HENDERSON, Nev. — Mike Babcock has yet to coach his first game for the Columbus Blue Jackets and already controversy is swirling around his methods.
Paul Bissonnette, the former NHLer and current analyst and podcast personality, lit a match on Tuesday’s edition of the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast.
According to an unnamed player who texted Bissonnette, Babcock requested to see the photos on captain Boone Jenner‘s phone this summer to “know the type of person you are.”
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Babcock and Jenner responded to the allegation via team-issued statements Tuesday afternoon.
“While meeting with our players and staff I asked them to share, off their phones, family pictures as part of the process of getting to know them better. There was absolutely nothing more to it than that,” Babcock stated. “The way this was portrayed on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast was a gross misrepresentation of those meetings and extremely offensive.
“These meetings have been very important and beneficial, not only for me but for our players and staff as well, and to have them depicted like this is irresponsible and completely inaccurate.”
Stated Jenner: “While meeting with Babs, he asked me about my family and where I’m from, my upcoming wedding and hockey-related stuff. He then asked if I had pictures of my family, and I was happy to share some with him. He showed me pictures of his family.
“I thought it was a great first meeting and good way for us to start to build a relationship. To have this blown out of proportion is truly disappointing.”
Both the league and the National Hockey League Players’ Association have been reviewing the allegation.
Spittin’ Chiclets has doubled down.
Bissonnette tweeted that he has had “tons of players confirm it” and told Babcock to shove his statement up his rear end.
“When players from Columbus make a statement that the characterizations of Babcock from Biz and myself are false just know that’s bulls—,” tweeted Ryan Whitney, another former player and Bissonnette’s podcast co-host. “I feel bad putting the players in a tough spot but Babcock is a complete weasel and shouldn’t be coaching in the NHL.”
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the 32 Thoughts podcast in Henderson that the league first became aware of the Babcock allegation Tuesday morning and that he had spoken with the PA and multiple players whose depiction of photo-sharing wasn’t “even remotely similar” to how it was portrayed by Bissonnette.
All reports to the league do not portray the situation in the same way Chiclets did.
“It’s hard to kind of hypothesize what might happen in the future and what our perspective on it may be. I will say that I spent some time with Mike last week in Chicago at the general managers and head coaches meeting,” Daly said. “He seemed to me to be very relaxed, happy to be back, and he had a positive attitude.
Daly described his conversation with Babcock as “refreshing,” considering the coach had been stressed toward the end of his Toronto tenure.
“He seems kind of reborn a little bit with this opportunity in Columbus,” Daly said.
Babcock had drifted away from NHL dressing rooms since his firing by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2019. He signed a two-year, $8-million deal this summer, making him the highest-paid coach in Blue Jackets history.
Babcock’s coaching methods in Detroit and Toronto, particularly his treatment of Johan Franzen and Mitch Marner, had come under fire. But the Stanley Cup and Olympic Games champion arrived in Columbus vowing to open the lines of communication with his players, keeping mental health top of mind.
Babcock, 60, said he is receiving help in this department from an expert at Ohio State, and he’s speaking to each Blue Jacket about what’s best for him.
“We’re also going to have a communication contract, because I learned that I was brutal at it, and I thought I was good at it,” Babcock told NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika last week. “I want them to tell me how they want to be talked to, how they want to meet.
“We’re going to treat everybody fairly and with respect. In saying that, we’re going to treat everyone different. Why? Because they’re different.”
Babcock explained his philosophy when trying to drive his players.
“You want to push them, not offend them. You want to help them maximize their skill set. You don’t want to push them away; you want to pull them in. You want to be there for them,” Babcock said.
“The other thing: It takes a long time to build up trust; it can be wrecked in a second.”
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