Home / News / NHL and NHLPA investigating Mike Babcock phone controversy as previous Leafs player openly criticizes former coach

NHL and NHLPA investigating Mike Babcock phone controversy as previous Leafs player openly criticizes former coach

By Chris Cerullo

 2 Comments

September 14, 2023 1:38 am

Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Mike Babcock is back in a fire of his own making this week after a story dropped on Paul Bissonnette’s Spittin’ Chiclets podcast Monday regarding peculiar behavior with Blue Jackets players’ cell phones.

Now, both the NHL and NHLPA have begun investigating the controversy, with Bissonnette and Babcock each maintaining their sides of the story. One of Babcock’s former players chimed in, former Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Frankie Corrado giving his take on the First Up radio show.

Per Bissonnette’s retelling of the story, Babcock allegedly called team captain Boone Jenner into his office shortly after being hired and asked to see the photos on his personal cell phone.

The Blue Jackets quickly released statements from Babcock and Jenner, admitting to the sharing of photos but downplaying the reasoning behind the act and throwing blame on Bissonnette for being “irresponsible and completely inaccurate.”

To the NHLPA’s credit (for now), they have not taken either statement at face value. The Athletic’s Katie Strang reports that they are still actively reviewing the allegations about Babcock and players’ personal devices/photos. The NHL has also confirmed that they will continue to gather information on the matter.

Corrado has seen Babcock’s coaching up close, having spent parts of two seasons playing under the veteran head coach for the Leafs. Now an analyst for TSN, Corrado waded into the debate on Wednesday.

Corrado’s full words via First Up’s Twitter/X account:

We only know what we hear from credible sources. Listen, if Paul Bissonnette is going public with something like that, I have every reason to believe that he got it from a credible source. He’s not going to torpedo his show and his reputation. He’s on major television platforms in the United States. He’s not going to sewer himself in that regard.

When you see the statement from Babcock and Boone Jenner, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Boone Jenner is the captain. He’s a well respected player in the league. It’s hard for us as outsiders to comment on what we think happened. It’s just speculation. I can only speak from my experience playing for the guy and my experiences were not great.

If you’re asking me what I think, I’ll go back to my experiences with the guy. I don’t think he handles himself well. I think he’s socially awkward. I don’t think he cares about your family. I know for a fact he doesn’t care about your family. All he cares about is himself. He’s been like that forever and I’ve read this three-part puff piece that came out on Babs recently and honestly, my stomach turned reading this thing. He’s talking about how he’s got a communication plan for every player. No, he doesn’t. He doesn’t care about anyone other than himself.

Not my place to comment on what I think may or may not have happened with the Blue Jackets players. My experience with him is that he doesn’t really care about anyone other than himself and that’s exactly how he’s going to operate every day even in Columbus.

I played for [John] Tortorella. Tortorella is old school. He will get right in your face and he will tell you that you’re playing like garbage or whatever the case may be. He tells it to you direct and blunt and you may not like it. My issue, and a lot of people’s issues, with the way Babs does things is he doesn’t do that. He doesn’t get in your face. He doesn’t tell you direct and blunt and straightforward. He plays these stupid head games around you and that’s what frustrates players. I think it’s important to separate the two when it comes to “old school” guys. Old school, in your face, honest, that’s no problem for guys. It’s black and white. What [Babcock] does is dance around it and it messes with your head.

Babcock and Jenner argued in their statements that the request for photos was purely for relationship-building and team bonding purposes. Corrado directly attacks that reasoning, posing that Babcock instead meant the move as a power play for his own benefit. He also defends Bissonnette, who has come under some fire for his almost flippant retelling of the story. With some suggesting he should have kept the story private before fully vetting more sources, Bissonnette himself has gone to social media to fight against that sort of talk.

Bissonnette has made four separate posts in reference to the criticism, including one quoted directly in reply to Babcock and Jenner’s statements.

Corrado, too, has taken the controversy to social media, posting a series of images referencing his time as a healthy scratch on the Leafs.

In his First Up appearance, Corrado responds to claims that what Babcock likes to do is just an “old school” way of coaching that today’s players cannot handle. Given his experience playing under both Babcock and John Tortorella — himself a prime example of an old-school coach still in the NHL — Corrado’s argument shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand.

Tortorella has long been panned for his hot-headed nature and how hard he can be on players, but his coaching methods have not garnered the serious allegations leveled against Babcock. Even years after the fact, players have come out of the woodwork to share their stories of Babcock’s misconduct. Former Red Wing Johan Franzen, who spent 10 years under Babcock between 2005 and 2015, called the coach “the worst person I have ever met,” confirming an allegation by former teammate Chris Chelios that Babcock had “verbally assaulted” Franzen during a playoff game.

That behavior continued during his tenure with the Leafs. In 2017, Babcock asked then-rookie Mitch Marner to confidentially rank his teammates in order of effort before ultimately showing the list to those Marner had put at the bottom. Marner’s teammates were furious with Babcock for sharing the list and the young forward was reportedly left in tears after the incident.

After the Leafs fired him in 2019, Babcock spent three years away from the NHL before joining the Blue Jackets in July.

Update, 10:15 am: Elliotte Friedman is reporting that NHLPA leaders are meeting with players from the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Screenshot: Columbus Blue Jackets/YouTube

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