Greg WyshynskiESPN4 Minute Reading
Two NHLPA executives met with Columbus Blue Jackets players Thursday to investigate whether coach Mike Babcock violated players’ privacy when he asked to see photos on their cellphones, union officials said. on ESPN.
Marty Walsh, executive director of the NHLPA, and assistant executive director Ron Hainsey, who played three seasons with Columbus (2005-08), met with Blue Jackets players at Nationwide Arena after a skate in morning. The NHLPA’s trip to Columbus was unplanned and was made specifically to further investigate the allegations against Babcock, who was hired to coach the Jackets in July.
Former NHL player Paul Bissonnette said on Tuesday’s edition of the “Spittin’ Chiclets” podcast that Babcock asked Columbus captain Boone Jenner to show him his camera roll before displaying photos via AirPlay on the office wall. on the coach.
“It’s enough to put guys in the coach’s room area asking them to link their phones up to airplay mode and grill them. I have tons of players who confirm this,” said Bissonnette after the episode was released.
Jenner is not alone. Blue Jackets star Johnny Gaudreau confirmed to ESPN that he also showed Babcock photos he had on his phone at the coach’s request.
Former NHL defenseman Mike Commodore, who played for Babcock and is a longtime critic of the coach, said he heard this behavior also happened during Babcock’s time coaching the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“It happened to some players in Columbus, too. I don’t want to use any names, but especially [it involved] a young, very highly touted prospect,” Commodore said in a video posted by X.
A source told ESPN that the Blue Jackets welcome an NHLPA investigation to determine if there was any wrongdoing by Babcock.
Sportsnet, meanwhile, reports that the NHL and NHLPA plan to discuss the issue and what the next step in the investigation will be at a meeting scheduled for Friday morning.
Babcock and Jenner released statements through the Blue Jackets on Tuesday denying the photo requests were anything untoward.
“While meeting with our players and staff, I asked them to share, on their phones, family photos as part of the process of getting to know them better,” Babcock said. “There’s nothing more to it than that. The way it’s portrayed on the ‘Spittin’ Chiclets’ podcast is a gross misrepresentation of the meetings and extremely offensive. … These meetings are very important and beneficial, not not only for me but also for our players and staff, and to portray them like this is irresponsible and completely inaccurate.
Jenner said: “While meeting with Babs, she asked me about my family and where I’m from, my upcoming wedding and things related to hockey. Then she asked if I had any pictures of my family and was happy I will share some with him. . He showed me photos of his family. I think it was a good first meeting and a good way for us to start building a relationship. Blowing it away in proportion is really disappointing.”
Gaudreau said he had “a great meeting” with Babcock.
“We got to share things together, pictures of our family,” said the star winger. “I was a little bit upset to see the way it was handled and how it came out… but you can’t do anything about it. We got off to a good start, had a good meeting with him and looking forward to working together.”
Babcock will have to face more scrutiny than most coaches when he returns to the NHL. His reputation was tarnished after being fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs in November 2019, following several accusations of mental abuse by players.
As the Leafs’ coach from 2015 to ’19, Babcock requested a private meeting with rookie Mitch Marner, the young forward ranked his teammates by work ethic and then shared the list. of players below that ranking, shame on Marner. The incident was reported to former general manager Lou Lamoriello.
Former Red Wings forward Johan Franzen, of Swedish media outlet Expressen, accused Babcock of “verbal attacks” that, at one point, caused Franzen to break down on the bench and was afraid to go into the arena.
After Babcock was fired, Leafs president Brendan Shanahan said his coaching tactics were not “appropriate or acceptable,” given how the NHL has changed over time.
“We have to evolve,” Shanahan said in 2019. “We all come from a generation where things happen to us as players that we accept. on the ice and off the ice.”
Babcock coached 1,301 NHL games with the Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He led the 2008 Red Wings to the Stanley Cup. His teams won three conference championships (Ducks in 2003, Red Wings in 2008 and 2009). His 700 wins are the 12th most of all time, and his .608 hitting percentage is the fourth best among NHL coaches with at least 1,000 games. He also coached Team Canada to Olympic gold in 2010 and 2014.