Mike Babcock, the NHL coach hired by Jarmo Kekäläinen, has come under fire after violating the privacy of his players in a possibly unprecedented way.
According to The Athletic, the head men of the NHL players’ association NHLPA will be in Columbus, Ohio on Thursday to discuss and investigate the privacy violations against Blue Jackets players, which may involve a new head coach. Mike Babcock has collapsed.
Former NHL player Paul Bissonnettewho has become a podcast host and NHL television analyst since his playing career, started the uproar on Tuesday by saying that Babcock asked several Blue Jackets players for their phones and showed them pictures in the NHL coach’s office.
On social media, Bissonnette said that he had received confirmation from several players that the story that initially started as a rumor is completely true. Allegedly, Babcock demanded to see the photos on Columbus players’ phones in order to get to know them better.
A day later, however, both Babcock and the captain Boone Jenner denied the phone episode in their official statements.
– Bissonnette’s version could not be further from the truth, Babcock previously told The Athletic.
Now executive director of the NHLPA Marty Walsh and assistant manager Ron Hainsey are on an information-gathering trip, according to the source. The NHLPA has told the public that an investigation into the matter is ongoing.
The Blue Jackets fired their former head coach by Brad Larsen April 15, after finishing last in the NHL. CEO of the club Jarmo Kekäläinen washed the 60-year-old Babcock on the 1st of July. Babcock, who led Detroit to the Stanley Cup champion in the 2007-08 season, has previously coached Toronto in the NHL, who fired him in November 2019.