Revealed Details of Babcock’s New Deal With the Oilers Are Raising Eyebrows

For quite some time, the length of the term that the Edmonton Oilers signed new head coach Mike Babcock to was a bit of a mystery. No one asked when he first spoke to the media, and many assumed the information would just leak out. It didn’t. Not for months, until NHL insider Pierre LeBrun revealed the contract details in a recent column for The Athletic.

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He wrote:

“Teams are getting craftier at not divulging much information on coaching contracts, having figured out over the years that announcing exact term invites media speculation when a coach is entering his final season. So teams have been more general in announcing hires, as the Edmonton Oilers were when Mike Babcock was announced as head coach back on June 23. There was no announcement of how many years the contract was for. According to a person with direct knowledge of the deal, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to reveal details that are not public, it’s a three-year contract plus an option year for Babcock, who was happy in retirement.”

That’s a big commitment, especially since Babcock is returning to the NHL after a couple of stints with teams where his reputation for taking things too far got him ostracized. He had issues in Detroit with Johan Franzen. He had problems in Toronto with Mitch Marner. In Columbus, he didn’t even get through camp and preseason before being asked to leave because he made several players uncomfortable. It wasn’t pretty on the way out, and Babcock wasn’t thinking about coming back.

LeBrun writes, “But his conversations with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and other Oilers leaders convinced him to come back behind the bench despite the controversy that ensued.”

This three-year deal shows just how badly the Oilers wanted Babcock. This isn’t a one-year, “show-me” deal. This is three full seasons at a likely very high salary, with the option for Babcock to stick around beyond it. The Oilers aren’t just testing the waters with a Plan B like D.J. Smith ready to go. They’ve committed time and money to Babcock with a contract that goes beyond even what McDavid has committed to with the team.

Why Give Babcock Three Years?

Some will wonder why. Why give a coach who has proven time and time again that he can’t help but step outside the lines of ethical behavior such a long deal? No one else would have wanted to hire him. It was the Oilers or nothing for Babcock. Then again, it shows both the Oilers’ desperation to win and the kind of confidence Babcock exudes. With what seems like no leverage to negotiate, he took the fact that the Oilers players wanted him and someone with his reputation for pushing players, and worked it into a multi-year deal, one where he gets paid whether he pushes too far or not.

Now the Oilers are paying two head coaches big money over the same three-year term. One is Kris Knoblauch, who the Oilers fired before he could start his new extension. The other is Babcock. Oh, and Smith is making head-coaching-level money as an associate.

Needless to say, the Oilers truly believed Babcock was their guy. They gave him three years when most other teams wouldn’t have offered one.

Next: NHL Trade Talk Recap: Canadiens, Canucks, & Oilers Retirement