NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh and assistant executive director Ron Hainsey are meeting with players and staff on the Columbus Blue Jackets as part of the investigation into coach Mike Babcock's viewing of players' phones and photos, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported Thursday.
Spittin’ Chiclets’ co-host Paul Bissonnette reported on Tuesday that Babcock was asking to see his players’ phones and AirPlaying photos on his office television.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the 32 Thoughts podcast in Henderson, Nev., that the league first became aware of the Babcock allegation Tuesday morning and that he had spoken with the PA and multiple players whose depiction of photo-sharing wasn't "even remotely similar" to how it was portrayed by Bissonnette.
Babcock and Jenner responded to the allegation via team-issued statements Tuesday afternoon.
“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. There was absolutely nothing more to it than that," Babcock stated. "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.”
Stated Jenner: “While meeting with Babs, he asked me about my family and where I’m from, my upcoming wedding and hockey-related stuff. 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.”
Spittin' Chiclets doubled down.
Bissonnette tweeted that he has had "tons of players confirm it" and told Babcock to shove his statement up his rear end.
"When players from Columbus make a statement that the characterizations of Babcock from Biz and myself are false just know that's bulls---," tweeted Ryan Whitney, another former player and Bissonnette's podcast co-host. "I feel bad putting the players in a tough spot but Babcock is a complete weasel and shouldn't be coaching in the NHL."
Asked if any teammates indicated to him they were uncomfortable, Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau told 32 Thoughts, “Not a single person.”
"It was (Babcock’s) way of kinda getting to know me, and I got to get to know him," the winger told Friedman and Jeff Marek. "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.”
Babcock had drifted away from NHL dressing rooms since his firing by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2019. He signed a two-year, $8-million deal this summer, making him the highest-paid coach in Blue Jackets history.
Babcock's coaching methods in Detroit and Toronto, particularly his treatment of Johan Franzen and Mitch Marner, had come under fire. But the Stanley Cup and Olympic Games champion arrived in Columbus vowing to open the lines of communication with his players, keeping mental health top of mind.
Babcock, 60, said he is receiving help in this department from an expert at Ohio State, and he’s speaking to each Blue Jacket about what’s best for him.
