The Oilers did not make a tentative bet on Mike Babcock when they brought him in earlier this summer. According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, Edmonton gave the veteran coach a three-year contract with a coach’s option for a fourth.
The total dollar figure hasn’t been disclosed, but it’s still a significant commitment for a bench boss who never made it through training camp in his last comeback attempt with the Blue Jackets. Babcock, who won the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 2008 and reached the Final three other times, hasn’t coached an NHL game since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
His last NHL stop ended when he was fired by the Maple Leafs early in the shortened 2019-20 season.
Elsewhere on a busy late-summer Saturday, the Golden Knights got a scare in rookie tournament play. Top prospect Trevor Connelly took a heavy hit from behind into the boards against the Mammoth and was down for more than a minute before getting back up with help from a trainer, according to SinBin.Vegas.
He eventually returned to the bench, but he did not take another shift. Connelly, the No. 19 pick two years ago, wasn’t projected as an Opening Night lock, but he’s coming off a standout rookie year with AHL Henderson, where he posted 14 goals and 35 assists for 49 points in just 46 games.
Vegas will be hoping this doesn’t turn into a long-term issue, because an NHL debut sometime this season suddenly feels harder to picture.
The Blue Jackets also made a small roster move of their own, bringing undrafted winger Teddy Spitznagel into rookie camp on an amateur tryout. The 20-year-old has been passed over in the draft in each of the last three years, and last season with the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s he managed two goals and 11 points in 30 games. He’s headed to Colorado College soon to begin his NCAA career, and at this stage he doesn’t look close to landing an NHL contract.
In Other News...
Golden Knights Just Secured Their Captain For Another Cup Push
The Golden Knights have taken another important step in keeping their core intact, agreeing to a two-year extension with captain Mark Stone. Coming off a season in which he was one of the teams most reliable producers and a central figure in Vegas push to the Stanley Cup Final, Stones new deal gives the organization some needed stability as it continues to build around a familiar leadership group.
Stones value goes well beyond the box score, but his production still underscored how important he remains to the lineup. After a career season last year, the captain has become one of the clearest anchors on a roster that has also seen recent movement with Braeden Bowmans new contract, and the next question is how Vegas continues shaping the rest of its Cup-caliber core around him. [Read more 🡒]
Golden Knights Just Sent A Clear Message With Mark Stone
Mark Stones long run with Vegas is set to continue after the Golden Knights locked up their captain on a two-year extension, keeping one of the franchises defining early acquisitions in place for the stretch ahead. Since arriving from Ottawa, Stone has spent parts of seven seasons in the organization and has remained a fixture at the top of the lineup, even while injuries have periodically interrupted his availability.
For a team built around stability and star power, the move sends a clear message about how the Golden Knights view their core. Stone still brings the kind of two-way value Vegas has long leaned on, and the new agreement gives the club more certainty around a veteran leader whose fit has never really been in doubt, even as his future has sometimes felt worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Golden Knights Face Huge Pressure As This Core Tries One More Run
The Golden Knights are heading into the 2026-27 season with the sort of pressure that comes only when a franchise believes it is still built to win now. Expectations around Vegas are back in familiar territory, with a Stanley Cup appearance the standard rather than the dream, and the core of Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner and Mark Stone carrying most of the burden. The roster also has an older feel to it, which only raises the stakes for a group trying to squeeze one more deep run out of a window that has already produced one championship.
There is still enough uncertainty around the edges to make this a delicate season in advance, even before the games start. A first-time head coach will be stepping into one of the leagues most scrutinized jobs, and the roster could still be reshaped before opening night. For Vegas, the challenge is less about chasing a playoff berth and more about proving this version of the team can still live up to the standard it set for itself from the beginning. [Read more 🡒]