Maybe other NHL teams should follow Oilers and let players help pick new coach

Oct 24, 2026, 9:35 AM ET|Comments (0)

from the Edmonton Journal, by David Staples,

As legend has it, the Edmonton Oilers let their star players — Connor McDavid , Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman in particular — interview and select the team’s new head coach, Mike Babcock.

That’s not exactly what happened. Oilers GM Stan Bowman has said he and his team concluded during their post-season review of the club that the team needed a successful veteran coach, not a rookie, which led Bowman to contact Babcock, followed up by a meeting between himself, team president Jeff Jackson and Babcock. It was at that meeting that Babcock said he wanted to talk to the Oilers players’ leadership group.

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