Connor McDavid Extends Full Support to Mike Babcock After Oilers Name Him as Head Coach

Connor McDavid will enter the first year of his short-term 2-year, $25 million deal in the upcoming 2026-27 season.

Connor McDavid Extends Full Support to Mike Babcock After Oilers Name Him as Head Coach

Mike Babcock and Connor McDavid (Image via X/@Sportsnet/Imago)

This week, the Edmonton Oilers officially named Mike Babcock as their new head coach. On Wednesday, Connor McDavid spoke on this matter. The Oilers captain extended his full support to Babcock despite his controversial past.

The Oilers, who had lost back-to-back Stanley Cup final against the Florida Panthers, were hoping that the 2025-26 season would be the year when the Cup came back to Edmonton. Since their 5th triumph in 1990, the Canadian side had not won the championship.

However, the team suffered a huge loss early on. The team got eliminated from the first round itself as the Anaheim Ducks beat them 4-2.

Following this early exit, the team fired head coach Kris Knoblauch. The Canadian, who had taken over the role after Jay Woodcroft‘s dismissal, was let go by the team.

Earlier this month, reports revealed that the Oilers were checking in with the NHLPA over the hiring of Babcock. The former Toronto Maple Leafs coach had come under backlash in 2023 after the incident with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

In July 2023, he was hired by the team as their new head coach. 10 weeks later, allegations surfaced that he had invaded the privacy of his players by going through their personal phones. Following an investigation by the league, Babcock stepped down from his post.

After getting clearance from the NHL last week, he was announced as the head coach of the team on Tuesday. While a majority of fans on social media have raised strong voices against this, McDavid has extended his support.

In an interview with Sportsnet, McDavid expressed that the leaders of the team, like him, Leon Draisaitl, and the others, brought him to be hard on them when the situation arises.

We brought Babs in to be hard on me. And Leon. … We want Babs to come in and be hard on Leon (Draisaitl) and Nuge (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) and Boosh (Evan Bouchard) and Ecky (Mattias Ekholm) and Heisy (Zach Heyman), and me. We want to push those guys, and we want him lifting up everybody else.

Connor McDavid told Sportsnet

Babcock’s coaching has made him a controversial figure in the NHL. Last week, former Toronto Maple Leafs star Daniel Winnik blasted his ex-head coach. In an appearance on the OverDrive podcast, he called Babcock a “bully” and claimed he was the only one who made him hate coming to the rink.

The 63-year-old also came into the spotlight following his spat with Johan Franzen. During his time with the Detroit Red Wings, the Swedish international expressed that he was verbally abused by Babcock, which led to him having mental health issues.

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Connor McDavid claims Mike Babcock has a different personality

Connor McDavid is standing firmly behind Mike Babcock. Despite the strong opinions regarding him (Babcock) on social media, the forward has expressed full support and trust in him.

Mike Babcock and Connor McDavid
Mike Babcock and Connor McDavid (Image via Imago)

During the interview with Sportsnet, he also claimed that Babcock has a different personality. He said this while pointing out that trying the same thing again and again and expecting a different result was a definition of insanity.

Babs (Babcock) is different. He gives us a different personality, a different approach to our group, and an approach that we’ve probably have never had.

Connor McDavid said regarding Mike Babcock

Babcock is the 6th head coach the Oilers have hired since they drafted McDavid as the No.1 pick in 2015. Before him, Knoblauch and Woodcroft, the team had Dave Tippett (2019-2021), Ken Hitchcock (2018-2019), and Todd McLellan (2015-2018) at the helm as head coach.

The closest the team came to winning the cup with McDavid was in 2024. After losing the first 3 games and going down 0-3 in the Stanley Cup Final, they came back and forced Game 7. However, a 2-1 loss in the final game saw the Florida Panthers lift the trophy while McDavid and his teammates watched from the sidelines.

In the rematch in 2025, the Panthers won the Cup again. They took down the Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 and won the series 4-2 to repeat as champions.

Following the first-round exit this year, the pressure to win the Cup has increased on the shoulders of McDavid. Next season, he will enter the first year of his short-term 2-year, $25 million deal.

Babcock, on the other hand, has a winning record. In his 10 seasons in Detroit, he won the Cup once and took the team to the playoffs in each season. He also led the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to the Stanley Cup Final in his debut season as head coach in 2003.

Apart from that, he has also won honors for Hockey Canada. Two of these include gold medals at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics.

So, he knows what it takes to win. The big question is, can he lead the Oilers back to glory amidst all the noise in the background? Only time will tell.

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