Mike Babcock (already) publicly criticizes one of his players

Marc-Olivier Cook
Mike Babcock (already) publicly criticizes one of his players
Credit: Capture d'écran / X

Mike Babcock isn't one to mince words.

What a big secret I just let slip, just for fun!

Seriously, though, we all know this guy's reputation. We know he's always been pretty tough on his players, and that's not going to change in Edmonton.

Basically, Babcock threw Jake Walman under the bus by saying he's always out of position. And it's pretty simple: to get his point across, Babcock decided to bench his defenseman tonight, as the Oilers host the Flames at home.

But there's still something rather special about all this…

On October 6, 2025, while in the final year of his contract, Walman signed a seven-year contract extension with the Edmonton Oilers. He is currently in the first year of his (new) deal, which pays him $7 million per season.

Benching a player who makes $7 million a year—even if he's healthy—isn't something you see every day in the National Hockey League. 

But, without necessarily defending Babcock's comments, the guy was brought into the organization to push the team's leaders to be even better. And if Babcock has to bench Walman so that he can learn a few lessons, then… so be it.

We can all agree that the Oilers' coach wasn't necessarily obligated to say those things about his own player. But in Edmonton, we knew what we were getting into when we hired Babcock… and we have to live with it.


In a nutshell

– Wow!

– Well done.

– That photo is insane.

– Stay tuned…

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