Mike Babcock returned to the NHL as the Edmonton Oilers head coach, and it wasn’t long before his controversial exit from last time around came to the surface again.

In his introductory press conference as the Oilers coach on Tuesday, June 23, Babcock was asked about what led to his resignation at the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023.

“It was very evident before the year started,” Babcock said nearly three years later, as per Spittin’ Chiclets’ video post on X. “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.”

“My wife gave me a call, and she said, ‘It’s time to get out of there.’ I’d been retired. I was pretty good at it. I got back to being retired.”

Babcock indicated that a fractured relationship forced him to leave the Blue Jackets as head coach, which seemingly ignored the NHLPA investigation into him at the time.

Notably, during his 78-day stay in Columbus without managing a game, Babcock allegedly asked his players to show photos on their cellphones in an invasion of privacy.

The subsequent NHLPA investigation at the request of the players led to them sharing their findings with the NHL and the Blue Jackets.

But nothing more was done in this regard at the time because of the resignation from Babcock at the Blue Jackets on September 23 three years ago.

What led to Mike Babcock joining the Edmonton Oilers as head coach?

At the start of this June, reports surfaced that the Edmonton Oilers are interested in hiring Mike Babcock as their head coach after firing Kris Knoblauch. He had reportedly talked to the Oilers owner, Daryl Katz, and the players as part of the hiring process.

According to Dispatch.com, When the NHLPA got wind of the situation, they requested the NHL to conduct an investigation into Babcock’s alleged conduct during his time at the Columbus Blue Jackets.

On June 18, the NHL released an official statement about their investigation of Babcock, in which they gave him a clean chit on the matter from three years ago.

“The League has completed its review of Mike Babcock's tenure in Columbus, and of certain alleged conduct associated therewith. Our investigation has concluded that, even in a light least favorable to Mr. Babcock, there is no current basis to restrict his employment in the League,” read the official statement from the NHL.

Just five days later, on June 23, the Oilers confirmed hiring Babcock as their new head coach. On his coaching staff, D.J. Smith will be one of the associates after working with him in the same role at the Toronto Maple Leafs around a decade ago.

Moreover, Babcock has been among the most accomplished coaches in the NHL for more than two decades, winning 700 of 1,301 games. He has been a part of four franchises before the Oilers, namely the Anaheim Ducks, Detroit Red Wings, the aforementioned Maple Leafs, and the Blue Jackets.

His biggest success is the 2008 Stanley Cup win with the Red Wings, after beating the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

Will Mike Babcock’s appointment lead to the Edmonton Oilers winning the big one for the first time since 1990? Give us your opinion about him in the comments.

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Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi