A screenshot from EA Sports NHL 27 was all it took for Mike Babcock to get hit with another joke before the season even starts.
The image showed the new Edmonton Oilers head coach behind the bench, and Daily Faceoff Edmonton posted it with the line: “Mike Babcock is officially in NHL 27.” That opened the door for a quick jab from Scott Billeck, who covers the Winnipeg Jets and is a member of PHWA.
“If you press ↑↑↓↓←→←→ B A Start, Babcock will ask to see your phone.”
The joke landed because it pointed straight back to the reason Babcock’s name still draws that kind of reaction. He was let go by the Columbus Blue Jackets after asking to see summer photos of players and their families by looking through their cell phones. Some players brushed it off, but others found it uncomfortably weird, and the situation got bad enough that the Blue Jackets and Babcock split before he ever coached a game for them.
Babcock said during his intro media conference in Edmonton that he told his wife it was time to go when he didn’t feel the Blue Jackets organization had his back. The NHL later effectively removed him, only approving his return to the league this summer.
The video-game reference works on two levels, too. It plays off the classic controller cheat code - Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, right… - and turns it into a punchline aimed at the behavior that got Babcock in trouble in the first place. It’s not a real in-game move, of course, just a sharp little troll aimed at a coach who’s going to be under a bright spotlight all season.
In Other News...
Dylan Larkin Just Got Pulled Into Trade Chatter Red Wings Fans Hate
The offseason rumor mill keeps circling familiar names, and for Edmonton the appeal is obvious: if the Oilers are going to chase another major piece, it has to be someone who can move the needle without wrecking the rest of the roster. The latest round of speculation has included Quinn Hughes, Connor Hellebuyck, Dylan Larkin, Kirill Marchenko and Chris Kreider, with each player presenting a different mix of upside, cost and team control that makes any fit far from simple.
For the Oilers, the conversation comes back to the same hard realities every time. Edmonton can explore options, and some targets make more sense than others, but the cap math and the asking prices leave very little room for mistakes. Even when a player looks like a clean on-ice fit, the bigger question is whether the Oilers can actually get him without paying a price that changes the rest of their summer. [Read more 🡒]
Colton Dach Has A Real Chance To Solve An Oilers Need
Colton Dachs first stretch in Edmonton gave the Oilers a glimpse of the kind of bottom-six presence they have been trying to add. After arriving at the 2026 trade deadline, he chipped in offensively, played with plenty of physicality and helped make himself noticeable in both the regular season and the playoffs before a lower-body injury interrupted his run. Even in a brief sample, he looked like a player who could fit the kind of energy-heavy role this roster has needed when the games get tighter.
Now the question is whether that glimpse turns into something more permanent. Dach is expected to push for a fourth-line job in 2026-27, and the appeal is obvious for Edmonton: a bigger, harder style that can bring pace without sacrificing bite. The Oilers have options to sort through on the forward depth chart, but Dach has already shown enough to make this one worth watching closely once camp opens. [Read more 🡒]
Quinn Hutson Suddenly Has A Real Shot In Edmonton
Quinn Hutsons path in Edmonton has been a patient one, but it suddenly looks like it could lead somewhere real. The 24-year-old winger signed a two-year extension in January 2026 and has spent most of his time with the Bakersfield Condors, where he has continued to show the scoring touch that first made him interesting at the NCAA and AHL levels.
Now, with the Oilers looking ahead to the 2026-27 training camp, Hutson is in the mix to push for an NHL job rather than simply being depth in the system. Edmontons front office has already identified him as a player who could be knocking on the door soon, which gives this camp a little more weight than another ordinary evaluation summer. [Read more 🡒]