Last week, Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Mike Babcock resigned from his position following allegations of inappropriate workplace conduct and an investigation by the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA). It’s alleged that Babcock asked to look through camera rolls of several different players, a clear violation of their privacy.
After these allegations were first brought to light on the “Spittin’ Chiclets” podcast, Babcock released a statement through the Blue Jackets denying that the request to look through players’ phones was nefarious. He asserted that it was simply an attempt to get to know his players better. A similar statement was made by Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner.
However, more details soon emerged that made Babcock’s actions seem much worse than he initially admitted. Some of the instances occurred away from the team facility at Babcock’s home, where he allegedly invited players over for lunch one-on-one. In one instance reported to Ryan Whitney of “Spittin’ Chiclets,” Babcock invited an unnamed player over for lunch and then proceeded to look through that player’s phone for “several minutes.”
Babcock has had a lot of success as a head coach in the NHL. He won a Stanley Cup with Detroit in 2008 and was regarded as one of the best coaches in hockey for well over a decade. However, there’s always been talk in the hockey community about Babcock’s style of coaching.
Although his teams have always been successful on the ice, several players have alleged that Babcock frequently mistreated them. These allegations go far beyond any level of “tough” coaching and enter into the realm of psychological abuse.
During his time in Toronto, Babcock told then-rookie Mitch Marner to rank his teammates based on their work ethic. Marner was told this list would be private and only Babcock would see it. However, Babcock shared Marner’s list with several members of the team. Marner may have been a professional hockey player, but he was only 19 at the time. What kind of coach lies to a player like that and violates their trust?
That doesn’t even go into his behavior toward Johan Franzen when Babcock was coaching the Detroit Red Wings. During a Stanley Cup Playoff game against the Nashville Predators, Babcock allegedly verbally assaulted Franzen on the bench.
Chris Chelios, a teammate of Franzen’s, recalled the incident on a 2019 episode “Spittin’ Chiclets.”
“Some of the things [Babcock] said to [Franzen] on the bench, I don’t know what he said to him behind closed doors one-on-one, but he blatantly verbally assaulted him during the game on the bench,” Chelios said. “It got to the point where poor Johan, no one really knowing he was suffering with the concussion thing and the depression thing, he just broke down and had a nervous breakdown, not only on the bench but after the game in one of the rooms in Nashville. It was probably one of the worst things I’ve ever seen.”
Franzen described Babcock as “a terrible person, the worst I have ever met. He’s a bully who was attacking people. It could be a cleaner at the arena in Detroit or anybody. He would lay into people without any reason.” With Babcock, these instances of abuse are not isolated and have been prevalent throughout his entire career.
There are several “tough” or “old-school” coaches in the NHL, but none of them commit the strange, psychologically abusive acts that Babcock does. A coach like John Tortorella of the Philadelphia Flyers has a “tough” reputation, but that comes from strictly hockey-related activities. Tortorella will yell at a player on the ice if they make a mistake, but there is a culture of respect that exists when the skates aren’t on. With Babcock, these incidents constantly have nothing to do with hockey. They’re personal.
Babcock never should have been hired by the Columbus Blue Jackets. His reputation as a coach was public knowledge before this incident. I have little sympathy for an organization that hired a man with a reputation as bad as Babcock’s. Sure, he might have spent some time away from the league after what happened in Toronto, but that doesn’t mean he changed. Evident by this most recent incident, Babcock is still the same coach he was a decade ago.
Many people thought Babcock wouldn’t get another job in the NHL after he was fired by Toronto, but now he surely has to be done. Players are finally aware that they don’t have to put up with his psychological torment, and that there are outlets where they can anonymously go to make any kind of mistreatment public.
Those coaching tactics have never belonged in any era, much less in 2023. Mike Babcock will likely never coach in the NHL again, and the league is better off for it.
