The fifth act of the Mike Babcock Drama is well underway, and it doesn't take William Shakespeare to predict a tragic yet compelling end to this version.
Unfortunately, there will be no fake bushes to camouflage the Edmonton Oilers true intentions. Nor to foretell any Stanley Cup championship.
But like Enobarbus in "Antony and Cleopatra", there might be an Oilers player looking to jump ship if the Babcock hiring is truly realized.
No player named, but it seems like not everyone is on board with the hiring
Shortly after the initial news of the potential Babcock hiring was made public, which made mention of the fact that the ex-Maple Leafs bench boss met with some of the players, 2 Mutts Hockey Podcast reported that not everyone was on board with the move made by Stan Bowman and Co.
In fact, their tweet went as far as to suggest that the player would willingly consider leaving town should the front office complete the hiring.
We chatted with one @EdmontonOilers player tonight on the possibility of hiring Mike Babcock and this player said that “I can’t support the hiring of Mike and if he does become our Head Coach I will sit down with my agent to discuss my options going forward”
— 2 Mutts Hockey Podcast (@2MuttsHockeyPod) June 9, 2026
A story to follow. https://t.co/hrPvDaWzHt
It is worth noting that the podcast did not confirm who the player in question was, nor have they released an episode since the tweet was published (this is as of Tuesday evening).
Does this indicate more drama to come? Or merely a smoke-screen?
Considering Babcock's history elsewhere in the league (one only needs to read about Mitch Marner's experience to know what kind of a coach and person that Babcock is), it's easy to suggest that even one player feeling uncomfortable about the move could spark a chain reaction that tears a divide between players and prospective coach. Any such divide could easily throw a team into chaos and put any hopes of contention on thin ice.
The good news here is that the NHL Players' Association requested an investigation into the incident that forced Babcock to resign from the Columbus Blue Jackets' head coach position.
The NHLPA has asked the NHL to move forward with an investigation into the allegations Mike Babcock invaded players privacy during his time in Columbus.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 10, 2026
Even though an investigation was requested, Pierre LeBrun added that the completion of any potential hiring of Babcock by the Oilers would be contingent on the investigation completed by the league.
Further to what @DarrenDreger reports here, the NHL is awaiting word from the Oilers. Which is to say, if Edmonton wants to go ahead with the Babcock hire, then the league will go ahead with its investigation as per the NHLPA request. But that's if the Oilers decide to go ahead… https://t.co/ML0kwmp2zb
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 10, 2026
The two tweets from LeBrun and Darren Dreger, the latter of whom broke the news about the investigation (see the first tweet), act as the most up-to-date information on the Babcock-Oilers rumors. No official word has been provided as to whether the Oilers will actually proceed with the hire, but it's safe to say that there are many team and league-imposed hurdles that could keep Babcock from returning to the NHL.
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