Oilers set date for major Mike Babcock announcement

The Edmonton Oilers are moving fast on Mike Babcock, and Thursday's report from Elliotte Friedman confirms the league has formally cleared the path for his hiring.

According to Friedman, contract negotiations are already underway.

Assuming no snags, Friedman pegged the timeline at early next week.

"Now that the league has cleared Mike Babcock, word is the Oilers will formally begin the process of hiring him - contract negotiations, etc.

Assuming no snags, timeline appears to be early next week."

- Elliotte Friedman

That is a remarkably short runway for an organization that finished the season without a head coach on the books, sitting 14th overall with a 41-30-11 record and 93 points.

Think about what that number actually means. The Oilers scored 282 goals this season and still couldn't pull past the middle of the pack.

Whoever takes that bench inherits a roster built around elite offensive talent, and the pressure to deliver will be immediate and unforgiving.

Stan Bowman's first major call as GM is a polarizing one

GM Stan Bowman is the man pulling the trigger here, and this is the biggest decision of his tenure in Edmonton.

Babcock's résumé is undeniable on paper. Stanley Cup. Olympic gold. Multiple division titles.

But his exit from Toronto in 2019 was ugly, and the player relations issues that followed cast a long shadow over any potential return to the league.

The NHL clearing him is one thing. Getting a locker room to buy in fully is a different conversation.

Edmonton went 19-16-6 on the road last season, a number that suggests the team's edge on home ice didn't always travel well. A coach who can sharpen that road identity will matter.

The Oilers' last 10 games of the regular season went 6-2-2, so there's a functional core here.

Babcock walking into a room with Connor McDavid is a bit like handing someone the keys to a Formula 1 car after years in the garage. The machinery works. The question is always who's steering it.

Whether the players will respond to his style is the question nobody can answer until training camp opens.

For now, Bowman is betting that a cleared name and a proven track record outweigh the noise.

That bet could look brilliant by February. Or it could blow up spectacularly by November.