Oilers head coach Mike Babcock, left, laughs as general manager Stan Bowman looks on during a news conference in Edmonton, Alberta, on Tuesday. (James Maclennan/The Canadian Press via AP)

NEW YORK — The Edmonton Oilers hired Mike Babcock on Tuesday, clearing the way for the polarizing taskmaster to coach his first NHL game in more than six years after the NHL cleared him following an investigation into his aborted 2023 stint in Columbus.

Babcock is now in charge of trying to get Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl a Stanley Cup championship after two of the best hockey players in the league have fallen short over the past decade.

“He’s bringing experience and accountability,” Oilers CEO of hockey operations Jeff Jackson said at the league’s Board of Governors meeting. “That’s what we wanted on the organizational management side, and that’s what our players wanted — our leadership group — so it all aligned.”

There have been complaints from former players about Babcock’s approach, including allegations of bullying. McDavid, Draisaitl and teammate Zach Hyman were consulted by management prior to bringing in Babcock, according to Jackson, who represented McDavid before joining the Oilers in 2023.

“I think it was very important that Connor and Leon and Zach were involved and made their opinion known,” Jackson said. “They’ve been in Edmonton a long time, have gone through some heartbreak together. They’ve earned the right to have a voice, and we sought that and we decided. Players don’t make the ultimate decision, but I think it’s more important to be collaborative with them about communication.”

The 63-year-old Babcock has not coached a game in the league since being fired by Toronto 23 games into the 2019-20 season.

Babcock has championship experience from coaching Detroit to the Cup in 2008. He made two other trips to the final, with Anaheim in ’03 and when the Red Wings went again in ’09 and lost to Pittsburgh. He also guided Canada to back-to-back Olympic goal medals in 2010 and ’14.

Babcock also brings baggage.

He stepped away from the Blue Jackets before training camp in September 2023 after taking the job on July 1. At the time, Babcock’s requests for personal photos from players in an attempt to get to know them drew criticism as an invasion of privacy.

When word emerged that Edmonton was interested in hiring Babcock, the NHL Players’ Association asked the league to review what happened three years ago. The NHL said it found nothing to prevent him from being employed by a team, and Commissioner Gary Bettman echoed that sentiment after the hire became official.

“Based on our investigation, we concluded there was no basis upon which he should be prohibited from coaching,” Bettman said. “His ability to coach depended on an NHL team wanting to have him coach — and that’s what Edmonton did.”

Bettman said league officials looked into what was alleged to have happened with the Blue Jackets and drew conclusions as to whether they should disqualify someone from employment.

“We do — and Mr. Babcock knows it because I spoke to him — expect a certain level of decorum and conduct among all NHL personnel, especially head coaches,” Bettman said.

A report surfaced after the Maple Leafs fired Babcock that he had asked star Mitch Marner to share his ranking of teammates from hardest- to least-hardest working and then shared that with the rest of the group. Former Red Wings player Johan Franzen told a Swedish outlet that Babcock was the worst person he had ever met and said at one point he was terrified to go to the rink.

Retired defenseman Mike Commodore, who played for Babcock briefly in 2011 in Detroit, spoke out this spring.

“I don’t want to hear another word about how important mental health is for us when you literally just paved the way, cleared the way for Mike Babcock to get another opportunity in the NHL and put him in another position of power where he can abuse people,” Commodore said on the “Clearing the Crease” podcast.

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