Columbus Blue Jackets Announce Resignation of Mike Babcock
Coach Babcock was accused of confiscating the phones of players and reviewing them.
Much of the NHL talk this past week was the speculation that Blue Jackets‘ head coach, Mike Babcock had reportedly confiscated Boone Jenner‘s phone to peek inside and see what the player was up to, according to anonymous sources, and as we reported HERE. When the coach and player quickly denied the charges, half the hockey world felt satisfied. The other half, however, was very skeptical that this was a PR move.
Just a few short days later, the team announced, “After much discussion and careful consideration, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Mike Babcock have together agreed to begin the process for Mike Babcock to step down as head coach effective immediately” (Blue Jackets, 2023). Seems the reports may have been true.
As our friends at the World Hockey Report noted,
World Hockey Report on Twitter: “Likely was the final straw for Babcock…. According to @FriedgeHNIC pic.twitter.com/KJMnAGm7zD / Twitter”
Likely was the final straw for Babcock…. According to @FriedgeHNIC pic.twitter.com/KJMnAGm7zD
So it would appear the Blue Jackets, coach, and player tried to brush this off. But much like everyday life on the ever-connected planet, nothing really simply goes away.
The Blue Jackets announced their new coach immediately…
Columbus Blue Jackets on Twitter: “Associate Coach Pascal Vincent has been named Head Coach and has agreed to a two-year contract through the 2024-25 National Hockey League season pic.twitter.com/1a75riPy4E / Twitter”
Associate Coach Pascal Vincent has been named Head Coach and has agreed to a two-year contract through the 2024-25 National Hockey League season pic.twitter.com/1a75riPy4E
Vincent is 49 and sports a 155-139-31 record in 325 career games as the head coach with Manitoba after spending the previous five seasons as an assistant coach with the Jets under head coaches Claude Noel and Paul Maurice. He also posted a 429-313-87 record in 829 games as a head coach in the QMJHL with nine playoff series wins and won the Ron Lapointe Trophy as the league’s top head coach with Cape Breton following the 2007-08 campaign as the Screaming Eagles went 40-24-6 that season.
As far as Babcock goes, he now has a tainted image if he wishes to pursue future coaching options in the NHL, especially after the stigma of invading the privacy of players and grossly overstepping the line. These hockey players are grown men, and as long as they’re not breaking laws, what business is it of the coaches what they do in their private lives? Creepy behavior to be sure, although I’d be mistaken if I didn’t acknowledge it was likely rooted in looking after his players. Trying to brush it under the rug was obviously the wrong answer, a bad look, and a rough off-season for Columbus.
You can find the statement from the Blue Jackets here: https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/news/mike-babcock-resigns-blue-jackets-name-pascal-vincent-head-coach
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References:
Images (Twitter): @BlueJacketsNHL & @worldhockeyrpt
Blue Jackets Staff (2023). Mike Babcock resigns as head coach of the Blue Jackets; Club names Pascal Vincent head coach. Columbus Blue Jackets. Retrieved https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/news/mike-babcock-resigns-blue-jackets-name-pascal-vincent-head-coach