Mike Babcock is clear to coach again after the NHL closed its review and opened the door to an Edmonton Oilers hire.
That takes this story out of rumor territory. It is now a league decision with real fallout attached to it.
Earlier Thursday, Emily Kaplan reported the investigation was wrapping up and that Babcock was expected to be cleared, with Edmonton interested.
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Elliotte Friedman then pushed it to the finish line and reported the Oilers are free to hire him.
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The league statement made the ruling plain.
It said the review of Babcock's tenure in Columbus and the alleged conduct around it found no current basis to restrict his employment in the NHL.
That line matters because it does more than close a file. It gives any club cover to move forward, and right now the club tied most directly to that opening is Edmonton.
Babcock, 63, has the kind of résumé teams still talk themselves into. He won the Stanley Cup in 2008 and carries the profile of a coach who can dominate a room the minute he walks in.
The league closed the case on Mike Babcock, not the debate
This is where the backlash starts. A league verdict can settle eligibility, but it cannot settle how players, fans, and people around the sport feel about Mike Babcock.
That is why this news lands so hard. His name does not come back quietly, and no team that hires him gets a clean reset with the public.
The screenshot of the NHL statement says it all in black and white. A short block of league language turned a waiting game into a live hiring window in a matter of minutes.
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If Edmonton moves, the reaction will be immediate and loud. The decision will be framed as a bet that experience behind the bench matters more than the noise that follows him into the locker room.
And that noise will not fade after one news cycle. Every rough stretch, every tense media session, every bench decision will be viewed through the lens of why Babcock had to be investigated in the first place.
That is the real weight of Thursday's ruling. Mike Babcock is allowed back, but the NHL just cleared one of the most polarizing returns the league could have handed a contender.
Should the Edmonton Oilers hire Mike Babcock after this verdict?
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