Mike Babcock accused of going back to his old ways?

[FireTheCannon]

The story is not long but filled with links and tweets, so Im just going to copy and paste the story link here. 

 

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets/columbus-blue-jackets/mike-babcock-accused-of-going-back-to-his-old-ways

[yave1964]

Jenner says this is a nothing burger.

 

The players association says there is nothing here to be worried about.

 

Move along. Nothing to see here.

[Brewin Flames]

Exactly, just some hack looking to stir up s%&t

Edited September 13, 2023 by Brewin Flames

[JR Ewing]

Mike Babcock is a man who has been called "the worst person I've ever met" by a former player. Chris Chelios, not generally thought of as a soft touch, outright called Babcock's treatment of some players as abuse. He's a man with a history of browbeating and screaming at people up and down the line from players to the guy pushing a broom at the arena.

 

I'm willing to take him at his word that he's changed, but these are the sorts of stories we could hear until he begins to establish a new identity for himself as *not* being a terrible person. He's earned what happened today.

 

Edited September 12, 2023 by JR Ewing

[JR Ewing]

https://detroithockeynow.com/2023/09/14/former-red-wings-aaron-ward-regarding-mike-babcock/

 

In discussing the latest episode involving Mike Babcock, former Detroit Red Wings defenseman Aaron Ward is making some very salient points.

Appearing on Montreal’s TSN 690, where he’s a regular panelist, Ward stated that former Red Wings coach Babcock was crossing a line when the new coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets was requesting to see personal family photos from the smartphones of his players.

 

 

The Blue Jackets, through statements from Babcock, team captain Boone Jenner and star player Johnny Gaudreau are striving the make out that the unrest of this situation into nothing more than a tempest in a teapot.

Here’s why it isn’t.

Just as there’s a separation between church and state, for any workplace to operate smoothly and to function effectively, there must be a separation between coach and player, or boss and employee.

 

“I expected to have a division between me and my coaches, me and my bosses,” Ward explained.

Don’t we all?

Babcock On Power Trip

Ward sees this whole episode as nothing more than a power trip by Babcock, an early reminder to his players that he’s the one calling the shots.

 

“You’re going to put them in a highly uncomfortable position and see if they’re willing to succumb to your demands,” Ward said. “‘Hand me your phone. Let me see what’s on your photo roll.’ You could have all kinds of things on your photo roll, things that you don’t especially feel like sharing with the boss in your work environament.

 

 

“How does that go about? Do I hold my phone, or do you hold my phone? Do I get to choose what you see, or am I expected to be fully transparent with you, because I owe you something at this point? That’s the line he crossed. He’s decided to step way too far into people’s lives.

 

“The manner is which he’s doing it is so offside. If you want to know about someone, you ask questions. You show interest, you have empathy. You allow that person to reveal at their pace what they want you to know. To ever put someone that you’re the boss of in a situation and ask them to provide images of their life? No thanks. It’s not your place and you’ve so grossly overstepped.”

Did Blue Jackets Not Understand What They Were Getting?

Ward also wonders whether the Blue Jackets truly vetted this situation. Did they consider all of the fallout that could be coming their way prior to hiring Babcock? Revelations of how the longtime coach was bullying players were leading to his ouster from the NHL.

“From an organizational standpoint, I have no idea if this is anything they’ve could have projected, or thought about possibly being something that could happen to them in bringing Babock in,” Ward said. “But if they didn’t, they didn’t really do their research. The idea that maybe as an organization they didn’t do their full homework and search what potentially could be brought to their doorstep.”

 

Ward said that he’s also been hearing from someone within the Columbus organization. What he’s being told is how uncomfortable the situation is currently within the team.

“They’re right now on pins and needles trying to figure out what he’s all about,” Ward said. “There’s a little bit of an uncomfortable feel of how to absorb him.”

Ward also believes that from Babcock’s standpoint, he has to recognize that his every move will be under intense scrutiny. Epsisodes such as this simply can’t he happening on his watch. It doesn’t matter how harmless the team tries to paint it out to be.

“He does not have room to mess up,” Ward said. “He’s still Mike Babcock with a lot of baggage. He does not have the leeway to have any interpersonal relationship issues with hockey players ever again.

“From an organizational standpoint this is going to be a tough training camp. Mike usually makes things about himself. It’s already about Mike and we haven’t even dropped the puck for rookie camp yet.”

 

 

Edited September 14, 2023 by JR Ewing

[Math]

Just my thoughts here but what if leaders like Gaudreau, Jenner and Werenski just step up, get together and simply tell him to f**k off with his demands... ?

[radoran]

6 minutes ago, Math said:

Just my thoughts here but what if leaders like Gaudreau, Jenner and Werenski just step up, get together and simply tell him to f**k off with his demands... ?

 

They seemed to have stepped up, got together, and said it wasn't a big deal.

 

[JR Ewing]

 

[Brewin Flames]

If my new boss said...

 

"I'd like to get to know you better, can you show me a photo of your family, or something that interests you"

 

No Problem.

 

If my new boss said "I'd like to get to know you better, give me your phone so i can look at your photos"

 

F%#@ Off.

 

Simple as that, and i think that there is waaaaay to much ado about nothing.

[MoleMan]

4 hours ago, JR Ewing said:

 

"Ohhhh I might have something...I might not...who knows! Its a mystery!"

 

Strikes me as attention-seeking. Why not just say something if you have something? If you don't, don't. I don't like social-media-style power-tripping as if you have an axe hanging over someone's head. Get a life, I say. I can't say I'm all that interested in this "story" but the amount of people having fits about this is funny.

 

Edit: However, what he did to OUR player Mike Modano, keeping that 1,500 game milestone off his record, leaves a sour taste in my mouth, lads. Don't play with my Stars like that. I know he was a Red Wing at that point, but he will always be a Star in the end.

Edited September 15, 2023 by MoleMan

[JR Ewing]

1 hour ago, MoleMan said:

"Ohhhh I might have something...I might not...who knows! Its a mystery!"

 

Yes, that's exactly what it was. If nothing comes from it, Dreger can say that he never said anything would happen. If more does happen, he can say that he always said it was possible.

 

1 hour ago, MoleMan said:

Strikes me as attention-seeking. Why not just say something if you have something? If you don't, don't. I don't like social-media-style power-tripping as if you have an axe hanging over someone's head. Get a life, I say. I can't say I'm all that interested in this "story" but the amount of people having fits about this is funny.

 

One of Darren Dreger's jobs at TSN is to be available for radio in every market through the week, and this was a call TSN's station in Toronto. If Darren Dreger appears on the radio in the very city where Babcock was fired from, you know he's going to be asked about it, and he gave his best non-answer answer. For my part, I have no idea what happened in the meeting, obviously. My guess is that Frankie Corrado was probably pretty accurate about it: he said that Mike Babcock probably didn't mean anything bad by it, but that he's just too socially awkward to think of why some people might not be thrilled with the idea of sharing what's on their phone.

 

The reason that people are having "fits" about it is because he has a track record when it comes to mistreating players. If a coach without his history comes in and asks about pictures, tries to get to know the players, etc, it will be brushed over as a misunderstanding, and rightfully so. If a guy who has a history of playing head games, then it's not exactly strange that some people may be suspicious of him.

 

Jarmo Kekalainen must surely have accepted this possibility when he hired him; he's smart enough to know that, even if he

 

 

1 hour ago, MoleMan said:

Edit: However, what he did to OUR player Mike Modano, keeping that 1,500 game milestone off his record, leaves a sour taste in my mouth, lads. Don't play with my Stars like that. I know he was a Red Wing at that point, but he will always be a Star in the end.

 

What a great hockey player he was. Except for the 1997 playoff, he stuck it to my Oilers every Spring for years and years.

 

 

[MoleMan]

17 hours ago, JR Ewing said:

 

Yes, that's exactly what it was. If nothing comes from it, Dreger can say that he never said anything would happen. If more does happen, he can say that he always said it was possible.

 

 

One of Darren Dreger's jobs at TSN is to be available for radio in every market through the week, and this was a call TSN's station in Toronto. If Darren Dreger appears on the radio in the very city where Babcock was fired from, you know he's going to be asked about it, and he gave his best non-answer answer. For my part, I have no idea what happened in the meeting, obviously. My guess is that Frankie Corrado was probably pretty accurate about it: he said that Mike Babcock probably didn't mean anything bad by it, but that he's just too socially awkward to think of why some people might not be thrilled with the idea of sharing what's on their phone.

 

The reason that people are having "fits" about it is because he has a track record when it comes to mistreating players. If a coach without his history comes in and asks about pictures, tries to get to know the players, etc, it will be brushed over as a misunderstanding, and rightfully so. If a guy who has a history of playing head games, then it's not exactly strange that some people may be suspicious of him.

 

Jarmo Kekalainen must surely have accepted this possibility when he hired him; he's smart enough to know that, even if he

 

 

 

What a great hockey player he was. Except for the 1997 playoff, he stuck it to my Oilers every Spring for years and years.

 

 

This is the way to respond to a post, man. I learned a little more about the situation and there was a bit of banter at the end. Right on the money, and fair-play.

[Math]

On 9/15/2023 at 2:57 PM, Brewin Flames said:

"I'd like to get to know you better, can you show me a photo of your family, or something that interests you"

 

No Problem.

 

If my new boss said "I'd like to get to know you better, give me your phone so i can look at your photos"

 

F%#@ Off.

 

100% subscription to this. You pretty much nailed it.

 

 

On 9/15/2023 at 3:12 PM, MoleMan said:

Edit: However, what he did to OUR player Mike Modano, keeping that 1,500 game milestone off his record, leaves a sour taste in my mouth, lads. Don't play with my Stars like that. I know he was a Red Wing at that point, but he will always be a Star in the end.

 

Ha, these memories... Maybe it was nothing personal (cough cough), Modano had been injured during his stint in Detroit but it sucked. If Nieuwendyk hadn't refused to bring him back for his last gig with the Stars, Modano would have surely hit that 1500-game mark.

 

 

On 9/15/2023 at 5:11 PM, JR Ewing said:

Except for the 1997 playoff, he stuck it to my Oilers every Spring for years and years.

 

That Todd Marchant goal in OT of game #7... But at least we had an honorable mention for the figure skating style of Ledyard that opened all the way to Machant.

[JR Ewing]

5 hours ago, Math said:

That Todd Marchant goal in OT of game #7... But at least we had an honorable mention for the figure skating style of Ledyard that opened all the way to Machant.

 

Todd Marchant: great wheels. Good penalty-killer. No hands. Biggest goal of his life.

Grant Ledyard: that might have been the most epic blown tire in league history.

 

 

The clip doesn't show it, but I'm sure you remember: Curtis Joseph had, on the previous possession by Dallas, absolutely robbed Joe Nieuwendyk.

 

------

 

I attended game 3 in Edmonton in 1997, by the way. The Stars choked the ever-loving sh|t out of that game and had the Oilers right where they wanted them, up 3-0 with just a few minutes left, and Northland Coliseum was more like the Northlands Mausoleum.

 

Bryan Marchment was out of the lineup after suffering a really scary looking injury, when he hit his head on the open door of the bench, and with about 5 minutes left in the 3rd, the arena TV screen focused on Marchment up in the pressbox. Everybody gave a polite cheer, and then it grew and it grew, and the next thing you knew, it was really noisy. Marchment was a bastard, but he was our bastard.

 

Not long after, Weight scored, and the place erupted. Really quickly, the wheels fell off the Stars usual suffocating defensive play. I can only imagine what was going on with Ken Hitchcock... The building never got quiet from the Marchment cheer and on, and after the game it continued. People were screaming in the aisles and in the stair wells, in the parking lot and on the LRT. It was so loud, I ended up with a headache that carried into the next day.

 

That was great, and it had to serve me well for all the many times that the Stars stomped a mudhole in the Oilers' ass for years and years to come.

 

[Icechipper]

NHLPA sending in investigation team to Columbus. This may not end well for Babcock.

[radoran]

2 hours ago, Icechipper said:

NHLPA sending in investigation team to Columbus. This may not end well for Babcock.

 

If it comes out that it was a demand and a requirement to share, this would be bad.

 

If it was part of a conversation in which the players agreed to "get to know" each other, I don't see the issue.

 

If people - NHL players or not - are keeping truly sensitive photos on their main Gallery app then they're fools.

 

I predict Babcock is coaching the opener.

 

I've been wrong before.

[JR Ewing]

 

[JR Ewing]

 

[Brewin Flames]

• Blue Jackets HC to Resign

  Mike Babcock is expected to step down as head coach (Friedman)

  B/R Open Ice@BR_OpenIce

  Mike Babcock is expected to resign from his position as head coach of the Blue Jackets, according to multiple reports. https://t.co/W1YjI8S6fw

[Brewin Flames]

What an absolute train wreck....

[JR Ewing]

-This is the biggest, juiciest, messiest nothingburger in history.

-If Jarmo Kekalainen were in a Canadian market, he'd have been fired already, since he'll be on head coach #7 in his 10 years soon.

 

[radoran]

1 hour ago, JR Ewing said:

This is the biggest, juiciest, messiest nothingburger in history.

 

I've been wrong before.

 

I'm good at it.

 

Would like to hear more details about why the NHLPA went in hard on something the players involved went out of their way to say wasn't a big deal.

 

On the other hand, don't really care

 

1 hour ago, JR Ewing said:

If Jarmo Kekalainen were in a Canadian market, he'd have been fired already, since he'll be on head coach #7 in his 10 years soon.

 

You'd be better off in Columbus spelled it Hockeyes.

 

The Jackets are the poster child for why the league did Vegas and Seattle the way they did.

 

[JR Ewing]

4 minutes ago, radoran said:

Would like to hear more details about why the NHLPA went in hard on something the players involved went out of their way to say wasn't a big deal.

 

Yeah, it would be interesting to know. Officially, we'll probably never hear anything about what exactly happened. Boone Jenner and Johnny Gaudreau both said it wasn't a big deal, and I prefer to take them at their word. Friedman said that the younger players were the ones who took the most issue with this "what's on your phone?" stuff when compared to veterans. Babcock may have approached veterans differently than he would young players, or perhaps they're sensitive.

 

Nobody really knows, but I'm fully prepared to hear a lot of how "kids are snowflakes these days" when there seems to be plenty of that going around all age groups.

 

Edited September 17, 2023 by JR Ewing

[radoran]

5 minutes ago, JR Ewing said:

 

Yeah, it would be interesting to know. Officially, we'll probably never hear anything about what exactly happened. Boone Jenner and Johnny Gaudreau both said it wasn't a big deal, and I prefer to take them at their word. Friedman said that the younger players were the ones who took the most issue with this "what's on your phone?" stuff when compared to veterans. Babcock may have approached veterans differently than he would young players, or perhaps they're sensitive.

 

Nobody really knows, but I'm fully prepared to hear a lot of how "kids are snowflakes these days" when there seems to be plenty of that going around all age groups.

 

How they had the leadership of the team come out in defence and then get undercut by the "younger players" is pretty revealing.

 

Not a good look at all.

 

I don't know if the "kids are snowflakes" as much as they have stuff on their phones they probably shouldn't...

 

[SaucyJack]

What was Babcock going to do if he wasn’t impressed with someone’s family photos?  Play them less?  Don’t coaches have real “hockey skills and effort” criteria in which to make relevant decisions?

 

I worked nearly 4 decades and never once did a manager or superior ask me such questions or make such requests.  Nor did I of team members under my guidance.  It is simply irrelevant in assessing skills of people in matching up with tasks, or determining reward.