EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The Edmonton Oilers hired Mike Babcock on Tuesday, clearing the way for the polarizing taskmaster to coach his first NHL game in more than six years after the NHL cleared him following an investigation into his aborted 2023 stint in Columbus.Babcock is now in charge of trying to get Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl a Stanley Cup championship after two of the best hockey players in the league have fallen short over the past decade. D.J. Smith, who was most recently the interim replacement in Los Angeles after Jim Hiller was fired and ran the bench in Ottawa from 2019-23, was named an associate coach. Smith was an assistant under Babcock in Toronto.Babcock has not coached a game in the league since being fired by the Maple Leafs 23 games into the 2019-20 season.Babcock, 63, has championship experience from coaching Detroit to the Cup in 2008. He made two other trips to the final, with Anaheim in ‘03 and when the Red Wings went again in ’09 and lost to Pittsburgh. He also guided Canada to back-to-back Olympic goal medals in 2010 and ’14.
Babcock also brings baggage.
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He stepped down from the Blue Jackets’ job before training camp in September 2023 after taking the job on July 1. At the time, Babcock’s requests for personal photos from players in an attempt to get to know them drew criticism as an invasion of privacy.When word emerged that Edmonton was interested in hiring Babcock, the NHL Players’ Association asked the league to review what happened three years ago. The NHL in a statement said it found nothing to prevent him from being employed by a team.
