The speculation has ended, multiple sources confirmed that Mike Babcock will be the next head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets and that the deal he will be signing will carry a term of 4 seasons. While Babcock does come with a winning pedigree, his hiring comes along with some questions into his history regarding his style coaching and how players feel about it. So, let’s look at the hire from as many angles as possible to try and dissect why Babock was ultimately the choice the Jackets ended up going with.
If we’re being totally honest, this hire will make or break the current makeup of the Jackets front office in Kekalainen and Davidson. We are passing the 10-year mark of them at the helm and while the overall quality of the team has been raised drastically in contrast to the early years of the team, the reality is that by looking at the bigger picture, nothing much has been accomplished in comparison the repeatedly stated goal of winning a Stanley Cup. Babcock brings that experience having guided the Red Wings to a Cup in ’08 as well as winning the gold at the IIHF World Championship in ’04 and multiple golds at the Olympics in both ’10 and ’14. He also rarely misses the playoffs having only missed 4 times in close to 30 years of professional coaching. So, if we’re looking at the hire purely from this perspective, management absolutely made the right decision. Bringing in a proven winner who’s consistently brought teams not just to the playoffs but on deep runs is exactly the kind of coach the Jackets have needed and even more importantly for the current front office regime, would bring the success needed to save their jobs.
Babcock also has shown the ability to work with younger players and get the best out of them. Between Paul Kariya in Anaheim and Pavel Datsyuk/Henrik Zetterberg in Detroit, Babcock was able to maximize his young stars abilities with multiple deep runs and give them the experience necessary on how to win in the NHL. To a lesser extent, he laid the groundwork for the current Maple Leafs team and while that team didn’t and still hasn’t accomplished much in terms of playoff success, at the very least Babcock was able to transform the team from a heap of unrealized potential into a regular season powerhouse with the ability to make the playoffs on a yearly basis. The logic then behind his hiring in Columbus would be that his possession heavy, play to your strengths styles of play would be amazing for the likes of skilled but flawed players currently on the roster such as Laine and Boqvist.
However, this hire does not come without controversy. Babcock comes with a history of being occasionally hard to work with, to put it lightly. Johan Franzen, while conceding that Babcock is a good coach, noted that he is not a great person and was incredibly difficult in his time in Detroit. Mike Commodore straight calls Babcock a horrible person undeserving of a coaching role in the NHL. And then there is the Mitch Marner incident, still relatively fresh in the minds of many. Even though after Babcock was let go by Toronto, Marner did admit that Babcock was a great coach for him, it is difficult to overlook his treatment of a young player and how that kind of coaching style will translate over into today’s NHL and specifically with the Jackets roster which is on pace to yet again be among the youngest in the league going into next season.
In conclusion, when looking at this hiring from all angles, it can be categorized as a true high risk, high reward type of hire. The front office is clearly rolling the dice on what is reasonably their make or break coaching hire. This move entirely has the potential to be a massive success and the Jackets are back to being competing for a playoff spot as soon as this upcoming season. On the other hand, hiring Babcock, even with his winning pedigree, has a high likelihood to blow up in everyone's face and fail spectacularly. One thing is for certain, there will be no shortage of eyes focusing in on Columbus watching to see how this all works out.
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