After the NHL ended its evaluation and made it possible for him to be hired by the Edmonton Oilers, Mike Babcock is able to coach once more.
This story is no longer a rumor. It’s now a league decision with real consequences.
Emily Kaplan stated earlier on Thursday that the investigation was almost over and that Babcock was probably going to be found not guilty, and that Edmonton was interested.
Elliotte Friedman then completed it, stating that the Oilers are at liberty to sign him.
The league’s statement made the decision apparent.
It found that there was currently no reason to limit Babcock’s employment in the NHL after reviewing his time in Columbus and the allegedly related behavior.
That line is important because it closes a file and does other things. Any club can use it as a cover to advance, and the team most strongly connected to that opening right now is Edmonton.
Teams may still convince themselves that Babcock, 63, has the kind of resume. He has the profile of a coach who can control a space as soon as he enters it, having won the Stanley Cup in 2008.
The league concluded the debate on Mike Babcock, not the case.
The backlash begins here. While a league decision may establish eligibility, it cannot resolve the feelings of Mike Babcock’s players, supporters, or anyone else associated with the sport.
This news hits so hard as a result. His reputation doesn’t simply disappear, and no club that recruits him is given a clean slate with the populace.
The NHL statement screenshot speaks for itself in black and white. Within a few minutes, a brief piece of language from the league changed a waiting game into an active hiring window.
If Edmonton makes a move, the response will be swift and intense. The decision will be portrayed as a gamble that experience as a coach is more valuable than the racket that follows him into the locker room.
And that noise will not fade after one news cycle. Every rough stretch, every tense media session, every bench decision will be viewed through the lens of why Babcock had to be investigated in the first place.
That is the real weight of Thursday’s ruling. Mike Babcock is allowed back, but the NHL just cleared one of the most polarizing returns the league could have handed a contender.
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