- Zach Hyman went to bat for the Oilers hiring Mike Babcock on TSN 1050’s First Up Monday
- Hyman said Edmonton’s players were comfortable with the polarizing hire and he was asked for his take
- Read below for Hyman’s full comments and the video
Zach Hyman isn’t losing any sleep over the Mike Babcock hire.
The Oilers winger went on TSN 1050’s First Up on Monday and made it clear he’s fully behind Edmonton bringing in the polarizing coach. He also said the room had a real voice in the call.
Hyman spent his first several NHL seasons playing for Babcock in Toronto, so he was asked how much say the players had in the decision:
“As a player, you don’t have much say on the coaching stuff. But I had played for Babs, so obviously I was asked about my experience, and I had a great experience with him. He was phenomenal to me as a young player. I think extremely highly of him as a coach.”
Here’s Hyman breaking it down on First Up:
That’s a real endorsement given the baggage. Babcock resigned from the Blue Jackets in 2023 before coaching a single game, following reports about his handling of players’ personal photos. The NHL and NHLPA looked into it, cleared him, and the Oilers hired him this summer to replace Kris Knoblauch.
Hyman addressed that cloud head-on:
“I think it was really important that the NHL and the NHLPA did the process that they needed to do. Obviously, he was cleared to coach again, and as players you talk to other players and you get a sense of things around the league. I think as players, we’re all comfortable with Babs and with what he brought.”
The winger knows the coach as well as anyone in the league. He broke into the NHL in 2015-16, Babcock’s first year with the Leafs, and grew into a 30-goal grinder next to Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner before signing in Edmonton in 2021.
Watch Hyman’s full segment with TSN:
The stakes are clear. Babcock takes over a group that has reached the Cup Final and still hasn’t finished the job in the Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl era. Hyman thinks the new voice in the room is what pushes them over the top.
This isn’t the first time he’s stood up for his old coach. Earlier this month, Hyman sounded just as fired up to reunite with Babcock in Edmonton.
