New Claims Bring Higher Level of Concern to Babcock Situation

On Thursday night, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman brought new facts into the Mike Babcock photo-sharing accusations. These claims make the situation a lot more concerning for Babcock and the Blue Jackets.

"However, it appears things changed for both later that night when information was received that some of the younger Blue Jackets were uncomfortable with what had occurred. That appears to be the major focus of the investigation."

The NHLPA will meet with the NHL today to discuss their findings after PA representatives Ron Hainsey and Marty Walsh met with Blue Jacket players yesterday. As Friedman discusses, this isn’t the first time Babcock has taken this approach with his players, having done so in previous stops with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings.

This is, however, the first time there’s been any real level of concern from the NHL over this practice. A fact that probably stems directly from the allegations made by Paul Bissonnette and Mike Commodore via the “Spittin Chiclets” podcast and Twitter. Commodore was a member of the Detroit Red Wings under Babcock back in the 2011-12 season – which begs the question for me; if this was such a big deal, why did he wait until now to say something? He said himself that he was holding onto this information until training camp, in spite of knowing it some six weeks ago. It’s an odd strategy, to say the least, from someone who claims to be looking out for the players.

At this point, I feel like this thing could go in a number of directions. One thing that could happen is the league coming out and saying that there was no malicious intent; that it was an innocent way of getting to know his players, but a few were uncomfortable with doing so. From there, context becomes really important. Did Mike persuade them to show pictures anyhow? Did he force them? Or, did he move on and go a different direction?

Another possible outcome is that the league decides there was malicious intent, or some form of bullying taking place in these meetings. If that’s the case, expect a quick and harsh decision from the league and/or the team (likely immediate termination). But, this seems to be an unlikely outcome in my opinion, because the team actually opened their door and welcomed this investigation in the first place.

In any outcome, this is an awful way to start the season for this team. It may very well drive a wedge between the younger and older players in the dressing room; which could mean that firing Babcock may be the only way out of it. If that’s the case, it’s probably time to start asking some questions about other people in the front office. This could be the last straw for one of the longest tenured General Managers in the NHL.

Let’s wait and see what the league has to say before jumping to any conclusions. If players declined to take part in the exercise and were allowed to skip out, it’s much ado about nothing.