Mike Babcock hasn't coached a regular season game for the Oilers yet, and the first crack in his Edmonton story is already public.
On Wednesday's edition of Real Kyper & Bourne, Nick Kypreos said the hire was never a unanimous "we're all in this together" decision inside the organization.
His wording was blunt. There were people in the organization who did not want him.
Kypreos didn't name names. He didn't need to, because a dissent story leaking before opening night tells you the disagreement wasn't a quiet one.
Nobody has said whether the doubters sat in hockey operations, on the business side, or higher up. That missing piece is exactly why this won't fade by the weekend.
The Oilers hired Babcock on June 23. Three months later, the conversation has drifted away from systems and structure toward who wanted him in the building at all.
Picture a new roommate unpacking his boxes, then learning half the apartment voted against the lease. Everyone stays polite, and nobody forgets the vote.
Stan Bowman now owns a hire his own building doubted
General manager Stan Bowman has run the hockey side since July 24, 2024. The Babcock decision is now the signature call of his tenure, whether he likes that framing or not.
Here's my problem with it. Edmonton didn't need a coach who had to be sold internally, and starting a contending season with that kind of split was a bad bet from the jump.
The money makes the stakes impossible to ignore. Leon Draisaitl carries a $14,000,000 cap hit, while Connor McDavid sits at $12,500,000.
Add Evan Bouchard at $10,500,000 on the blue line and this is a roster built to win right now. Patience isn't part of the business plan.
So far, the ice hasn't handed the doubters anything. Edmonton is 2-0-0 in exhibition play and edged Winnipeg 2-1 on the road Tuesday night.
But nobody in this market grades a coach on September hockey. Calgary visits Saturday for one more tune-up before the games start counting.
The real puck drop comes Tuesday at home against Vancouver, followed by a quick trip to Vancouver on Thursday for the second half of a home-and-home.
What happens if that opening week goes sideways? Every loss gets filtered through what Kypreos just put on the record.
Then comes a three-game California road trip through Anaheim, San Jose and Los Angeles, the kind of stretch that exposes whatever a bench is quietly carrying.
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The people who said no haven't spoken publicly. If the Oilers stumble out of the gate, they might not have to.
Should Stan Bowman have listened to the people inside the Oilers who didn't want Mike Babcock?
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