Mike Babcock gets bad news as investigation into him continues

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Josh Tupper
September 14, 2023 (1:11 PM)

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Earlier this week allegations surfaced against new head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Mike Babcock. Paul Bissonnette revealed on the Spittin' Chiclets Podcast, that Babcock had been asking for players to show him the photos on their phone and then sharing them to a monitor in his office. Since the allegations surfaced both he and Blue Jackets' captain Boone Jenner, have denied the allegations.

Instead Babcock stated this was a learning tool he used to get to know his team. This appeared to be the end of the investigation, but that's not the case. Now it appears that the NHLPA is unhappy with that explanation and will be performing an in-depth investigation of their own.

Today news broke that both Marty Walsh and Ron Hainsey of the NHLPA have traveled directly to Columbus, which is possibly a bad sign for Babcock. Katie Strang of ESPN provided the following update:

As @FriedgeHNIC first reported, exec director Marty Walsh and asst. exec director Ron Hainsey are in Columbus to meet with the Blue Jackets team about the recent allegations against Mike Babcock relating to players' personal devices/ photos.

Given that the NHLPA traveled to Columbus to meet in person w/ the team on this, it's fair to assume concerns about the alleged conduct have escalated. Also reasonable to expect the union will canvas players from Babcock's previous stops to assess whether this happened before.

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It is likely this investigation is far from over and if information surfaces against Babcock it's very possible this could be the end of his coaching career.

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SEPTEMBRE 14 \| 273 ANSWERS Mike Babcock gets bad news as investigation into him continues Should Mike Babcock be coaching in the NHL?
Yes, he's a good coach	59	21.6 %
No, the game has passed him by	146	53.5 %
Hire at your own risk	68	24.9 %
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Mike Babcock gets bad news as investigation into him continues

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