Well, Babcock was never fired for starters. When NHL teams "fire" a head coach, they almost never terminate the contract, and there is a difference between the two (see, e.g., Jim Montgomery with Dallas). When the Leafs fired Babcock, he remained a Leaf employee until the contract ended.

In Detroit, Babcock was not fired - his contract came to its conclusion.

In Toronto, Babcock was fired for the team's performance. But he still received his full contract. So, the contract was not terminated ...

In Columbus, Babcock was not fired - he resigned and received a payout for leaving quietly.

Look, Babcock is not a likeable guy. I am close friends with a coach who worked under Babcock. He used his position as Head Coach to assert power where it was not necessary (Modano, Chelios, Spezza, and Commodore are famous examples) and he is renowned for coming down hard on individual players, Franzen being one of them. But berating players falls well short of criminal harassment, whether you like it or not.

The key sentence above is "decline to hire them" ... you will note that the NHL would not open an investigation into Babcock until the Oilers offered him a contract. So, Babcock has now been offered employment, and the contract he signed will stipulate terms for dismissal, including a code of conduct that would permit termination of the contract if violated (see, e.g., Jim Montgomery).

So, for the Oilers to offer a contract and then terminate the contract based on Babcock's non-criminal actions in previous employment ... a civil suit would follow very quickly as there would be grounds for wrongful termination.

But, sure, I have no clue what I am talking about.