Well, that was a quick investigation. The court of Gary Bettman acted unusually fast, and the Edmonton Oilers are expected to make the Mike Babcock hiring official any time. 

Once that ink dries and we find out the time, put a notification in your calendar. Set an alarm. That press conference ought to be entertaining. 

Many words have been written or spoken about Babcock through Oilersnation’s platforms that tackle the moral-personal side of the hire or incidents with players in the past. Those concerns are not only reasonable but also justified.

This is not that type of article necessarily. It’s hard to untie one from the other, but this will be an attempt here. 

Regardless, the move is gonna happen. We hope to learn some answers to these questions from the press conferences. Others? Time will tell.

What was the hiring process?

Some indication of the Oilers’ process in making this hire would be good to know. The timeline, the plans, who led the Babcock discussions, etc.

Is ownership being heavy-handed like some reports have indicated since the first-round exit to Anaheim, or was this a consensus idea that all the Oilers brass were behind?  

Taking Babcock at his word, he was content to stay out of the limelight and be retired from coaching, out of the public eye forever. The Columbus experience had to be humbling, if not embarrassing. 

Pierre McGuire spoke to this more on The Larry & Big Man Show based in Pittsburgh, sharing his attempt a few months ago to interview Babcock.

“I spoke to Mike Babcock a week before the Olympics,” said McGuire. “One of the people I wanted to interview for my show with 1Team Media was Mike Babcock about all the things he’d gone through, his successes, his failures, how he’s dealt with everything.

“He goes, ‘I’d love to talk to you. We’ve been friends for a long time, but I’m no longer relevant in hockey. I’m not working in the hockey business anymore. I appreciate your interest. I’m not doing the job. I’m not going to do the show.’ I said, ‘Not a problem. I completely respect that.’

It doesn’t seem like Babcock was sniffing around for work. He’s not hurting for money. Toronto paid him $50 million alone, the most lucrative NHL coaching contract we’ve ever seen. 

My guess is Darryl Katz picked up the phone first and was the driver. 

This is relevant because the GM and coach have to work together quickly, or at least be on the same page on who the team is targeting in free agency, through trades, and even the draft. After what appeared like a lack of cohesion between Stan Bowman and Kris Knoblauch on the players they were bringing to Edmonton and how they were deployed, this hire is crucial. 

There will never be 100 per cent agreement, nor is that healthy, but if Bowman wasn’t driving Babcock’s hiring, will a lack of cohesion from GM to coach remain?

For example, if Babcock is an owner-driven hire, could he not jump the organization chart to Katz to get his way if he disagrees with Bowman?

If there’s any lesson to be learned about Babcock’s stories, is he has strong opinions about his players. One of the prevailing rumours, which has been debated, is questioning why Babcock did what he did with Mitch Marner. Is because Babcock wanted Noah Hanifin in that draft class (whom Carolina chose with the next pick in 2015), but management liked Marner. So his perception of Marner didn’t start in a great place.

Discovering the order of events speaks to the organizational process. I wrote about that in greater length last Sunday. Who really hires whom? What are the roles and responsibilities of each person in the food chain? 

Don’t get me wrong, Oilers fans don’t have an inherent right to know everything that goes on behind closed doors. Katz can run the Oilers how he likes. It’s his business, and it may work. But it would be good to know how they arrived here. 

There is extremely high public pressure for the Oilers to win the Stanley Cup. That pressure isn’t just outside noise, though, but living between those walls too. We should get a little information about this during the press conference.

What is the right........

© Oilers Nation