Mike Babcock's fate in Edmonton has reportedly been sealed

Mike Babcock looks headed back behind an NHL bench after Chris Johnston outlined why the Oilers still view Babcock as their next head coach.

The original wave of doubt around Babcock's future took another turn when Johnston described the concern as overblown, at least from the league's side of this story.

But now, he is reportedly set to be name their next head coach of the organization.

Johnston made the clearest point of the report when he said:

"I'll tell you candidly but I know people that were right there and have more of a sense of what happened than me and they think he's gonna be allowed to work."

That matters because the biggest drag on this process has been the NHL Players' Association request for an investigation tied to what happened during Babcock's brief time with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Even with that cloud hanging over the process, Johnston said the push inside Edmonton has not cooled off the way many expected.

And that's where this gets interesting. The strongest support for Babcock reportedly hasn't come from outside the room. It has come from the Oilers' core itself.

Edmonton's core is driving this push for Mike Babcock

Johnston put it plainly:

"It does seem to be the will of that core, that group of players, that thinks maybe they need someone that is a little harder on them and in ways that Mike Babcock is known to be."

That's a massive detail, because it shifts this from a front-office gamble to a locker-room-backed decision. It also raises the pressure if this move goes through and the fit turns rocky.

Johnston didn't stop there. He added

"It's an important element I would say. Those players are probably more involved or have been more involved in management discussions about the new head coach than I think is current standard in the NHL."

That kind of player involvement is rare enough on its own. In this case, it went even further than that.

"So much so that the players were involved in interviewing the candidates directly," the report explained before Johnston added, "That's what happened in Edmonton. You had the [Connor] McDavid's and some of the other trusted players on that team having conversations directly with multiple candidates that were up for this job."

At that point, the direction feels obvious. When the room wants a harder voice and the stars help shape the search, Mike Babcock doesn't just remain an option. He becomes the likely choice.

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