- Zach Hyman invited Mark Messier to see the Oilers up close after Messier ripped the Mike Babcock hire
- Hyman called Messier’s take “his opinion” while defending the mood inside the Edmonton locker room
- Read below for the full quotes and the comments that set this off
Zach Hyman had an answer ready for Mark Messier’s shot at Mike Babcock.
The Oilers winger addressed Messier’s criticism of the Babcock hire during his media availability on Thursday, and instead of brushing it off, he invited the franchise legend to come see the team’s setup for himself.
He was asked what he made of Messier’s comments a day earlier.
“Listen, everybody has their own opinion,” Hyman said. “He was number 11. I was number 11 for the longest time, and I couldn’t wear the jersey here because he’s revered here. He’s a legend with the Oilers and in hockey, obviously. So I think that everybody in the game respects him.”
Oilers Nation’s Michael Menzies posted the exchange:
Hyman didn’t stop at respect. He turned the moment into an open invitation.
“I think if he really wants to see what’s going on firsthand, he’s more than welcome to come here,” Hyman said. “I think Oilers fans love him. There’s a lot of excitement. There’s a lot of positivity here. Nothing but good is happening right now. So to try and spew something negative right now, I think it’s his opinion. Like I said, I have a lot of respect for him, and if he’d like to see what’s going on, he’s more than welcome to come down.”
Messier set this off a day earlier on ESPN’s NHL Opening Night media call, going after Edmonton’s decision to bring in Babcock this summer.
“I am absolutely shocked they hired him,” Messier said. “I’m absolutely shocked from the stories that I heard from very good, reputable, character people about the way they were treated.”
We covered Messier’s original comments when they broke:
Babcock has already faced this kind of scrutiny once this year. He responded directly to Messier’s criticism earlier in the week.
The questions trace back further than that. Stories about his methods in Detroit and Toronto followed him for years, and they resurfaced hard when Columbus hired him three years ago, only to fire him before he coached a single preseason game.
None of Babcock’s history changes what Hyman chose to say in public. He picked a side, and he dared Messier to come watch practice and see it for himself.
