Edmonton Oilers head coach Mike Babcock discussed facing his former Maple Leafs players, his relationship with Leafs head coach Jim Hiller, his perspective on his time in Toronto and return to coaching, Edmonton’s injury situation, and the Oilers’ progress through their first 10 games.
Babcock on facing the team that fired him back in 2019:
You know, it’s about 100 years ago, right? Even the Beatles broke up, so you get on with it, kind of thing.
Babcock on Jim Hiller and hiring him as an assistant in Toronto:
That’s a great story. Jimmy’s a real good man. I’m proud of him. He’s done real well.
When I first started talking to him—and he’d have to share the other part with you—I just met a guy that I think was even out of hockey at the time. He was just doing the analytics stuff for his own company or whatever, if I’m not mistaken.
I was going to take my daughter to the University of Portland, and he was in that area. We met, and he thought 100% different than me, so I hired him.
I talked to a lot of people that had coached against him and knew him, and management people from the Western Hockey League. I hired him, and he came with me to Detroit. I think he was with me three years in Toronto, if I’m not mistaken.
Good for him that he’s gone on and done well. He’s a nice man. He’s got a nice family.
Babcock on facing Matthews, Nylander, and Rielly in the primes of their careers:
I was real fortunate. Obviously, we had to do a lot of losing to get Matty. I can tell you that. That was a home run when we won that and got him.
We had Mitch Marner. We had Hyman. We had tons of good young guys. We weren’t a veteran team, and in the end, we didn’t get it done in playoff time. That’s why I got a new address.
For them, like you say, they’re in their prime now. Mo’s on the back end. Real good person. Played great for me, and I enjoyed coaching him.
Matty, it’s always great to see his progression in the league and how good a player he is. He scored four goals, I think, his first game in the league, but he’s still come miles in that time.
Who else did you say was there? I already talked about Morgan Rielly.
Willy: one unbelievable human being. Can flat-out score. I watched him the other night. He was drilling it in the net and can fly. What I always remember about him is he’d have a kids’ thing or whatever, and he’d be the guy out there for hours playing with all the kids and doing all the stuff. He’s a great, great person.
Him and Kappy were good friends and were always at the same restaurant I was at at night lots of times, so I saw him a lot.
Anyway, it’s great for them that they’ve had good careers and they’re doing well.
Babcock on outside opinions about his return to the game and his time in Toronto:
I’ve said this before: My dad had this great line, “If your knees don’t hit my kitchen table, I probably don’t care what you think.”
In other words, I’m a blessed man. I’ve been married 35—I think maybe 36—years. My wife’s still my girlfriend. I’ve got three of the greatest kids in the world. I have an unbelievable extended family.
The measure of me as a man is the impact my kids have on society, not wins and losses in hockey. This is what I do. I’m passionate about what I’ve done, but I’m passionate about other things, too. In no way is this reflecting on me as who I am as a person.
I also know what I did as a coach. I was there. That team made the playoffs our first year. We lost. Next thing you know, we get a lot of points. Next year, we set the team record, actually, in points. We lost in the first round, I think, three times when I was there.
But I also know what we had, and we had kids. I’m proud of my time there. I loved my time there.
Lou Lamoriello, phenomenal man. Enjoyed him a lot. Mark Hunter, phenomenal to be around. We had lots of good people. I enjoyed my time there. That’s it.
Babcock on his five years away from the game after controversial exits in Toronto and Columbus:
I don’t know. I would say to you, when I first arrived at Red Deer College, I didn’t know what I was doing, but I knew if you had fun and you played hard, you’d have success. That’s what I did.
I think in the National Hockey League, sometimes things can get away on you a little bit.
In saying that, though, honest to God, I’d never give the five years I just had away for anything. It’s pretty spectacular. You’re 56 years old. You get to do whatever you want. You’re living your dream, and these guys talked me out of it here.
But I’ll get back to living that dream again, too. This is kind of fun, too.
Babcock on the big expectations for the team in his first year as Oilers coach:
That’s for you to write articles about and have fun with. For me, what I do is I try to win today.
The individual meetings I had today, the practice we had today, the preparation for tomorrow, what I’m doing later. We’ve got a kids’ party or something, D.J. tells me. Try to win at that.
Try to win a nice dinner here tonight. I’m going to sleep great, and I’m going to come in here tomorrow, and I’m going to try hard, and I’m going to get on with my day.
But if you think I’m worried about something that’s going to happen months from now, I’m not doing that. I’m just going to keep trying to get better and enjoy what I’m doing.
I think I’m in a phenomenal situation. I just get to have fun every day. That’s it.
This is what I like. I like a good battle, like last night. You’re fighting for space out there.
Who would like to have the mic next? Who’s running this show, anyway, for crying out loud?
Babcock on Shakir Mukhamadullin returning to the lineup and practicing alongside Evan Bouchard:
He should’ve never come out of the lineup. He played great. He made one mistake on a box-out, and we pulled him out. That was one clip he was in in three games.
He’s played great for us. We like him.
Why did we put him next to Bouch? Because there was a spot there in practice, and we hadn’t spent enough time thinking about what we’re doing for tomorrow. Honest to God, that’s how much went into it.
By the time tomorrow comes, we’ll have a better plan. We spent our time today going through last night’s game, trying to fix our details, seeing what we should talk to individuals about, and trying to get better today.
Babcock on rotating his fourth line and the competition level of his depth forwards:
When you look at our depth forwards this year, I think they’ve been phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. Did a great job.
I didn’t like them as much last night. Now, Jarvis was on the third line. They’re real. They’re coming at you. They’re real.
We didn’t handle it as well early, and it reflected, in the end, in their contribution.
But it’s my job to make sure we get deeper and deeper and deeper, and it’s their job to compete hard. That’s what we’re trying to do.
Babcock on Mattias Ekholm’s recovery timeline and the difficulty of preventing injuries:
I don’t know anything about that. They’ll do all these tests that they do. We have real good medical people, and they try to do everything right.
The problem with sport: You still seem to get hurt, right? You think you’re doing everything right.
No one trains harder than this Levi kid. No one does anything more than this Levi kid. I don’t know how it happens, but it happens.
Babcock on the team’s progress through 10 games (8-1-1 record):
You’re always wanting a little bit more. I think that’s part of being a coach. You just want to get better, but you also know that if you don’t get better each and every day, in the end, you’re probably going to be disappointed.
We’re just trying to grow our group. I loved last night’s game. I thought it was so good for us, just because of how hard they play and how little room they gave you, how hard it was to get out of your own zone, and how hard it was to get in their zone.
I think that’s a real growth opportunity for us. Hopefully, we’re going to take that and continue to take steps.
Some days, it goes better than others. We all know that. But I think just enjoy the process and keep grinding.
