Mike Babcock is back in the NHL.
After crashing and burning in Toronto, the former Stanley Cup-winning head coach has been named the new head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Babcock was fired by the Maple Leafs in 2019, after a short tenure in Toronto that was marked by losing and plenty of controversy.
One such incident happened when Babcock asked then-rookie Mitch Marner to rank the hardest-working players on the team during Marner’s rookie season in 2016-17. Marner came back with a list that included veterans Nazem Kadri, James van Riemsdyk, and Tyler Bozak appearing at the bottom of the list.
During his time in Detroit, Babcock faced accusations of player abuse, notably from former power forward Johan Franzen who referred to the head coach as “a bully who was attacking people” and “the worst person I have ever met.” Franzen’s former teammate Chris Chelios backed up his claims during a sitdown on the podcast Spittin Chiclets where he recalled Babcock verbally assaulting Franzen on the bench during the 2011-12 playoffs.
“(Franzen) was hurt at the time of the playoffs, we lost to Nashville … and some of the things he said to him on the bench …,” Chelios said. “I don’t know what he said to him behind closed doors — but he was blatantly verbally assaulting him during the game.”
Babcock responded during an interview with Sportsnet’s Christine Simpson calling the accusations “the craziest thing” he’d “ever heard” but admitting he “didn’t know what mental health was”.
Meanwhile, Babcock will replace Brad Larsen who was fired back on April 15 after Columbus missed the playoffs for the second straight season while compiling a 25-48-9 record, good for last in the Eastern Conference.
