Blue Jackets Formally Announce Mike Babcock as Coach

The Columbus Blue Jackets have officially announced Mike Babcock as the ninth coach in franchise history on Saturday morning.

After reports earlier in June the Columbus Blue Jackets selected Mike Babcock as their next coach, the team made it official on Saturday.

Babcock agreed to a two-year contract, the Blue Jackets announced. The 60-year-old has a 700-418-183 coaching record in 1,301 regular season games over 17 NHL seasons between the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs. He won a Stanley Cup with Detroit in 2008-09 and also has two Olympic gold medals coaching Team Canada in 2010 and 2014.

“We are committed to building a Stanley Cup champion and doing it the right way through hard work, pride, professionalism and respect,” said Blue Jackets president of hockey operations, John Davidson. “We had extensive conversations internally, with numerous people around our league, with Mike during the interview process, and with players in our leadership group, and we believe we have found the right coach in Mike Babcock.”

The Blue Jackets finished 31st in the NHL in 2022-23 with a 25-48-9 record. They've already had a busy off-season, acquiring Damon Severson, Ivan Provorov and drafting Adam Fantilli third overall in the 2023 NHL draft on Wednesday.