The NHL announced Thursday that it has concluded its investigation into Mike Babcock and cleared him to return to coaching in the league.
"The league has completed its review of Mike Babcock's tenure in Columbus, and of certain alleged conduct associated therewith," the NHL said in a statement. "Our investigation has concluded that, even in a light least favorable to Mr. Babcock, there is no current basis to restrict his employment in the league."
With the investigation now complete, the Edmonton Oilers will begin the formal process of hiring Babcock, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. The club could officially announce his hiring early next week, Friedman added.
The NHL launched its investigation into Babcock at the NHLPA's request after reports last week that the Oilers were considering hiring him for their coaching vacancy.
"While we found the allegations of Mike Babcock's conduct as the Columbus Blue Jackets' head coach very concerning, the league has decided that there is no current basis on which to restrict his employment," the NHLPA said. "Moving forward, we expect that Mr. Babcock will uphold the high standards required of NHL head coaches."
Babcock hasn't coached in the NHL since being fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2019. He was hired by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023, but he resigned before coaching a game following allegations that he invaded players' privacy. Reports claimed that Babcock had asked players for their phones, scrolled through their camera rolls, and projected their photos onto a larger screen. The league didn't conduct an investigation at the time because Babcock resigned shortly after the accusations surfaced.
Following Babcock's resignation in Columbus, John Davidson, then the Blue Jackets' president of hockey operations, admitted the team "made a mistake" by hiring him.
Babcock has faced accusations of mistreating players in his other stops. During his tenure with the Maple Leafs, he had rookie Mitch Marner rank his teammates by their work ethic and then shared the list with the team.
In 2019, Johan Franzen, who played for Babcock on the Detroit Red Wings from 2005-15, said Babcock verbally assaulted him to the point he had a mental breakdown, calling the coach "the worst person I have ever met."
Babcock also notably made Mike Modano a healthy scratch for multiple games in his final NHL season in Detroit, preventing Modano from reaching the 1,500-game milestone. The Hall of Famer finished his career with 1,499 games.
However, the 63-year-old brings a winning pedigree that's likely appealing for an Oilers team facing immense pressure to win a Stanley Cup before Connor McDavid's contract expires in 2028.
Babcock won the Stanley Cup with Detroit in 2008 and led teams to the finals in 2003 with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and again in 2009 with the Red Wings. He ranks 12th all time with 700 coaching wins. Babcock also guided Canada to gold medals at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics and is the only coach in the Triple Gold Club.
The Oilers fired Kris Knoblauch in May following a first-round playoff exit.
