Columbus Blue Jackets coach Mike Babcock, Boone Jenner refute privacy violation accusation
Mike Babcock hasn’t even gotten to his first Blue Jackets training camp before a new allegation surfaced that he invaded his players' privacy. Former NHL player and national TV analyst Paul Bissonnette made the accusation public on his “Spittin’ Chiclets Podcast.”
“I get a text from a player,” Bissonnette said. “He goes, ‘Have you heard what Babcock is up to again?’ And I’m like, ‘No.’ So, he gets to Columbus and one of the first things he does is he calls in Boone Jenner, the captain of the team, and he says, ‘Let me see the photos in your phone. I want to know the type of person you are.’”
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After looking into the allegations Tuesday, the Blue Jackets released statements from Babcock and Jenner stating their versions of what happened. Both stated that Bissonnette's depiction wasn't delivered with proper context.
“While meeting with our players and staff I asked them to share, off their phones, family pictures as part of the process of getting to know them better," Babcock said in the statement. "There was absolutely nothing more to it than that. The way this was portrayed on the 'Spittin’ Chiclets' podcast was a gross misrepresentation of those meetings and extremely offensive. These meetings have been very important and beneficial, not only for me but for our players and staff, as well, and to have them depicted like this is irresponsible and completely inaccurate.”
Jenner's statement echoed Babcock's.
“While meeting with 'Babs,' he asked me about my family and where I’m from, my upcoming wedding and hockey-related stuff," Jenner said. "He then asked if I had pictures of my family and I was happy to share some with him. He showed me pictures of his family. I thought it was a great first meeting and good way for us to start to build a relationship. To have this blown out of proportion is truly disappointing.
Attempts to contact other Blue Jackets players for comment or insight into the allegation were unsuccessful, but star forward Johnny Gaudreau addressed the situation Tuesday in Las Vegas during the NHL Players Media Tour. Speaking with reporters, his comments on the matter fully supported Babcock and Jenner.
"It was his way of kinda getting to know me, and I got to get to know him," Gaudreau told Sportsnet's Elliotte Freidman and Jeff Marek for their 32 Thoughts podcast. "I wasn't uncomfortable at all. I was showing him pictures of my family. If I had (a) problem with it, I would've been like, 'I don't think I'm comfortable with that.' But I had no problem with it."
Gaudreau said the idea of sharing photos was initiated by Babcock.
"(He said), 'I want to get to know you ... show me some pictures of your family, what you like to in the summer, things you did this summer,'" Gaudreau said on the podcast. "So, I pulled up pictures."
Gaudreau shared various photos of his family.
"I've never had a coach take a direction like that and get to know me on a personal level like that right off the bat — and it was the first time I ever met him," Gaudreau said. "He showed me a few things about his family and kinda talked about his kids and his wife and the dogs that he's watching now ... We got to know each other that way. Then we got right into the hockey after. When someone asks to see your family, I love my family. A big reason why I chose Columbus is I wanted to be around them more. That's important to me. I think it's a great idea for somebody to get to know me is getting to know my family."
NHL, NHLPA reviewing allegations Columbus Blue Jackets coach Mike Babcock violated players' privacy, Paul Bissonnette doubles down
The Dispatch was told the National Hockey League Players' Association is reviewing the matter and the organization hasn't yet issued a statement. Bissonnette couldn't be reached, but the national TV studio analyst doubled down on his version of events via an X post Tuesday — claiming "tons of players" had confirmed the accusations to him. His co-host, former NHL player Ryan Whitney, did the same.
Babcock said he hadn't seen Bissonnette's reply to his and Jenner's statements.
"I’m not on Twitter," Babcock said. "He can do what he wants. I know what’s real.”
Bill Daly, the NHL's deputy commissioner, met with reporters in Las Vegas on Tuesday and said he'd been told that Blue Jackets players have contacted by the NHLPA have also refuted Bissonnette's version of what happened.
"We followed up with the club, and I know the Players’ Association has followed up directly with the players," Daly said. "What was being reported by Paul Bissonnette — or at least his characterizations of what transpired — isn’t consistent with what the players are reporting to the Players’ Association, including that none of them felt that the interactions were at all inappropriate or improper. At this point in time, that's what we know."
Asked if the NHL "is satisfied the situation is a non-issue," Daly replied: "Yes."
Jenner spoke with the Dispatch on Tuesday after releasing his statement and reiterated that what happened was taken out of context.
“To have it blown out of proportion, completely out of proportion, is disappointing to me," Jenner said. "That was our first meeting, getting to know each other. It was a really good meeting and all the talks we’ve had since have been really good. So, we’re excited to get going here.”
Columbus Blue Jackets coach Mike Babcock says introductory 'family program' is being misconstrued
The Blue Jackets hired Babcock, 60, this past summer despite allegations of “bullying” players during his previous two NHL coaching stints with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings.
In Toronto, according to multiple reports, he asked Mitch Marner, a rookie forward in 2016-17, to create a rankings list of teammates based on his assessment of their work ethic and then showed the list to players without permission. In Detroit, Babcock was accused of berating Johan Franzen so badly during a playoff game in Nashville that it caused the former Red Wings forward to have what was described by defenseman Chris Chelios as a “mental breakdown” from "bullying" on the bench and in the visiting locker room at Bridgestone Arena.
What he refers to as the 'family program' is what's at issue now. Babcock describes it as a way for him, as a new coach of the Blue Jackets, to better understand and learn about his new players, coaching staff and others associated with the team's personnel.
“Well, the disappointing part, obviously, is a podcast that … what they described as reality and what is reality are so far from true it’s not even funny," Babcock told the Dispatch after his statement was released. "This is a process I’ve gone through for a number of years that’s basically called the 'family program,’ and guys share their families so we all get to know each other better. We do it as a team, we do it individually, but it’s just sharing. I started doing it with Boone Jenner, so I could get to know Boone better."
Babcock said that Jenner used an iPhone's Apple Airplay mode to share some photos on a TV screen in the coach's office. He scrolled through photos of his parents' farm in Ontario, Canada and his then-fiancé, whom Jenner recently married. Babcock said he did the same thing while interviewing with the Blue Jackets.
"I showed them my family, so they kind of understood who I was and where I was coming from," Babcock said. "And I think it’s a really positive tactic and I think it’s a great thing. So, for it to be talked about the way it has been is absolutely disappointing and it couldn’t be farther from the truth.”
Babcock said that other players shared photos, as well, and some followed Jenner's method of using Apple's Airplay mode on a TV screen. Some players met with him in his office at Nationwide Arena and others met with him at his home in Brighton, Michigan, where Babcock has a tiki bar on a lake where he hosts guests.
Players weren't the only people to share some photos.
"Every coach, the minor league coaches, the video people, the support staff, put up pictures and showed us their grandkids, their wife, a picture of them when they were 18 ... it’s just a way for us to get to know each other," Babcock said. "It’s a really positive thing. And for it to be shamed as something bad or gross, for it to be reported on in this way, is disappointing and it’s offensive to be honest with you.”
Columbus Blue Jackets coach Mike Babcock feels time away from NHL taught him lessons on personal interactions
Babcock said during his introductory press conference in Columbus that he’d learned about dealing with younger athletes while acting as advisor for Vermont University’s men’s hockey team in 2020-21 and while coaching the University of Saskatchewan’s hockey team (2021-22).
“I’m real fortunate,” he said. “My kids are 30, 28 and 26. I’ve been around my last couple opportunities with college kids, and it’s different, for sure. What I do know is, when you have 23 different guys on your team, you need 23 different ways to approach them. You need a communication plan with each one, a development plan with each one, you need a mental health plan with each one to have success. I couldn’t have said what I just said to you now 10 years ago, because I didn’t know that.”
Babcock was fired by the Maple Leafs in November 2019 and remained out of the NHL until the Blue Jackets announced his hiring on July 1 as Brad Larsen's replacement — after waiting for his contract with Toronto to officially expire.
Babcock reiterated that working at the collegiate level was an eye-opener.
“When you go to a university setting, they have all these experts in all these fields, right there,” he said. “They help you get better. I had some good relationships with people there (in Saskatchewan) and they teach you a lot about the way you communicate. I think it’s important that you continue to grow.”
The Blue Jackets are set to open the season with an annual trip to Northern Michigan for the Traverse City NHL Prospects Tournament held Thursday through Sunday at Centre Ice Arena. The team’s NHL training camp begins next Tuesday with medical testing and performance evaluations followed by on-ice work Wednesday at the Ice Haus.
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Neither Jenner nor Babcock think the podcast's accusation will be an impediment for the Blue Jackets starting camp.
“No, we’re handling it today," Jenner said. "I put out my statement and I want to move on, and I’m focused on getting going with hockey starting next Wednesday. That’s my focus and it’s going to stay there.”
Babcock was equally confident that it won't become an issue and pointed to the team's captain as proof.
"Well, the most upset guy today was Boone Jenner," Babcock said. "He came in my office and he said, ‘Have you seen this?’ He was upset because he knows it’s not true.”
Get more Columbus Blue Jackets talk on the Cannon Fodder Podcast
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets' Babcock, Jenner deny privacy violation occurred
