Mike Babcock last coached an NHL game in November 2019.
asserted
Babcock → coach → November
His biggest accomplishments in the sport so far were guiding Canada to gold at the Olympics in 2010 and 2014 and the Detroit Red Wings to the Stanley Cup in 2008.
asserted
accomplishments → guide → 2008
All these years later, the Edmonton Oilers are turning to Babcock to be the person to get Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl the championship that has eluded two of the best hockey players in the world for more than a decade.
asserted
that → turn → decade
Babcock, 63, is back in the league three years since taking over the Columbus Blue Jackets and resigning before training camp when his requests for personal photos from players in a bonding effort drew criticism as too invasive.
asserted
requests → take → criticism
He is old school, and that is what the Oilers wanted.
asserted
Oilers → want → what
“He’s bringing experience and accountability,” Oilers CEO of hockey operations Jeff Jackson said this summer.
asserted
Jackson → bring → operations
“That’s what we wanted on the organizational management side, and that’s what our players wanted — our leadership group — so it all aligned.
asserted
it → ’ → what
After reaching the final in 2024 and ‘25, losing to Florida each time, getting knocked out in the first round of the playoffs this past spring spelled the end of Kris Knobaluch’s time behind the bench.
asserted
knocked → reach → bench
Knoblauch is calm and steadfast and got the ship going in the right direction when he replaced Jay Woodcroft in November 2023.
asserted
he → get → November
But it was his first job in the NHL, and Babcock has tons of experience with 700 regular season wins and 90 more in the playoffs.
asserted
Babcock → have → playoffs
Sidney Crosby, who played for Babcock for those back-to-back Olympic championships, recalled an organized coach who knew what he was doing.
asserted
he → play → what
“He was really good at kind of painting a clear picture of how he wanted us to play, what guys’ jobs were,” Crosby said.
asserted
Crosby → paint → picture
“Really good bench management when it came to matching lines and just a feel for if certain lines were going or certain guys were going: putting the right guys together, timeouts, just feel for the game.”
asserted
guys → come → game
Los Angeles banks on experience with Peter Laviolette
Like the Oilers, Pacific Division rival Los Angeles turned to a Cup-winning coach with deep experience in Peter Laviolette.
asserted
Angeles → bank → Laviolette
Los Angeles is his seventh NHL organization two decades since he won it all with Carolina.
asserted
he → win → Carolina
Getting another chance “says a lot about Lavy,” according to Nashville’s Filip Forsberg, who played for Laviolette for six seasons from 2014-20, a stretch that included reaching the final in 2017.
uncertain
that → get → 2017
“We had a lot of shenanigans off the ice to kind of keep the guys excited,” Forsberg said, citing Laviolette hosting the Predators’ annual poker tournament.
asserted
Forsberg → have → tournament
“I loved him — just the way he can inspire people.”
asserted
he → love → people
The Kings have made the playoffs five years in a row and lost in the first round each time.
asserted
Kings → make → round
Laviolette is one of just four coaches in league history to make the final with three teams.
asserted
Laviolette → make → teams
“We got a lot of veteran guys who’ve gone deep, who have won,” forward Quinton Byfield said.
asserted
Byfield → get → guys
“They know what’s needed to make the next step, so I feel like there’s a lot there for us to be a threat.”
asserted
us → know → step
Vegas goes with a rookie in Ryan Craig
The Golden Knights fired Bruce Cassidy with seven games left last season and put John Tortorella in charge.
asserted
games → go → charge
They went on a run to the final before losing to Carolina, then announced Tortorella would not return.
asserted
Tortorella → go → Carolina
Vegas promoted Ryan Craig from Henderson of the American Hockey League after three years coaching there.
asserted
Vegas → promote → years
“Unbelievable human being, super high character, really good communicator,” center Jack Eichel said.
asserted
Eichel → say → ?
“I know he’s going to get the most out of our team, and it’s a well-deserved opportunity for him.”
asserted
it → know → him
Toronto brings back Jim Hiller
Hiller was an assistant on Babcock’s staff with the Maple Leafs from 2015-19 and coached the Kings from when he was a midseason replacement for Todd McLellan in ‘24 until being fired in March.
asserted
he → bring → March
New Toronto general manager John Chayka tabbed him as the successor to Craig Berube in what may have been the most surprising coaching hire of this cycle.
uncertain
what → tab → cycle
“Any time you have a little bit of continuity, it gets you past some of that kind of get-to-know-you phase,” said John Tavares, who has been with the Leafs since 2018.
asserted
who → have → 2018
“For the few of us that have had him in the past, it kind of gets us off and running right off the get-go and get a good feel for who he is as a person and how he thinks and how approaches things.”
asserted
he → have → things
Manny Malhotra gets his shot with Vancouver
Adam Foote lasted just one season as coach of the Canucks, who finished last in the NHL.
asserted
who → get → NHL
The rebuilt front office with general manager Ryan Johnson assisted by Daniel and Henrik Sedin promoted Manny Malhotra from the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks after he was in the running a year ago when Foote got the job.
asserted
Foote → rebuild → job
Malhotra brings with him a work ethic that sustained him through a lengthy playing career and is a new voice for a young group looking to start getting better.
asserted
that → bring → group
“There’s no gray area,” winger Brock Boeser said.
asserted
Boeser → ’ → ?
“There’s black and white of what we’re supposed to do, what we’re not supposed to do.
asserted
we → ’ → what
I think that will help our team a lot.”
asserted
that → think → team
The Aporia
