Mike Babcock's own words are a major red flag in Edmonton

That one sentence matters more than anything the NHL said when it cleared him to coach again.

The league concluded on June 18 that there was "no current basis" to restrict Babcock's employment after reviewing his tenure with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Edmonton Oilers officially hired the 63-year-old on June 23, making him the sixth head coach since Connor McDavid's rookie season in 2015.

Babcock never coached a game in Columbus before resigning in September 2023 after asking players to share personal photos from their phones.

The NHLPA called that conduct "very concerning" - their words - even as the NHL simultaneously cleared him.

Those two institutional positions don't cancel each other out. They reveal a gap that matters going forward.

When a coach facing accountability questions says he doesn't believe he crossed the line, that's not humility.

That's a man who hasn't recalibrated.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported that Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman grilled Babcock hard before the hire was finalized.

Babcock apparently spoke bluntly about the players' own role in Edmonton's failure to win a Stanley Cup.

That dynamic is actually encouraging. But accountability in a private meeting and accountability at a public press conference are two very different things.

This is his first coaching job in nearly seven years, and he's entering it believing he was wronged in Columbus rather than humbled by it.

Former Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen once called Babcock the worst person he had ever met.

That history doesn't disappear because the NHL ran a review.

The Oilers needed a coach who could push Connor McDavid to a championship. Whether they got one who has grown past his worst instincts is still unanswered - and Babcock's own words at the press conference suggest they should not assume that yet.