The phrase "It's inevitable" has been thrown around concerning the potential hire of former Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock. He's destined to become the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers, if only the National Hockey League Players Association will let the man work.
All they have to do is investigate his uber creepy and utterly unnecessary demands to have access to his players' personal phones (Oh yes, he was also almost the coach of the Columbus Blue jackets, but didn't manage to coach a game before scandal forced his resignation).
But why is it "inevitable"? There have been surprisingly few firings now that all but two of the NHL's teams are finished playing until next season.
Which Oilers coach candidates are available?
The LA Kings apparently have Peter Laviolette locked in as their new coach. That's one coach off the market, but also a franchise that isn't competing for candidates any longer. Only the Leafs are on a parallel search for a head coach, and one has to imagine there are two or more candidates out there.
Bruce Cassidy
It appeared that there was mutual interest, and one would think that enough pressure, applied through the league and the NHL Coaches Association, can eventually force the Golden Knights to let a talented NHL coach, that they have discarded, interview for other opportunities. Cassidy was the guy who coached the Knights to their first Stanley Cup win, and you have to think there's some amount of appreciation for that fact that would translate into decency.
David Carle
The head coach at the University of Denver (NCAA Division 1), Carle has a career coaching record of 179-74-17 and three NCAA titles on his résumé (2022, 2024, 2026). He also coached Team USA to two consecutive gold medals at the IIHF World Junior (U20) tournament. There's a risk in hiring someone from outside the NHL, but there's an argument to be made that recycling the same names that haven't worked out in other cities is just as flawed a strategy.
Assistant coaches around the league
If an outsider feels too risky, the other option that's worthy of consideration before blindly charging toward the hire of Mike Babcock is a review of the various assistants coaching in the NHL. There are plenty of names worthy of consideration, such as Jeff Halpern (Tampa Bay Lightning), Todd Reirden (Philadelphia Flyers), or Scott Allen of the Washington Capitals. These names represent a mixture of winning cultures, reputations for staunch defensive strategies, or elite special teams. Any might work, and any may jump at the opportunity to take on the head coaching job in Edmonton.
The players, and the fans, deserve at least that level of effort.
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