Mark Messier did not tiptoe around the Oilers’ decision to hire Mike Babcock. He came out swinging, and the message was unmistakable: he thinks Edmonton crossed a line by letting players become part of the coaching search in the way they did.
“I am just horrified about the whole thing,” Messier said, making his stance plain on ESPN’s NHL Opening Night media call. The Hall of Famer, who spent 12 seasons with the Oilers and won five Stanley Cups, said he was “absolutely shocked” by the hire and pointed to what he described as stories from “very good, reputable, character people” about how people were treated.
Messier said he had never seen a process like this one, where players were directly involved in interviewing a coach before the hire was made.
“I agree with Ray the way that he was onboarded through the players interviewing him is absolutely something that I’ve never heard of before. Maybe the game has changed, and that’s the way it’s going.
Great. I don’t know.
It certainly wasn’t like that.”
For Messier, the issue goes beyond Babcock himself. His bigger concern is the structure of it all - the idea that players and management are too intertwined when it comes to a major decision like hiring a coach.
“I think there has to be a separation of powers on the structural level of any team. I think from the management to the coaching to the players, there has to be a divide.
The leadership of your team have to protect the players inside the dressing room. How can you do that when you’re directly involved with the decisions they’re making at the management level and hiring of the management and coaches?
I don’t understand it.”
He pushed that point even further, questioning where players would turn if the season went sideways and the same leadership group that helped make the hire was also part of the team’s internal power structure.
“Maybe the game has changed to the point where that’s the way things are going now, where players have that much say. I just don’t know, if it does go bad and players are having difficulties, who do they turn to?
Because if they turn to the leadership, the leadership is management. There’s no separation there.”
He finished with the bluntest line of all:
“I am just horrified about the whole thing, to be honest with you. I could go on and on and on, but I think you get my point.”
Babcock is set to start his first season behind the Oilers’ bench since returning to the NHL. The 63-year-old has not coached an NHL game since 2019, and Edmonton brought him in after moving on from Kris Knoblauch following another playoff disappointment.
The Oilers’ top players - Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman - were central to the decision. Babcock told them his style would not be for everybody and warned them things would get tougher during the season.
If they were not in 100 percent, he was not interested. The players made the call.
That part of the process has drawn scrutiny, too. Edmonton gave Babcock a three-year deal based largely on those player recommendations, and the organization has defended the approach.
General manager Stan Bowman said the team wanted an experienced coach with a strong résumé and winning pedigree. Babcock also said his conversations with McDavid, Draisaitl and Hyman were detailed and centered on how the team could improve, and that the players understood what would be expected of them.
The Oilers have made it clear they believe in the process. Messier clearly does not.
And at the heart of his criticism is a simple question: if the players help choose the coach, what happens when the season gets messy and the complaints start?
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