The Columbus Blue Jackets are expected to hire Mike Babcock as their new head coach, sources confirmed to Daily Faceoff on Saturday morning.
TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report the news on Saturday. When hired, Babcock will become the ninth full-time head coach in the Blue Jackets’ 23-year history.
Babcock, 60, has previously served as the head coach of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, the Detroit Red Wings, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. He spent the 2021–22 season as the head coach of the men’s ice hockey program at the University of Saskatchewan.
The Blue Jackets previously relieved Brad Larsen of his duties as head coach on April 15. According to Dreger, the delay in the Blue Jackets officially naming Babcock their head coach is related to the impending expiry of his previous NHL coaching contract with the Maple Leafs.
Speculation around the Memorial Cup is Mike Babcock will return to the NHL as @BlueJacketsNHL new coach and the delay in announcing coincides with his existing contract with the Maple Leafs expiring the end of this month. https://t.co/OUlxBRS8bq
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 3, 2023
Babcock has reached the Stanley Cup Final three times as an NHL head coach, winning once (with Detroit in 2008) and losing twice (with Anaheim in 2003 and Detroit in 2009). The Manitouwadge, Ont. product also led Team Canada to gold medals at the 2010 Olympics and the 2004 and 2016 World Cups of Hockey.
The Maple Leafs fired Babcock on Nov. 20, 2019, midway through the fifth season of the enormous eight-year contract he signed with the club in 2015. Babcock had helped the Maple Leafs qualify for the playoffs in each of the three previous seasons, although they lost in the first round each time.
Over his 17-year career as an NHL head coach, Babcock led his teams to a 700–418–164 record with 19 ties in 1,301 regular-season games. His teams posted a 90–74 record in 14 playoff appearances.
The Blue Jackets finished the 2022–23 regular season with the worst record (25–48–9) in the Eastern Conference. Columbus enters 2023–24 having missed the playoffs in three consecutive seasons.