Oilers Coach Mike Babcock Downplays Significance In Facing Maple Leafs And Former Assistant Jim Hiller Despite Intriguing History

When the Edmonton Oilers host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, the history behind the benches might be just as interesting as the matchup on the ice.

Oilers head coach Mike Babcock will face the Maple Leafs for the first time since being fired by the organization in November 2019, and he’s downplaying how big a deal it is.

“It’s about a hundred years ago, right?” Babcock said after practice on Friday. “Even the Beatles broke up. So you get on with it.”

Still, despite Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews going head-to-head again, Gavin McKenna's first taste of McDavid, the story of this contest is about the connection of the two coaching staffs participating in this game.

It starts with Babcock coaching against Jim Hiller. 

“Jimmy’s a real good man; I’m proud of him," Babcock said of Jim Hiller. "He’s done real well.”

He also told the story of how they met and noted that when he first started talking to him, Hiller was out of hockey.

“Just doing the analytics stuff for his own company…” They met at the University of Portland, and “he thought 100 percent different than me, so I hired him.”

“Good for him that he’s done well. He’s a nice man, and he’s got a nice family,” the Oilers coach added.

Hiller was a Maple Leafs assistant from 2015-16 to 2018-19, all under Babcock. It was Babcock who brought Hiller to Toronto, having previously worked with him and the Detroit Red Wings in 2014-15. 

Today, Hiller is the Leafs' head coach, having beaten out several other candidates to win the job when GM John Chayka and senior executive advisor Mats Sundin took over. 

Since their time together in Toronto, each has gone on a very different path. Hiller spent time with the Los Angeles Kings, often on a bumpy road and was knocked for his defense-first, preserve-a-lead style of coaching. That style led some to question the Leafs' decision to put Hiller in charge of a very offensively talented roster. 

Meanwhile, Babcock wasn’t in the league for long before this season. He was hired by the Columbus Blue Jackets for the 2023-24 season, but later resigned after reports of him invading the privacy of the players spilled out.

There was no need for him to return to the NHL. But when asked why he did, and why the Oilers, Babcock responded, “Because they asked me. If they hadn’t asked me, I’d have never done it. But when those kids asked me, they want to win, and I think they should, so I’m going to try to help.” 

“Those kids” happen to be leading the NHL in scoring. McDavid is on an incredible run, putting up 31 points in 10 games, putting him on pace for 260 points. Behind him is Leon Draisaitl with 21. They were part of the leadership group, along with another former Maple Leaf, Zach Hyman, who pitched Babcock on the idea of helping the Oilers finally win a Stanley Cup. While there’s a long way to go, Edmonton has had a phenomenal start with an 8-1-1 record. 

That’s not to say Hiller isn’t getting a lot out of his stars. Auston Matthews has 18 points, and William Nylander has 16, which puts them both in the top 10 in NHL scoring. 

But it’s the Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid matchup that will get most of the billing. It will be the first time they've faced each other since the Olympic gold-medal game. Both are in good spirits, helped by their teams’ recent success. 

“The two best players in the world going against each other," former Oilers defenseman Troy Stecher said of the contest. "All-Canadian matchup. It's one of the reasons you play the game. It's going to be a fun one."

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