Edmonton Oilers announce hiring of Mike Babcock as new head coach

The Edmonton Oilers have brought Mike Babcock out of retirement as the NHL team's new head coach.

The Oilers confirmed Babcock's hiring Tuesday. The team was cleared to hire him on Thursday after the NHL completed an investigation into his conduct during his short-lived stint with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023.

Babcock previously coached parts of 16 seasons with Anaheim, Detroit and Toronto, leading the Red Wings to a Stanley Cup title in 2007-08.

Players' union wants NHL to investigate Mike Babcock if Oilers want to hire him: AP sources

He signed a two-year, $8 million US contract with the Blue Jackets on July 1, 2023, but resigned just before the start of training camp amid an investigation into reports of Babcock invading the privacy of his players.

Internationally, Babcock led Canada to gold medals at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, the 1997 world junior hockey championship and the 2004 world hockey championship.

Babcock takes over from Kris Knoblauch, who took the Oilers to the Stanley Cup final in 2024 and 2025 but was fired after Edmonton's first-round loss to Anaheim this season.