Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl personally vetted multiple coaching candidates, reportedly favoring Mike Babcock’s hard-nosed approach over another coach that was on Edmonton's short list.
The Edmonton Oilers leadership group met with Mike Babcock before the team gave the NHLPA and the league a heads-up that they wanted to move forward with ensuring Babcock was hireable.
However, Babcock wasn't the only former coach Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and others spoke to.
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According to TSN's Ryan Rishaug:
"Oilers have had their player leadership quite active in the process of finding a coach. On top of an in person meeting with Babcock the player group also met with Peter Laviolette around the same time."
Interesting that the Kings swooped in and got Laviolette when they did. Also interesting were comments by Mark Spector that noted that same leadership group chose Babcock over Laviolette.
Spector wrote:
"Babcock, 63, was grilled by the Oilers leaders in a meeting last week — asked about former transgressions and how, exactly, he came to own a reputation as the hardest of hard-ass coaches who crosses the line often enough to be black-balled since 2023 — and they came away with one implicit instruction for general manager Stan Bowman:
“This is our guy. We want to be pushed.”
At the end of the day, this leadership group might not get what it wants. The NHL is conducting an investigation into Babcock's 2023 run with the Columbus Blue Jackets and there are reports the NHLPA has more significant testimonies from players than just the coach going through phones. Either the NHL finds something they don't like and won't allow Babcock back, or the Oilers decide they can't stand the heat in the kitchen.
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