The Edmonton Oilers made Mike Babcock the 19th coach in team history after the NHL cleared him to work in the league last week. D.J. Smith was also named associate coach.
The Edmonton Oilers announced Mike Babcock as their newest coach and D.J. Smith as associate coach.
Babcock is now the 19th coach in Oilers history following the NHL's investigation into his conduct during his brief time working with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023.
"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," the NHL's statement said on June 18.
Edmonton was then able to proceed with finalizing a contract for Babcock to become the coach and replace Kris Knoblauch, who was fired in May.
Babcock, 63, is the only coach to be in the Triple Gold Club for winning the Stanley Cup, Olympic gold and World Championship gold.
He ranks 17th all-time in most NHL games coached, with 1,301 split between the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs. He also ranks 12th in most regular-season wins, with 700.
Babcock did not coach a game for the Blue Jackets when he worked for them from July 2023 to September 2023. Before his resignation from the team, the Spittin' Chiclets Podcast alleged he asked players to share photos from their phones.
Victory+ insider Frank Seravalli reported on June 10 the NHLPA had more claims from its own investigation with players in 2023, although details of those allegations have not been reported. Other former players on Babcock's teams, such as Mike Commodore, Johan Franzen and Daniel Winnik, have strongly criticized the coach's way of treating the team.
Former NHL coach Bruce Boudreau said that hopefully, Babcock has learned from his mistakes and called him a really good coach.
"It's not coaching mistakes that Mike made, because he's done everything right on the ice," Boudreau told The Hockey News on June 10. "But the way he's treated players is not the right way. But again, that's his style."
As for the Oilers' new associate coach, Smith was most recently an interim head coach with the Los Angeles Kings, going 11-6-6 in relief of fired coach Jim Hiller.
Smith coached the Ottawa Senators from 2019-20 to partway through the 2023-24 campaign. He amassed a 131-154-32 record while the team was rebuilding, and it was his first opportunity as a head coach after working on Babcock's staff with the Maple Leafs beforehand.
Babcock and the Oilers have scheduled an introductory media availability at 12 p.m. MT, 2 p.m. ET.
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