The NHL reportedly makes a stunning Mike Babcock decision

Nick Kypreos dropped a significant piece of information Tuesday night, reporting that those involved in the Mike Babcock investigation want it put to bed quickly.

The tip came via the Real Kyper & Bourne show, dated June 17, and was picked up by @NHLRumourReport on X. Short on details. Loud in implication.

Edmonton still doesn't have a head coach. The Oilers went 41-30-11 this past season, 93 points, then got bounced by Anaheim in the first round of the playoffs, four games to two.

GM Stan Bowman is the man who has to make the next hire. That's a fact worth sitting with for a moment.

Nick Kypreos: Re Mike Babcock: It's sounding like they want to put this investigation to bed pretty quick here.

Bowman was the Chicago GM during the Kyle Beach situation. He was eventually cleared to return to the league, and Edmonton brought him in. Now he's the one deciding whether Babcock gets back in.

The speed of this investigation is the story. Not the findings, not yet. Just the pace.

When an organization pushes to close a process fast, you have to ask: fast for whom, and why now?

There are two ways to read Kypreos' report. Either the investigation found nothing significant and everyone wants to move on. Or it found something and specific parties want this resolved before the summer coaching market goes cold.

Oilers still coachless with McDavid entering his age-29 season

Connor McDavid is 29. He put up 138 points in 82 regular-season games, then managed just 6 points over six playoff games as Edmonton exited early again.

That clock is real. Bowman knows it.

Leon Draisaitl added 97 points in just 65 games. Evan Bouchard put up 95 from the blue line. This is a roster built to win now, not to develop.

Bringing Babcock in, if that's where this lands, would be a calculated risk. His reputation as a demanding, detail-obsessed bench boss isn't in question. His exits from Toronto and then Michigan are, and they don't disappear because an investigation moves fast.

Kypreos reporting the push to close this out quickly is the clearest signal yet that a decision is coming. What that decision actually says, nobody's confirmed publicly.

The Oilers can't afford to wait. McDavid's prime isn't refillable.