Edmonton’s silence regarding Mike Babcock’s salary and term suggests a high-stakes commitment. With leverage favoring the veteran coach, the Oilers may be shielding a lucrative, multi-year gamble.
There has been plenty of talk about the Edmonton Oilers' decision to hire Mike Babcock. One thing that hasn't been discussed much is the contract. For some reason, we have no idea what it is.
Typically, the contract terms for coaches are a little harder to determine than those for players. It's not something you see on sites like PuckPedia. At the same time, organizations don't tend to hide that information. The Oilers, however, didn't release the contract length or the dollar figure. And surprisingly, while at the introductory presser to meet Babcock, no one asked.
Fast forward weeks later, and for some reason, that information is still not out there.
Frankly, it's a little strange. It's not entirely fair to say the Oilers are hiding the details (since I'm not aware of anyone asking). At the same time, there's a sense that the organization is OK with not making those details public. It's almost a 'Maybe it's better if they don't know,' kind of vibe.
If that's the case, why? What's the harm in sharing how long the coach has been hired for and what he's making?
The answer might be that not everyone was on board with the hire.
Given the polarizing reaction to the Oilers choosing Babcock over other qualified candidates, the reaction to a long-term, lucrative contract might not go over well. There was a perception that the Oilers might do a short-term deal with a coach who had a checkered past and was, essentially, on a trial run. If Babcock wasn't a fit or fell back into his old habits, the Oilers could simply say goodbye; little hard, little foul.
That's not quite the case if they gave him a multiple year deal with big money attached. Considering the way Babcock talked at his intro media availability, that might be exactly what the Oilers did.
The coach talked about how the Oilers came to him, not the other way around. It was Edmonton who reached out and wanted him to coach the team. “Leon, Connor, and Zach Hyman, and the rest of this leadership want to get better. And that’s what they’ve asked of me. And they’ve told me, we have to be better, and we expect you to make us better." That doesn't sound like a team who felt they had options.
Babcock listened to everything the Oilers stars had to say. His response? "I was very clear to them: unless you're 100 percent all in on Mike Babcock, I have no interest in being the coach."
Stan Bowman essentially confirmed it was Babcock whom the team wanted. They did what they needed to get the NHL on board, and the rest was a matter of paperwork. "We were looking for someone that clearly had experience and a winning pedigree," Bowman said.
What does all of this mean? We don't know for certain. What might it mean? It could mean that the Oilers met with Babcock, he got the leverage after the conversation, and he asked for a pretty penny and a commitment. No one should be shocked if the Oilers bit.
If they did, it shouldn't come as a shock that they've not bothered to tell anyone how much they paid and for how long they've hired him.
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