Mark Messier didn’t hide how he felt about the Edmonton Oilers bringing in Mike Babcock.
During ESPN’s NHL Opening Night media call on Wednesday, the Hall of Famer said he was stunned by the hire and took aim at the decision-making process that led to it.
"I'm absolutely shocked they hired him," Messier said during the ESPN NHL Opening Night media call Wednesday, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "I'm absolutely shocked from the stories that I heard from very good, reputable, character people about the way they were treated. It's been no secret."
Messier also questioned the idea of players being part of the hiring process, noting that he had never seen that happen before. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were among the Oilers players who interviewed Babcock before Edmonton made the move, and Messier said that kind of arrangement raises problems if things start going wrong.
"Maybe the game has changed to the point where that's the way things are going now, where players have that much say," Messier said. "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.
"I'm 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."
Edmonton hired Babcock in June after firing Kris Knoblauch following the team’s first-round playoff exit.
The move brought Babcock back to the NHL after a long and controversial road. He was hired by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023 but resigned before coaching a game after allegations that he invaded players’ privacy.
Reports said he asked for players’ phones, went through their camera rolls and projected photos onto a larger screen. After the Oilers showed interest in hiring him, the NHL investigated at the NHLPA’s request and cleared him to return to the league.
Babcock’s past also includes the 2016-17 season in Toronto, when he had rookie Mitch Marner rank his teammates by work ethic and then shared the list with the rest of the team.
Former Red Wings forward Johan Franzen said in 2019 that Babcock verbally abused him to the point of a mental breakdown. Franzen called him "the worst person I have ever met." Babcock coached Franzen in Detroit from 2005-15.
Even with that history, McDavid backed the hire, saying it was "what we want," while Draisaitl called Babcock "exactly what we need right now."
Babcock, 63, arrives with a résumé that includes a Stanley Cup, two Olympic gold medals and a World Cup of Hockey. He last coached in the NHL in 2019 with the Maple Leafs.
Messier, who played for the Oilers from 1979-91, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007 and has been an ESPN analyst since 2021.
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