Zach Hyman's Answer to Mark Messier: Come See Babcock's Oilers for Yourself

Zach Hyman wore No. 11 his whole career until he got to Edmonton, where he couldn't, because it's retired for Mark Messier. So when Messier ripped the Oilers for hiring Mike Babcock, Hyman answered carefully.

He said Messier is a legend, respected by everyone in the game, and entitled to his opinion. Then he invited him to come watch. There's a lot of excitement and positivity in the building, Hyman said, nothing but good is happening, and if Messier wants to see it firsthand he's welcome.

Messier, now an ESPN analyst, had said he was shocked by the hire because of what reputable people had told him about how Babcock treated players. That history is well documented. Johan Franzen said Babcock's verbal attacks led to his emotional breakdown. In Toronto, Babcock asked Mitch Marner privately about teammates and then told those teammates what Marner had said, and when the Leafs fired him in 2019, their president called his methods not appropriate or acceptable. In Columbus in 2023, he left before coaching a game after asking to see players' phone photos.

The NHL looked into the Columbus episode and said in June there was no reason to bar him. Hyman, along with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, then vetted Babcock before the Oilers hired him to replace Kris Knoblauch, which is the part Messier objected to most.