Mike Babcock returns to the NHL as the coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets -
The 2008 Stanley Cup winner returns following the end of his lengthy contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who fired Babcock early in his fifth season with them in 2019.
Babcock, who also made trips to the Cup Final with Anaheim in 2003 and Detroit in 2009 and guided Canada to Olympic gold medals in 2010 and 2014, gives the Blue Jackets an accomplished veteran behind the bench to oversee their attempt to become a contender again in the Eastern Conference. They fired coach Brad Larsen in April after two seasons in that role, the second of which was derailed by injuries after Columbus signed top free agent Johnny Gaudreau last summer and looked poised to take a step forward. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen is now counting on Babcock to do that.
Longtime Detroit forward Johan Franzen in 2019 called Babcock the “worst person” he has ever met, and former teammate Chris Chelios said Babcock berated Franzen in 2012 to the point of a nervous breakdown. Maple Leafs All-Star center Mitch Marner said during his rookie year that Babcock made him rank his teammates from hardest- to least-hardest working and shared that with a couple of the teammates near the bottom.
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