Blue Jackets Expected To Name Mike Babcock Head Coach
Mike Babcock is so back. After relieving Brad Larsen of his duties as head coach, the Columbus Blue Jackets are expected to name Mike Babcock as the next head man behind the bench. The official announcement is delayed for financial reasons which we’ll get to in a bit.
TSN’s Darren Dreger is report that Mike Babcock is getting the job in Columbus:
Speculation around the Memorial Cup is Mike Babcock will return to the NHL as @BlueJacketsNHL new coach and the delay in announcing coincides with his existing contract with the Maple Leafs expiring the end of this month. https://t.co/OUlxBRS8bq
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 3, 2023
It sure seems like the Blue Jackets are waiting for the final month of Babcock’s eight-year, $50 million contract that he signed with the Leafs to wrap up. That deal was signed way back in 2015 and will conclude at the end of June. Columbus won’t have to worry about paying Babcock during a Summer month then.
Babcock’s coaching journey is a long and storied one. Babcock hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2008 with Detroit. Babcock, 60, sports a coaching record of 700-418-183 record over parts of 17 seasons between Anaheim, Detroit, and Toronto. Obviously, the Toronto tenure wasn’t as fruitful as back when he was with the Red Wings.
It goes without saying that this is a win now move by a really bad team. Columbus holds the third overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. Is that on the table? Is Babcock really down for a rebuild? Pressure might be on right away for this entire front office to turn things around quickly. This is still a team that has Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine at the wing. We’ll see what Columbus has up it’s sleeve this Summer. The only thing for sure is that this front office signaled their still trying to win right now.
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