On this date in 2023, a little over two months after the Columbus Blue Jackets hired Mike Babcock, some bombshell allegations were brought to light by the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast that completely derailed the beginning of the CBJ's upcoming season. 

Take a look at the article below from September 12th, 2023. 

"Mike Babcock accused of going back to his old ways"

Despite trying his best to rehab his image this Summer, he finds himself in the news once again.

During the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast on Tuesday morning, host Paul Bissonnette claimed that a “player in the league” reached out to him and told him that newly hired Blue Jackets head coach Mike Babcock asked team captain Boone Jenner to see his phone and to open his pictures so he could see “what kind of person” he was.

Bissonnette responded to a tweet from The Athletic's Aaron Portzline, saying, “It’s 100% true”.

These allegations come exactly one month before the start of the season for the Jackets, and this is surely not how the team expected it to go.

Babcock, who last coached the Toronto Maple Leafs, was accused of asking Mitch Marner to rank his teammates based on their effort level. Marner reportedly ranked himself last but didn't know that Babcock had planned to use it against some of the other players. The veteran coach has also been accused of past toxic behavior when coaching the Detroit Red Wings, with former player Johan Franzen saying he suffered a "nervous breakdown" because of Babcock's bullying.

Since being hired by the Blue Jackets in the off-season, Babcock has done countless interviews assuring fans that he has learned from his past conduct.

The video below is NSWF, so please beware if you listen to it.

The Blue Jackets later released statements from both Head Coach Mike Babcock and Captain Boone Jenner.

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly on the situation:

Boone Jenner spoke to The Columbus Dispatch Brian Hedger:

On September 17th, after the NHLPA launched an investigation into whether or not Babcock met with players and asked them to share photos of their families during the meetings, Babcock resigned as Head Coach of the Blue Jackets. 

Later that day, the Blue Jackets held their annual preseason media day, which is usually held to talk about the upcoming season. Instead, now former GM Jarmo Kekäläinen and Former President of Hockey Ops John Davidson had to answer hard questions about why they hired Mike Babcock in the first place. 

They also introduced Pascal Vincent as their new head coach, just days before training camp was set to start. The 2023-24 season was not getting off to a good start. 

The Jackets would go on to finish with a record of 27-43-12, and finish 8th in the Metro. They would also secure the third overall pick in the 4th pick in the 2024 draft. He was fired on June 17th, 2024, by new GM Don Waddell. 

The Blue Jackets are in a much better place now, and it's hard to tell where they would be had the CBJ retained Babcock and GM Jarmo Kekäläinen.

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