Edmonton Oilers sign Mike Babcock: A controversial experiment

When the Edmonton Oilers start the new NHL season against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, one of ice hockey's most controversial experiments will truly begin. Here is the team around Germany's superstar Leon Draisaitl and his partner Connor McDavid, which is still waiting for the first Stanley Cup victory of this generation and has failed in the final twice in the past three years. There is the new coach who, to put it carefully, has a dubious reputation in the National Hockey League and has not been in charge of a game since 2019: Mike Babcock.

After parting ways with Kris Knoblauch, Babcock will be the coach who will lead Draisaitl, McDavid and the Oilers to their longed-for title. Which ends the drought without a Stanley Cup that has been going on since 1990. But at the same time he also has to prove that he is not an inhuman grinder who causes fear and terror in the dressing room with outdated methods, but that his approaches also fit into the year 2026.

"Everyone knows Babcock. He is known for his directness and his toughness," said former national coach Marco Sturm recently about his colleague. Sturm is entering his second season as head coach of the Boston Bruins and assesses the situation in Edmonton: "As I noticed, the experienced and the stars of the Oilers especially wanted someone like Babcock. That's why the pressure to win there is especially there now. There are no excuses anymore."

The 63-year-old Canadian Babcock is the only head coach in ice hockey to have won Olympic gold, World Cup gold and the Stanley Cup with his teams. In 2023, he said goodbye to the Columbus Blue Jackets after just two months, before the season had even started. The reason: Babcock wanted private photos of his players. Probably to build a personal connection. But it was perceived as crossing a line into the professionals' private lives, which led to his retirement.

It is also said that during his time as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Babcock asked a professional to give him a list in which he sorted his teammates according to their work ethic. Babcock shared this list with the team. Babcock's former players said he took away their interest in hockey and called him a bully.

The players' union NHLPA asked the league to investigate Babcock's past when it became clear that the Oilers were considering him as a candidate. There was a green light from the league – and, more importantly, also from the stars around Draisaitl and McDavid. The Oilers' senior players interviewed Babcock themselves and have been big supporters of the coach since he was hired.

“I think he has a very clear plan and I think he's going to hold people accountable and it makes no difference to him who it is he holds accountable,” Draisaitl said. "We want to be coached, we want to get better. And we deserve to be yelled at sometimes, just like everyone else. I think Babs doesn't care much about who we are in that regard. And that's what it takes sometimes."

The fall height for the Oilers is great, including for Draisaitl and McDavid personally. The pressure to win the title, Babcock's past, the early decision to immediately support him publicly: failure would also be inextricably linked to the two stars.