Babcock resigning as CBJ Head Coach *Mod note, post #687*

[Jee]

It's not even a blunder, dude is just a massive idiot lol

 

[Empoleon8771]

Never outright assumed it was a super serious “must fire” issue, but seems pretty damn clear he might have done something inappropriate and was going to have issues with some of the young players, potentially the future key guys of the team

I honestly didn't get it at first, but here's the way it was explained by Aaron Portzline (CBJ's Athletic writer) phrased it that made me switch. Imagine if you're a new employee and your boss asks "show me photos in your phone because I want to see what kind of person you are". It's a wildly inappropriate request that most young people wouldn't be comfortable with declining, due to the power dynamic there.

We don't know for sure whether Babcock was doing some kind of power move on the young guys or if he's just an idiot, but the young players absolutely felt like it was a bully power move and Babcock has a clear reputation of doing shit like this.

 

[Some Other Flame]

Bloody amazing

Hopefully this the end of that clown. Jarmo & Davidson should be joining him though

 

[VanillaCoke]

whoa , hopefully some details emerge and we get some clarification on how stupid bab actually was. What an idiot.

 

[Chips]

Elliotte Friedman asked Johnny Gaudreau the correct questions. He just asked them in a way that he didn't expect an answer back.

1. Did Babcock ask you to turn over your phone?
2. Did he post your pictures to the big screen?

Fair enough… given it’s his job to be an entertainment writer and maintain relations. The insider thing is seperate


JG wasn’t going to give him dirt, and Friedman not knowing more than all of us was trying to be fair and allow both perspectives to air out, which is fair


The vets were defending Babs. We don’t know if that’s because he did the exact same stuff in his meetings with them and they didn’t care as much, or if Babs (smartly) approaches is must-play vets completely different from youth and or depth players he’s trying to test


Coach trying to maintain the room wants the vets and stars to like him. Lower rung players old coaches could have their way with

 

[Ezekial]

Never thought he'd make it through this. I still am interested to see what went so terribly wrong in the meetings.

 

[Celly4Celebrini]

If it was Rick Westhead that broke this story I suspect many opinions would be different. Fact is that the 'boneheads' at Spitting Chiclets did more to protect the players than the NHLPA.

Anybody defending this act is being deliberately obtuse. This has nothing to do with 'cancel culture' and everything to do with power dynamics and privacy. When was the last time your employer asked to see through your camera roll?

Elliote Friedman has absolutely zero credibility now in my opinion. A few days ago he was willing to sweep this under the rug ("For Mike Babcock and the Blue Jackets the standard is nothing short of perfection") and now he is reporting on the inevitable and predictable demise.

The conventional hockey media and the NHLPA was willing to bury this until a couple former players, with more connections than the jock sniffing nerds that work at Sportsnet, the Athletic, TSN, extrapolated upon just how widespread this was. A couple bozos in Biz and Whitney did a better job exposing this than the people that are actually paid to pay attention to this.

couldnt of said it better. even if you hate the two of them, you have to know theyre an already popular podcast, if not THE hockey podcast for alot of fans and players. they have nothing to gain by making it up. AND are much more likely to have player connections of a more personal level than the dorks like Larry Brooks and other journalists

 

[SoupNazi]

Did anyone think that Babcock getting rehired would have ended well?

 

[Zen Arcade]

Some people just can't get out of their own way.

 

[gritdash60]

I bet a lot of people who were trashing Biz after the Boone Jenner statement will now come here and say "yep i was wrong, my bad."

 

[EpochLink]

Grand opening, grand closing.

Babcock couldn’t help himself could he?? His aura of being some big time coach cause he won a cup in Detroit is crumbling because he became such an asshole.

Moron.

 

[AvroArrow]

So I guess we can all agree now that Biz is a legitimate source and has connections with players ? Expected this from the beginning. No chance Biz was gonna gamble his post-playing career on something silly like making that up about Babcock.

Now there's more questions, CBJ management met with Babcock and released a full statement essentially calling the claims BS, saying it's manipulated misinformation etc etc. Reeks of a cover up attempt. PR stunt backfired, just a horrible look for the organization.

No room in the game for nonsense like that. I like that Jenner was defending his team but now it just looks like he was covering up for Babcock, doubt the young guys on the team are gonna appreciate his attempt to dismiss what actually happened.

 

[Some Other Flame]

Wonder if the younger guys on the team lose faith & trust in Jenner & Gaudreau given how quick they were to step in line with the PR spin.

Could make for one very, very dysfunctional locker room.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

I don't like rooting for someone to lose their job, but everything about this stank, including the supposed "best case scenario" explanation of what happened. It's good this abusive jackass will never get a coaching job again...right?

 

[tucker3434]

Way to make the best of a second chance.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

I honestly didn't get it at first, but here's the way it was explained by Aaron Portzline (CBJ's Athletic writer) phrased it that made me switch. Imagine if you're a new employee and your boss asks "show me photos in your phone because I want to see what kind of person you are". It's a wildly inappropriate request that most young people wouldn't be comfortable with declining, due to the power dynamic there.

Add in that Babcock, whether deserved or not, has a reputation for nursing grudges and letting those grudges affect coaching decisions.

 

[saffronleaf]

Lmao what was Columbus thinking hiring this fool? Gotta love it.

Hope the players he messed with are able to get some closure.

 

[Kranix]

So I guess we can all agree now that Biz is a legitimate source and has connections with players ? Expected this from the beginning. No chance Biz was gonna gamble his post-playing career on something silly like making that up about Babcock.

Now there's more questions, CBJ management met with Babcock and released a full statement essentially calling the claims BS, saying it's manipulated misinformation etc etc. Reeks of a cover up attempt. PR stunt backfired, just a horrible look for the organization.

No room in the game for nonsense like that. I like that Jenner was defending his team but now it just looks like he was covering up for Babcock, doubt the you

The issue wasn't Biz making it up. It was people thinking he would gamble everything on a text from "Mike Commodore" when he said he confirmed this with a Columbus player on Sept 12

 

[Divine]

Mike Babcock resigns as Blue Jackets head coach following photo controversy

Mike Babcock will resign as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.

www.sportsnet.ca

Friedman quote:

According to multiple sources, one of the most serious concerns was a meeting that occurred away from team facilities that included “several minutes” of looking through a phone. That was beyond the scope of what was initially understood to have occurred.

Maybe Boone Jenner should talk to his teammates before trying to put out the fire. Talk about being a bad captain.

Spittin Chiclets did more for the team than the CBJ 'leadership' who said no one would have a problem with it

 

[Zen Arcade]

This is exactly like that famous book. House of Leaves.

 

[GoJackets1]

I bet a lot of people who were trashing Biz after the Boone Jenner statement will now come here and say "yep i was wrong, my bad."

I was wrong, my bad. Biz still deserves to be trashed (for other reasons).

 

[Empoleon8771]

No room in the game for nonsense like that. I like that Jenner was defending his team but now it just looks like he was covering up for Babcock, doubt the young guys on the team are gonna appreciate his attempt to dismiss what actually happened.

I think there can be some nuance here that isn't Jenner dismissing the young player's concerns or defending Babcock. It's entirely possible that Jenner got the same treatment but just didn't have an issue with it like younger players did.

I think it is entirely possible that the same thing happened to both, but the dynamic between a coach and a team's captain signed long-term versus a coach and a young player not yet in the NHL made the responses way different. It was an inappropriate ask in both situations but Jenner may not have been threatened by it.

 

[gritdash60]

Grand opening, grand closing.

Babcock couldn’t help himself could he?? His aura of being some big time coach cause he won a cup in Detroit is crumbling because he became such an asshole.

Moron.

And not only that, dude has world juniors, 2 olympic golds, world championship and a world cup as well. Guess he decided what he wants to be remembered for.

 

[DamonDRW]

At the end it is going to be a bad look or a harsh word... Mentally fragile players pretending to be professionals.

That's why Toronto core won just a series in a decade while Columbus will need to wait another decade to make the playoffs for the third time in 30 years..

 

[Warden of the North]

I cannot believe I defended this guy when he scratched Spezza in front of his family. Lesson well learned on my part.

What a disaster of a hire for CBJ. Every sign was there and they went for it anyways.

This also should just about do it for his NHL career. Amazing he went to the Leafs as a probable Hall of Famer and here we are less then 10 years later, re-signing in disgrace from CBJ after being fired by Toronto.