By now you know, for all intents and purposes, the Columbus Blue Jackets have their head coach.
With Saturday's breaking news that the Blue Jackets are expected to name former Stanley Cup champion Mike Babcock as the franchise's ninth head coach, the team and coach will still have to wait a little while before both parties can put pen to paper to make it official.
That's because Babcock is still under contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs until the end of the month and the two teams have been unable to come to terms on a buyout agreement per The Athletic's Aaron Portzline on Sunday.
Speculation around the Memorial Cup is Mike Babcock will return to the NHL as @BlueJacketsNHL new coach and the delay in announcing coincides with his existing contract with the Maple Leafs expiring the end of this month. https://t.co/OUlxBRS8bq
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 3, 2023
The reported Babcock-to-Blue Jackets hiring puts an end to over a month and a half of speculation of just who the team would turn to guide the team back into the playoffs.
If you're looking for a head coach with a winning history, including one championship and a few more Cup Final appearances in his back pocket, you certainly don't have to look further than Babcock.
The long-time veteran coach of 17 years took the Anaheim Ducks to the Final in 2003, losing to the New Jersey Devils in seven games, guided the Detroit Red Wings to the 2008 Cup, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games, and nearly went back-to-back before losing to the Penguins in seven games a year later. He also coached the Maple Leafs before being fired in 2019-20, the last year he coached in the NHL.
All total, Babcock has racked up a 700-418-19-164 ledger, with his 700 wins good for 12th all-time, and four behind former Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella. Babcock has only missed the playoffs twice.
Babcock's tenure in Toronto ended after three-straight first-round playoff losses and a 9-10-4 start to the 2019-20 season.
Over time since the firing, reports came out about Babcock's coaching tactics that crossed the line of mental abuse, such as with Mitch Marner in his rookie year and other examples.
Toronto Maple Leafs president, Brendan Shanahan:
Times are evolving. We have to evolve. We all came from a certain generation where things occurred to us as players that we just sort of accepted. We all have to do a better job of just creating that kind of work environment on the ice and off the ice. — ESPN.com
Marner has since praised Babcock for making him a better player and seemed to be on good terms with the coach.
He did apologize after, and I think he knew he was mistaken, but for the three years I was here after that situation, especially my second and third years, he really trusted me out on the ice and I think you could see that.
I felt that he had the trust in me to put me out there in situations he didn't in my first year. I had a pretty good relationship with him at the end of it. — NHL.com
There are people who are understandably not on board with the reported hire. You can check the latest Twitter comments if you're so inclined.
Some were going to dislike any hiring for any number of reasons, but it's also well-warranted to question the decision to hire a coach that has been out of the league since 2019, let alone due to the "verbal attack" stories former players have come out about.
Former Red Wing Johan Franzen did not sugarcoat anything when he said Babcock is "the worst person I have ever met" to Swedish outlet, Expressen, in 2019.
He creates teams that are very difficult to beat, you can't take that away from him. But he makes his players very anxious. They are terrified of making mistakes and his team rarely makes it past the first playoff round. — Franzen via Sporting News
Chris Chelios confirmed Franzen's story and talked about his time playing under Babcock on the Spittin' Chiclets podcast in 2019.
I get why Blue Jackets fans dont want to be associated with Mike Babcock, but theres just no denying his overall resume. Hes done it as an underdog, hes done with talent, hes done it at all levels. He will make Columbus a better team. CBJ didnt get the expansion help recent
— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) June 3, 2023
The Babcock hire is a bold move for general manager Jarmo Kekalainen who is set to hire his third head coach since 2015 and second in two years.
When you cross the line, you have to own that.
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 25, 2021
Mike Babcock joined @SNChrisSimpson on The Big Picture to discuss his time as coach of the Maple Leafs and Red Wings and the incidents with Mitch Marner and Johan Franzen that were made public after his firing in 2019. #NHLonSN pic.twitter.com/IHK9gX5eW3
Kekalainen's first hiring in Tortorella was a bold hire, especially coming in off his brief yet chaotic Vancouver Canucks tenure. Tortorella is the winningest coach in Blue Jackets franchise history, helping to raise the standard with which the Blue Jackets are hoping Babcock can do.
But at what price? Can people change?
Sure. It's possible.
There must be some mixture of belief and confidence by the team that Babcock has turned over a new leaf; the amount of due diligence an entire organization must take to conduct the necessary research and come to the conclusion that Babcock is the right choice and that the Blue Jackets should be the team to grant Babcock another opportunity.
As Portzine mentioned, Kekalainen has known Babcock for 30 years and both Kekalainen and president John Davidson have plenty of contacts throughout hockey that can speak about Babcock's coaching style and approach.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday night that the team talked to several Blue Jackets players to field thoughts on the Babcock direction. He also mentioned Rick Nash's likely critical role in the process, as Nash played under Babcock with Team Canada in the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, winning gold each time.
Portzline also mentioned Roman Polak, a Maple Leafs defenseman from 2015-18 under Babcock, and who now works as an amateur scout for the Blue Jackets, is also believed to have discussed the potential hiring with the Jackets' front office.
Zach Werenski did not speak directly about Babcock but via text echoed trust in Kekalainen.
"Myself and the other players trust (Kekalainen) completely to make the right decision, and, at the end of the day, we all want to win hockey games."
The Blue Jackets are hoping they've struck the right chord with Babcock, whose .608 points percentage is fourth all-time among coaches with at least 1,000 games coaches.
Not that Kekalainen actually feels this way, but perhaps the roll of the dice provides him with a feeling of not much to lose. If this hire doesn't work out, it'll likely be Kekalainen's last shot as Blue Jackets GM. But you could probably say that about any coach he hired.
If a second consecutive head coach hire doesn't work out and stunts the rebuild, then it won't be Kekalainen's mess to sort through anymore.
