A question was posed to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman on Monday, one that focused on what the fallout might be if the Edmonton Oilers hire Mike Babcock as their next head coach.

The hint here was that players might want out or possible free agents might avoid Edmonton as an option with such a polarizing person behind the bench.

“I do think it’s a really fair question. That maybe there are some other people who only know Babcock by what they’ve read, or they haven’t met with him face-to-face yet, as some of the Oilers players did, might not want to go there. So that’s a risk the Oilers take. I think it would be not smart to discount that, absolutely.”

What do you think? Will players steer clear of the Oilers if Babcock is hired?