reported hurdle

The Edmonton Oilers’ search for a new head coach has taken a new and controversial turn, with multiple reports saying the team is speaking with the NHL Players’ Association about the possibility of hiring former Red Wings coach Mike Babcock. Sportsnet reported the Oilers are talking with the union as part of the vetting process, at a time when Edmonton is already under pressure after parting ways with coach Kris Knoblauch following a first-round exit in the playoffs.

Babcock, 63, is one of the most accomplished coaching resumes of his era. Sportsnet noted he has coached 1,301 career games, spanning the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks, and it pointed out his greatest on-ice success came in Detroit, where he won the Stanley Cup in 2008. That championship pedigree is likely part of why his name keeps surfacing as contenders look for a proven structure and a disciplined game plan.

The other reason Babcock is complicated is the history that made him leave the NHL’s day-to-day spotlight. Sportsnet said Babcock resigned as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets before coaching a regular-season game, after allegations connected to the way he handled players’ phones, and it described “several minutes” of phone viewing as one of the serious concerns referenced by sources. In 2023, reported Babcock resigned from Columbus and included quotes from the Blue Jackets’ front office and from NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh regarding treatment of players in the workplace.

For the Oilers, that context matters because a coaching hire is not only about tactics, it is also about trust. The reported need to involve the NHLPA underscores that Edmonton is not simply selecting a strategist, it is trying to ensure any proposed employment arrangement is viable within the league’s labor framework. With Knoblauch gone after Edmonton lost in the first round, the franchise’s margin for a misstep in a high-profile, star-driven dressing room is thin.

Across the league, Detroit’s offseason narrative has also been driven by player empowerment and relationship strain, with Dylan Larkin’s status becoming a central plot point. Sportsnet reported that Larkin requested a trade from the Red Wings, and it emphasized there has been no public comment from Larkin, his agent, or the team. It also said Larkin has a full no-trade clause for both the current season and next, meaning his control over the market does not change simply because the calendar flips to July 1.

Sportsnet further suggested there are at least two widely discussed drivers behind the request, Detroit’s inability to make the playoffs and a reportedly frosty relationship between the captain and the team’s top hockey executive. Taken together with the Babcock-to-Edmonton reporting, the league’s offseason conversations are increasingly split between championships and control, on-ice outcomes and off-ice governance. In both cases, the common thread is how power dynamics between players, unions and front offices shape the next chapter, even when neither side is providing a clean public explanation.

What to watch next is whether Edmonton’s consultations lead to a formal, publicly confirmed hire and, if they do, how quickly the Oilers can stabilize the message around their standards and leadership expectations. On Detroit’s side, the immediate focus is the trade market opening around Larkin, since Sportsnet indicated the answers about where he is willing to go are still emerging. The next few weeks should reveal whether either story moves from “talk” into an official outcome, or whether both remain unresolved long enough to reshape draft-day positioning.