It's been a busy day. Busy day on a couple different fronts for you in Las Vegas. Obviously, I wish we were there. I wish you were in Edmonton, and I wish the Edmonton Oilers were hosting on the precipice of hosting game four of the Stanley Cup Final tomorrow. But this show is called Oilers Now. You heard my statement as I came in and out of the break. Basically said, from ownership to management to the players, and it is important because the players play a significant factor in this. Mike Babcock is their man. Your thoughts? What a massive tactical error. Explain why. Well, let me put it to you this way. We have no clarity yet on Bruce Cassidy and his availability. And I take it from the words of the deputy commissioner, Bill Daley, when he spoke about it at the press conference last week in Raleigh and said, we'll see what happens at the end of the year, meaning the end of this Stanley Cup Final for the Vegas Golden Knights. And for the longest time, we've known that that was the Oilers' selection. That was their choice. They wanted Bruce Cassidy, and Bruce Cassidy seemed to want, certainly, the Edmonton Oilers as well. So now, we've arrived at this point where it appears, at least according to your words, that that is the choice, Mike Babcock, from ownership to management to players. And they're making this decision now. Why? Well, they needed to go through it. Why? Because, well, hold on a second. Hold on. I'm not done yet. So Mike Babcock is, there's only one other coaching vacancy in the NHL, and it's the Toronto Maple Leafs. Right. They're not bringing back Mike Babcock. No, they're not. Mike Babcock is going to be there two days from now, two weeks from now, two months from now, because the Oilers are the only team that could or would hire Mike Babcock. So why? Why go through this right now? I get the idea, and you've heard me, I've been a proponent of keeping your options open, going down a dual track of interviewing other candidates, but now saying that he's the guy, and basically waiting or pending NHL and NHLPA approval, how did we go from one end of the spectrum to the other? How did we go from Bruce Cassidy to the other end of it? And it's, look, it's a fair perspective for you to have, Frank. We don't know how long, well, I've got a pretty good idea how long this has been in the works for. We would have to assume that it wasn't just today that there was a conversation with the NHL. I talked about it on May 20th. May 20th, I talked about Mike Babcock on my show. That's how long that this has been a thing. Right. So we've known it's out there. Why do this before you have gotten an answer and finality on Bruce Cassidy? Yeah. Well, has it occurred to you, maybe the players have made, have impacted the decision? Obviously, the management has. Obviously, I mean, I've shed insight to not, you know, not only that Mike Babcock speak to Daryl Cates, he met with Daryl and as well as Harrison Cates, as well as key players on the, they had all of the key components to an organization. And what we've seen this in the National Football League, Josh Allen was in on the coaching decision for the Buffalo Bills franchise. Totally different sport. Doesn't make, doesn't, there's no, it's an apples to oranges comparison. So what you're saying is the Oilers. It doesn't hold any weight with me. How, and I guess one of the questions, how long do you wait? Like you say, yes. Do we a hundred percent know that the Oilers were ever going to get an opportunity to interview Cassidy? No, but you could at least make that determination, you know, after the Stanley cup final, which is a mere days away from coming to a conclusion. No matter what, there might be some people that would suggest. You need to get on and get prepared and get to work and decide what you're going to. Now we have no idea how long this is going to take the league. We don't. And I have no idea. And I give Darren Dreger credit. I have no idea, Frank, who Darren's source was. He did reach out to the NHLPA. They had quote unquote, no comment as to the fact that the Oilers were going down this path. Just like I have no idea as to who your source was when you reported that the Oilers had expressed looking for an opportunity to interview Bruce Cassidy and were denied of that as were ironically enough, the Los Angeles Kings, which we found out later in the day, right after your report, there was, I believe it was John Rosen who put out a report suggesting the Kings. He, I think he even went as far as to say they'd had discussions. And of course we know that's not the case because, and there might've been discussions, but there were not direct discussions because the Vegas Golden Knights and Kelly McCrimmon had not allowed there to be an interview process to take place. So I guess that's the question is, do you wait for Bruce Cassidy? And you're saying that the Oilers have made a tactical error here. Yes, because there was no need to jump into this. It was one thing to talk to Mike Babcock, to continue to interview, to take the temperature of your players and or other people in your organization. Sure. Do all the due diligence you need, but the way you've presented it, and I'm just using your own words, which is saying that he's the choice. He's the guy. Didn't need to go that far before you actually got finality on the Bruce Cassidy situation. That's my point. And so. Do you think, let me ask you, okay, let me ask you a different question, Frank. Do you think that Babcock truly felt supported when the things happened in Columbus? Supported by who? Management? Ownership? Yeah. I could tell you that Jarmo Kekalainen and the Blue Jackets gave Mike Babcock a full-throated support and approval. And it was the NHL Players Association that stepped up and said, if you want to make this a fight, we can make it a fight. We are going to contest his ability to coach in this league. Where do you think the NHLPA is at right now knowing that the Oilers players, including some of the most important players in the league, I think it's fair to assume, we're likely talking about the reigning Ted Lindsey Award winner who won it for the fifth time yesterday, that he's on board with these discussions and on board with the choice of Mike Babcock. Bob, what was he going to, the guy who's never wanted to be part of it, now all of a sudden is? What was he going to say? Oh, no, we're too soft. We can't handle Mike Babcock. That wouldn't be a good look. I would say that it would be the exact opposite. The only reason he's been brought in is because they had to because it wouldn't be possible to get this push through without someone like him and the other Oilers leadership group being able to vouch for them wanting Mike Babcock. If not, it would be a non-starter. They had to go to the players and bring them in because there was such a toxic departure from Columbus. Yeah. Well, I guess we'll find out what ends up. Do you envision, I'm going to ask you this, you've got great league sources, Frank. Do you envision that Mike Babcock will be the next head coach of the Edmonton Oilers? If everything that you said is true, which I have no reason to doubt, then yes, I believe that he will become the next head coach of the Oilers because I don't see anyone standing in his way. There were no charges filed. There was obvious hints of mental manipulation. There's no alleged physical or sexual abuse. There's no other reason to withhold someone's ability to earn a living based on that. So unless the PA decides to fight this, which I don't see happening, the league, I'm sure, appreciated that Mike Babcock was willing to get out of the way last time and resign so that it didn't become an even bigger story than it was. And by the way, he did get paid. They reached a settlement. He never coached a game, but got paid a chunk of his contract to do so and leave. So yes, I'd imagine that he would then indeed become the next head coach of the Edmonton Oilers. And I think my one overarching question is this, and I understand, again, we've talked about this ad nauseam, what the requirements were for this role. Someone who's experienced and has won before. And we also talked about how short that list got. Bruce Cassidy right now contractually unavailable. Then you've got Peter Laviolette now off the board. And if it wasn't LA, then it might've been Toronto. And the Oilers talked to him, I believe, on multiple occasions. So I would have called him a finalist for this job as well. Then you've got Craig Berube, who they interviewed. You've got Barry Trotz, who is retiring as GM in Nashville. And then Mike Babcock. That's it. It's a short list. In terms of the timing, Frank, I'm just going to... Wait a second. Wait a second. Wait, wait, wait. Here's my question for you. Mike Babcock has not coached in the NHL since 2020. The fourth longest tenured head coach... Sorry, I think it's the 10th longest head coach, tenured head coach in this league, has been employed since 2024. That means that nearly 30 out of 32 jobs,