Mike Babcock resigned as coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.
The decision came five days after the "Spittin' Chiclets" podcast reported that Babcock, who had been hired July 1, asked players to share personal photos on their private mobile devices. The situation was investigated by the NHL Players' Association earlier in the week before Babcock announced his resignation.
"This morning, I had a meeting with the players, and I apologize for any inconvenience [or] awkward situation that this may put them in, and it was my sincere apologies to them," Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said during a press conference in Columbus on Monday. "I'm extremely disappointed by what has transpired over the last week. We understood the dynamics of hiring Mike before we did so and understand the criticism now that it didn't work out the way we planned.
"Mike was hired based on personal relationships we've had with him, the feedback we'd received from numerous people in the game that we know and respect and extensive conversations with Mike. It's obviously fair to question our due diligence, but I can assure you that it was done thoroughly. At the end of the day, I believe that Mike Babcock deserved another opportunity to coach. Obviously, that was a mistake, and that responsibility is mine."
Associate coach Pascal Vincent was named Babcock's replacement and signed a two-year contract through the 2024-25 season.
Blue Jackets ownership said in a statement released Monday they were "deeply frustrated and disappointed by the events of the past week, but following "candid conversations" do not anticipate changes to the hockey leadership team.
"I think what's happened here is we've had discussions with our ownership, who was very supportive, and it was revolving around our goals for this season," president of hockey operations John Davidson said. "We need to make a major improvement compared to a year ago with all the issues we had, and I think we still can, and so I believe that the ownership is in a situation where they believe that and it's on us to prove it.
"People, they were right. It's on us. It's on me and I respect opinions. We did a lot of research. When we went through this process, Mike came into Columbus two or three different times and came to my home and with our group, and we went through a lot of different things. Sometimes you just flat out make a mistake. We made the mistake. I'm free to sit up here and tell you that."
Babcock is 12th in NHL history with 700 wins and 16th with 1,301 games in 17 seasons for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs. He won the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 2008 and reached the Stanley Cup Final with the Mighty Ducks in 2003 and Red Wings in 2009. He also coached Canada to gold medals at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and 2014 Sochi Olympics, and to victory at the World Cup of Hockey 2016.
Prior to being hired by Columbus, Babcock had been out of the NHL since being fired by the Maple Leafs on Nov. 20, 2019. He worked as a volunteer adviser at the University of Vermont in 2020-21 and coached at the University of Saskatchewan in 2021-22.
"Upon reflection, it has become clear that continuing as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets was going to be too much of a distraction," said Babcock, 60. "While I'm disappointed to not have had the opportunity to continue the work we've begun, I know it's in the best interest of the organization for me to step away at this time. I wish everyone in the organization well in the upcoming season."
NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh said, "Our players deserve to be treated with respect in the workplace. Unfortunately, that was not the case in Columbus. The club's decision to move forward with a new head coach is the appropriate course of action."
Vincent joined the Blue Jackets as associate coach in 2021. He spent the previous 10 seasons as a member of the Winnipeg Jets organization, including five as coach of the American Hockey League's Manitoba Moose from 2016-21.
"He was very close to our first choice anyway," Kekalainen said. "He's been with our organization now for two years. He was interviewed for the head coaching position two years ago and we were very impressed with him, hired him as an associate head coach at the time. He's a perfect continuation to what's been a long-term plan all the way."
The Blue Jackets open training camp Thursday. Vincent will coach his first regular-season game in the NHL against the Philadelphia Flyers at Nationwide Arena on Oct. 12.
"It's been a difficult few days, don't get me wrong," Vincent said. "We've been facing some adversity and as a team, as a person, as a coach, what do you do? You face it and you move on, and that's what we intend to do. We're going to move on. I know our players have been working extremely hard this summer. I know what we did as coaches and our focus right now is we're looking ahead. What can we do today to get ready for tomorrow?
"We're going to be ready for Thursday. We're going to be on the ice Thursday and we're going to get going and that's our plan. Our plan is to be a highly competitive team and we'll be working extremely hard. But also, we want to make sure that our fans are proud to be Columbus Blue Jackets fans."
