The Edmonton Oilers made things official on Tuesday, hiring Mike Babcock as their next head coach and as the official replacement for Kris Knoblauch, whom general manager Stan Bowman fired along with assistant Mark Stuart following their loss to the Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference Quarterfinal earlier this spring.
Babcock’s arrival in Edmonton comes at a critical point for the franchise, who signed superstar captain Connor McDavid to a two-year contract extension that kicks in this season; the prevailing consensus is that the Oilers have to win during that time frame, or he’ll jump ship and go elsewhere.
However, Babcock’s hiring also raises several questions considering his past behavior, most recently with his resignation from the Columbus Blue Jackets three years ago before ever coaching a game over alleged invasions of player privacy on their mobile devices. And during his introductory press conference, Babcock didn’t exactly quell concern over his past actions.
New Edmonton Oilers Coach Mike Babcock Denies Wrongdoing In Columbus
Babcock addressed his prompt resignation from the Blue Jackets, saying that it was because “we weren’t together as a staff”.
“It was very evident before the year started…I hadn’t benched anybody, I hadn’t talked to anybody, I hadn’t sat anybody out, and it was evident that we weren’t together as a staff right from the get-go,” he said. “My wife gave me a call, and she said it’s time to get out of there. I’ve been retired, I was pretty good at it. I got back to being retired.”
Does Babcock think that he crossed the line? He says he feels he didn’t.
âNo, to be honest with you, anytime you make anybody feel uncomfortable in your life, you should take a look at yourself and you should say, ‘How could I do that better?’
“And I think that’s what you do, is as a person, is you try to always be better at what you do. The situation in Columbus, they’ve had a full review, and I’m thankful, NHL and NHLPA, for doing that. It didn’t work out for us. We’re excited about making it work here.”
Former Maple Leafs Forward Daniel Winnik Blasted Babcock
Former Maple Leafs forward Daniel Winnik, who played under Babcock during the 2015-16 season, became the latest former player to speak out against the veteran head coach.
âNo, do not do it,â Winnik answered when asked what heâd tell the Oilers. âHeâs the only guy that ever made me hate hockey.â
âI just hated coming to the rink,â he continued. âHeâs just a bully. ⦠I think it started out fine with me and Mike. I was playing well. I was coming off my career year when I came back here, and then I had a high ankle sprain happen in Washington in Novemberâ¦I missed five games, that was it, with a high ankle sprain. Shouldâve been out for eight weeks. Came back, and I always thought skating was my strongest attribute, and I just couldnât skate. I wasnât the same player, and then it just cratered from there.â
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