- The NHLPA has asked the NHL to move forward with its investigation into Mike Babcock
- The union specifically wants Edmonton to delay any hiring until the probe is finished
- Read below for what Dreger and Seravalli reported and how the saga got to this point
The NHLPA just hit the brakes on Edmonton’s Mike Babcock plan.
TSN’s Darren Dreger reported Tuesday that the NHLPA has asked the NHL to move forward with an investigation into allegations Babcock invaded his players’ privacy during his short run with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Frank Seravalli followed with the part that really matters for the Oilers. The union wants Edmonton to hold off on any hiring until the league wraps up a formal investigation.
There’s no timeline yet on how long that would take.
All of this traces back to last week, when word got out that the Oilers were checking with the NHLPA before pulling the trigger on Babcock. The union has now answered, and it isn’t the green light Edmonton was hoping for.
The allegations themselves go back to the fall of 2023. Babcock had just been hired in Columbus and never coached a regular season game there.
Reports surfaced that he asked players to show him personal photos on their phones. He resigned before the Blue Jackets played a single preseason game.
That came after his exit in Toronto, where stories about manipulative tactics surfaced once the Leafs fired him in 2019. The most famous one had Babcock asking rookie Mitch Marner to rank his teammates by effort, then sharing the list with the room.
Edmonton still hasn’t made a final call. The league is waiting on the Oilers, and the Oilers are now waiting to see what the NHLPA’s pushback turns into.
