With the 2025-26 season officially over, the entire focus of the hockey world turns to the offseason. And one of the major offseason storylines percolating alongside the Stanley Cup Final has been the Edmonton Oilers’ search for a new head coach.
The debacle that has become the idea of hiring Mike Babcock is one that will linger for a while. The NHL has purportedly begun an inquiry into the former coach’s behavior, potentially holding up the situation well into July.
Meanwhile, the Oilers want to find certitude in who will be running the team next season. That situation will most assuredly take the organization into John Tortorella territory. It could also mean the Oilers and Golden Knights butting heads over another coach.
The story at the moment is that the Golden Knights are ready to move on from “Torts.” When Tortorella took over from Bruce Cassidy late in the regular season, the organization hired the veteran coach through June 30. As it stands, the chatter is that Vegas will promote its AHL coach, Ryan Craig, for next season.
Knowing this, there’s little doubt that the Oilers will be looking into Torts. However, Edmonton may once again request permission to speak with Tortorella before his contract is up on June 30. Who knows where that situation could lead?
Oilers Will Have Competition for Torts
The Oilers will likely face competition from the Toronto Maple Leafs for Tortorella’s services. Of course, that’s assuming the Golden Knights don’t re-sign him. But assuming Vegas passes on Torts, the other club that will likely come calling is Toronto.
Could the Golden Knights allow the Maple Leafs to talk to Tortorella before his contract is up?
The thing here is that the Oilers could just wait until July 1 to talk to Tortorella without any impediment. However, if the Maple Leafs jump the gun, Edmonton could miss out on Tortorella altogether.
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Edmonton Can’t Continue Holding Its Breath for Babcock
In the meantime, Edmonton can’t just continue holding its breath for Babcock. There’s no telling what the NHL’s investigation could uncover. Even if the inquiry turns out to be a nothing-burger, the organization will have wasted previous time waiting for something to happen.
That’s why the Oilers need to act proactively. If that means running into the Golden Knights again, so be it. The difference here is that even if Vegas denied permission to speak to Tortorella, Edmonton would only need to wait about two weeks.
That’s far better than having to wait, say, over a month to get a resolution.
It’s worth pointing out that if the Oilers hold their breath for Babcock, pass on Torts, and then the league finds something that would prevent Edmonton from hiring Babcock, the optics of such a posture would be downright awful.
As a result, the Oilers have to make a push for Tortorella now. The organization can’t just sit around waiting for the NHL to figure out if Babcock can coach or not. The time is nigh, and Stan Bowman is running out of runway.
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