As the Edmonton Oilers kick the tires on hiring Mike Babcock as their next head coach, their interest has not only touched off an NHL investigation, but it’s also sparked a series of player anecdotes, both old and new, about Babcock’s poor behaviour over the years.
Former Senators defenseman Jason York shared a doozy this week.
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In 2002, York had established himself as an NHL regular. He had played the previous five years as a full-timer in Ottawa, and after his trade to Anaheim, he played another full season under Bryan Murray and was the Mighty Ducks’ second-leading scorer among defensemen.
The following season, when Murray became the Ducks’ GM, Mike Babcock was given his first NHL head coaching job. He had been coaching Anaheim’s minor-league team in Cincinnati, and before he’d coached even a single game, his mind games began.
Running his first NHL training camp, Babcock suddenly separated York and teammates Denny Lambert and German Titov from the rest of the Ducks’ team and made them skate on their own with no coach or goalie through most of training camp.
“He put us all in the room with the minor league guys,” York recalled this week on the Coming in Hot podcast. “As soon as I saw that, I went right into Babcock’s office. And this is what I don’t like. He lied to my face.
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“He said, ‘Yorky, don’t worry about it. The guys respect you. I need to get their attention. So I’m just doing this to make sure that everybody knows there’s going to be change. You’re one of my guys, you’re going to be in the top four. Don’t worry about it.’
“So that’s what I don’t like, instead of saying, ‘Hey, you’re not part of the plans, we’re going to be getting rid of you. We’re probably going to send you down because you’re not a fit here.’ Fine, then you get ahead of it, right? But this went on for two weeks.”
York didn’t end up in the top four in Anaheim that season. He started the year in the American Hockey League before being traded to Nashville, while Titov and Lambert never played again in the NHL.
York felt like it unnecessarily devalued his stock as a player, which was proven by what Anaheim got for him in a trade with the Predators. York still remembers the call from his agent, Pat Morris, who had just gotten off the phone with Nashville assistant GM Ray Shero.
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“Pat was like, ‘Nashville’s calling, and they’re wondering what’s wrong with you? Like, what happened? Did you do something? Did you get caught for curfew? Are you bad in the room? Are you a bad seed?
“And Pat’s like, ‘No.’ So Nashville ended up getting me (in a trade) for a dollar bill. I was like the bet from the movie Trading Places.”
York says that, years later, he confronted Babcock, who blamed everything on Bryan Murray.
“Then I sat down with Bryan about it, and Bryan said it was all Babs’ idea to do it. And I believe Bryan over him. But I’m not bitter about it anymore. What are you going to do? For me, it’s just this. You can do whatever you want, to some extent, especially back then as a coach.
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“But just be honest. Don’t lie.”
York played as a full-timer the next two seasons in Nashville before the lockout hit.
His negative experience with Babcock is one of several making the rounds as the Edmonton Oilers try to bring him in as their new head coach. The 63-year-old’s behaviour didn’t fly back in the day, but for some reason, the Oilers see him as their answer seven years after he coached his last game.
What’s probably not being talked about enough is Babcock’s lack of recent playoff success, which is the biggest part of the puzzle the Oilers are looking to solve.
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Babcock’s recent playoff record:
2012 DET – 1-4
2013 DET – 7-7
2014 DET – 1-4
2015 DET – 3-4
2016 TOR – Out
2017 TOR – 2-4
2018 TOR – 3-4
2019 TOR – 3-4
2020-2026 – Didn’t coach
Unless Babcock has managed to undergo some kind of extreme makeover, it sure doesn’t seem like the juice is worth the squeeze.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
This story was first published at The Hockey News’ Ottawa Senators site. Check out more from THN.com/Ottawa at the links below.
Senators Reveal Their First-Round Draft Approach
Former Senators Forward Retires From Hockey At 34
Senators Top Amateur Scout Weighs In On Carter Yakemchuk’s First Pro Season
LA Kings Get Their Man, And The Ex-Senators Coaching Drought Continues
Why Brady Tkachuk Is Poised For A Monster Bounce-Back Season
Read the full article here
