The longer and longer the dramatic 2026 off-season continues for the Edmonton Oilers, the more and more clear it’s become that Daryl Katz’s fingerprints are all over this mess.

He’s the one who pushed for the Oilers to fire Kris Knoblauch, the one who pushed for Bruce Cassidy before Vegas’ buffoonery, and now, the one who has pushed for Mike Babcock to become the next head coach, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

“I think it’s ownership-driven. I think this is right from the top,” said Friedman, who reported in May that Katz was behind Knoblauch’s firing, during an appearance on The Fan Hockey Show Tuesday. “I think that a lot of what’s happened in Edmonton at the end of the season has been right from the top. The coaching change, the pursuit of Cassidy, and this. I think it’s right from the top. The fact that McDavid is under contract for only two more years, it’s a really heightened time. They can’t afford to fool around.

“[Peter] Laviolette, I heard he interviewed really well there. Laviolette was in a really interesting spot. He had three teams going after him, and ultimately, he chose L.A. There was a time on Saturday morning where I thought Laviolette was going to be the coach of the Leafs, and L.A. swooped in and did it. And Edmonton was interested in him too.

“I want to be very careful with how I say this, because it could be very easily misconstrued, and I don’t want to step in a pot of hot water here, but I think that whole organization felt they needed a really stern voice, and that’s why they are where they are.”

Katz’s involvement with the day-to-day operations of the team has seemingly grown over recent years, from bringing in Jeff Jackson, to putting Paul Coffey on the Oilers bench, to what’s gone on in the nearly six weeks since the team was eliminated from the playoffs. Earlier this week, it was reported that Harrison Katz, Daryl’s son, had even spoken with Babcock, along with players from Edmonton’s leadership group and members of Oilers management.

While there was confidence earlier this week that Babcock would be the next Oilers head coach, so much so that Oilers NOW’s Bob Stauffer called it “inevitable,” things hit a snag Tuesday night. After the Oilers consulted with the NHL Players’ Association to see if there were any objections to the club hiring Babcock, the NHLPA has since requested the league conduct an investigation into the coach’s tenure with the Columbus Blue Jackets — something that didn’t happen due to Babcock resigning from his post in 2023 before ever coaching a game.

Hockey insider Frank Seravalli reported Wednesday that the NHLPA has received “significant” additional claims about Babcock’s short time in Columbus, and that those — not Babcock going through photos on players phones — were what led to his resignation.

Time will tell what will come of Babcock and the Oilers, but it’s becoming more and more clear that Katz’s impact has been significant.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s managing editor, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.

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