{"id":264301,"date":"2026-09-25T03:38:41","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T03:38:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/25\/not-a-fan-of-mike-babcock-but-good-answer-fans-react-to-oilers-hcs-response-to-mark-messiers-tarnishing-comment\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T03:38:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T03:38:41","slug":"not-a-fan-of-mike-babcock-but-good-answer-fans-react-to-oilers-hcs-response-to-mark-messiers-tarnishing-comment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/25\/not-a-fan-of-mike-babcock-but-good-answer-fans-react-to-oilers-hcs-response-to-mark-messiers-tarnishing-comment\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Not a fan of Mike Babcock but good answer&#8221;: Fans react to Oilers HC&#8217;s response to Mark Messier&#8217;s tarnishing comment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-content\" data-postid=\"5221242\" data-slug-id=\"2840765\">\n<div class=\"vidazoo-player-container\">\n<span class=\"vidazoo-close-btn  hidden \"><br \/>\n<img data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/cmc-predictor\/v2\/cross-icon.png?w=40\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" alt=\"close\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/us\/nhl\/edmonton-oilers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Edmonton Oilers<\/a> head coach Mike Babcock has responded to Hockey Hall of Famer and club legend Mark Messier\u2019s criticism of his hiring.<\/p>\n<p>During a recent ESPN media availability, Messier expressed his disappointment and directed criticism at Oilers management and the team\u2019s leadership group.<\/p>\n<p>When asked about the comments on Thursday, Babcock chose not to escalate the situation and instead spoke respectfully about the Oilers legend:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cOne of these teams is Team Messier, right? When I watched him, hard leader, two-way, competitive. Went to New York, hard, two-way, competitive. Real leader. I\u2019ve dealt with him two times in my life. He treated us great both times. Mark Messier is a legend here. I have nothing but respect for him,&#8221; said Babcock.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><template id=\"also-read-articles-template\"><\/p>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how fans on X reacted to Mike Babcock&#8217;s response, with one tweeting:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Not a fan of Babcock&#8230; but good answer&#8230; good answer.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"sportskeeda-embed\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/us\/nhl\/twitter-embed\">\n<div class=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/us\/nhl\/twitter-embed\">\n<div class=\"profile-card\">\n<p><span><span>@dfoedmonton Not a fan of Babcock&#8230; but good answer&#8230; good answer. \ud83e\udd45<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Another <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JayB1285\/status\/2103266217062519236?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">chimed in<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;I feel bad for the most vulnerable player on the Oilers that Babcock will surely target. He can&#8217;t help himself. He&#8217;s just going to play his personality-disordered games in a more covert and passive-aggressive manner cause the light is on him now.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Here are some of the other top reactions on X:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Love this from Bab\u2019s. Can&#8217;t wait to see him succeed and shut everybody up!&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BlueJay677\/status\/2103224011673264164?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">a third fan wrote<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;This guy has clearly worked on his PhD in PR somewhere between Columbus and Edmonton,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/nocontexttrades\/status\/2103224087203987632?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">one X user opined<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Classy. Opinion shifting classy,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/timothy2318\/status\/2103255375168639401?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">another chimed in<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Where there\u2019s smoke, there\u2019s fire. Lots of players have talked about the way he is, hard to not believe people that had firsthand experience with him,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TellyTimeShow\/status\/2103308222048465185?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">added another<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>What Mark Messier said about Mike Babcock<\/h2>\n<p>During ESPN&#8217;s media call, Mark Messier did not hold back when discussing the Oilers\u2019 decision to hire Mike Babcock.<\/p>\n<p>The Hall of Famer questioned the process that involved the team\u2019s leadership group and expressed serious concerns about the lack of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/us\/nhl\/news-mark-messier-horrified-connor-mcdavid-oilers-leadership-group-s-involvement-mike-babcock-hire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">separation between players and management<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI think there has to be a separation of powers on the structural level of any team. I think from the management to the coaching to the players, there has to be a divide. The leadership of your team has to protect the players inside the dressing room. How can you do that when you\u2019re directly involved with the decisions they\u2019re making at the management level and hiring of the management and coaches? I don\u2019t understand it,&#8221; Messier said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Due to Mike Babcock\u2019s controversial past, the Oilers have faced significant backlash for the hiring. Babcock replaced Kris Knoblauch, who led the team to back-to-back <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/us\/nhl\/stanley-cup-playoffs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Stanley Cup<\/a> Finals appearances in 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-post-rating-widget\">\n<p><template id=\"post-rating-feedback-modal-template\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-feedback-box\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-content\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-data\">\n<p>Why did you not like this content?<\/p>\n<p><textarea id=\"dislike-feedback-text\" rows=\"4\" placeholder=\"Please type your feedback...\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<button class=\"close\">Cancel<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"submit\">Submit<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-widget-parent hidden\">\n<div class=\"rating-parent-container\">\n<div class=\"rating-content-holder\">\n<p>Was this article helpful?<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-action-container\">\n<div class=\"like-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-like-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"like\" title=\"like article\"><br \/>\n<img class=\"post-like-image post-rating-image\" data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"like selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dislike-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-dislike-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"dislike\" title=\"dislike article\"><br \/>\n<img class=\"post-dis-like-image post-rating-image\" data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"avatar selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\nThank You for feedback\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tag-cloud\">\n<div class=\"tags-text\">\n<div class=\"scrollable-content-holder  article-padding\">\n<p class=\"article-p  \">Quick Links<\/p>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerLeft\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Left \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img style=\"background: none;\" data-lazy=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-left.svg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button><\/p>\n<nav id=\"pnProductNav\" class=\"pn-ProductNav\">\n<\/nav>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerRight\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Right \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img style=\"background: none;\" data-lazy=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-right.svg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<p>More from Sportskeeda<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<span class=\"publisher-name\">Edited by Abhishek Dilta<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/us\/nhl\/news-not-fan-mike-babcock-good-answer-fans-react-oilers-hc-s-response-mark-messier-s-tarnishing-comment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Edmonton Oilers head coach Mike Babcock has responded to Hockey Hall of Famer and club legend Mark Messier\u2019s criticism of his hiring. During a recent ESPN media availability, Messier expressed his disappointment and directed criticism at Oilers management and the team\u2019s leadership group. When asked about the comments on Thursday, Babcock chose not to escalate [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":264302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6806],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-264301","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gossip"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}