Arace: Columbus Blue Jackets hired Mike Babcock and his reputation, which has flecks on it
Until Tuesday, the summer arguments about the Blue Jackets have been good, clean fun, like a Slip N Slide.
General manager Jarmo Kekalainen was hyper aggressive and spent heavily to refit the roster. Was this the right play for a team that finished 31st in the league? Will it get them to the playoffs? (No.)
Will Ivan Provorov, who comes with baggage, and Damon Severson, who at age 29 comes with an eight-year, $50-million contract, make an appreciable difference? Will a revamped defense suddenly make Elvis Merzlikins, who is entering the second year of a five-year deal worth $27 million, reliable?
Do the Jackets yet have anyone to get the puck to Johnny Gaudreau, who is entering the second year of a seven-year, $68.25-million contract?
Will first-round draft pick Adam Fantilli be shoved in the middle of the top line? Will that be rushing him? Will he wilt at age 18 the way Cole Sillinger did at age 19?
If firing coach Brad Larsen was the right thing to do after just two seasons, why’d they hire him in the first place?
Has new coach Mike Babcock, 60, whose contract is reportedly worth $8 million over two years, looked in the mirror? He has dabbled in college coaching since he was fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs 3½ years ago. Stories about the ways he psychologically abused certain players followed him. Can he relate to today’s athletes?
It was fun to kick all of this stuff around. Babcock can flat-out coach. We know that. He has talent, some of it young and relatively untested, some of the veteran variety. Zach Werenski is healthy again! Patrick Laine is motivated! Jack Roslovic is a question mark! Training camp can’t begin soon enough.
It was fun to indulge in these offseason arguments until Tuesday, when Paul Bissonnette — a former player who makes a living podcasting (“Spittin’ Chiclets”) and TV studio analyzing (on TNT) and selling vodka (“Cheers, Biz. Cheers, Pal.”) — dropped a bomblet.
Bissonnette related a story he said he heard from an unnamed NHL player. The player told him he'd heard from Blue Jackets players that Babcock, in his first meeting with captain Boone Jenner, asked to see the photos on Jenner’s cell phone, “to find out what kind of person” Jenner is.
Bissonnette and his wingmen, Ryan Whitney and Brian “Rear Admiral” McGonagle, expressed shock, then they all went into full lampoon mode. Which was wholly proper – if the allegation is true.
Babcock and Jenner, in statements issued by the team and in subsequent interviews characterized Bissonette’s story as a “gross misrepresentation” of an innocent, get-to-know-you meeting. They said they exchanged family pictures and that to read anything else into it was to mistake the context and blow the story “out of proportion.” Another phrase they used was “extremely offensive.”
Bissonnette, aka Biz Nasty, stood by his story. For what it’s worth, he was backed up by former Blue Jacket and notorious Babcock hater Mike Commodore, who said he’d heard the same story as Bissonnette weeks and weeks ago.
Keep in mind that Bissonnette (and Whitney and Rear Admiral, not to mention Commie) are not held to the same journalistic standard as, say, Whoopi Goldberg. Also keep in mind that, in the world of podcasting, there’s a fine line between facts and click bait. Influencers!
That said, Bissonnette has cachet with active players, and his scoops can carry weight.
What is the truth?
The Blue Jackets were adamant that Babcock’s request to see Jenner's pictures was utterly innocent and could in no way be construed as an invasion of privacy. The NHL Players Association made some phone calls and, according to an account by NHL commissioner Bill Daly, found nothing actionable. The players' union has yet to issue a statement on the matter.
Bissonnette stood firm on his side, which is to say he remains of the belief the coach wanted to vet Jenner’s character via the captain's iPhone. Probably, the truth is somewhere in the middle. Wherever it lies, the real story is this: What do you expect when you hire Babcock?
Kekalainen can talk for days about all the due diligence that was applied in his coaching search. In the end, he picked Babcock, who is admired and respected by many of his ex-players ― and vilified by others.
Babcock has admitted to making a rookie (Mitch Marner in Toronto) rank his teammates according to their work habits and sharing the information with at least one of those teammates. According to former Detroit Red Wing Johan Franzen, the object of at least one of Babcock’s bench rants, Babcock is a “terrible person” and a “bully who was attacking people.”
There are ex-players who use the word “hate” when they talk about Babcock.
What is the truth?
This is the truth: You hire Babcock, and you’ll have a story like this a week before training camp. You can have a public-relations problem, because Babcock has a reputation, for good or ill, and fans will always wonder.
Get more Blue Jackets news by listening to our podcasts
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets' Mike Babcock has a reputation with flecks on it
