The NHL and NHL Players Association are currently investigating the accusations made against Columbus Blue Jackets coach Mike Babcock, regarding the violation of players’ privacy by requesting to see personal photos. Both Babcock and Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner have made statements regarding the matter, but the league and NHLPA are conducting a thorough review.
A meeting was held earlier this week in New York City, where officials from the NHL and NHLPA discussed the allegations brought forward by former NHL player and “Spittin Chiclets” co-host Paul Bissonnette. Bissonnette claimed that Babcock had requested Blue Jackets players to show him their phone pictures. The NHLPA has released a statement regarding the meeting.
“NHLPA officials Marty Walsh, Ron Hainsey, and Don Zavelo met with the NHL earlier today at the league’s New York City office regarding the matter involving Mike Babcock. During this meeting, we provided the NHL with an update on our ongoing review. We do not have any further comment at this time.”
Bissonnette discussed the allegations on a recent episode of the “Spittin Chiclets” podcast, stating that a player had informed him about Babcock having Jenner show him his iPhone photos on the office TV via AirPlay. According to Bissonnette, Babcock was attempting to assess Jenner’s character.
“So, he gets to Columbus, and one of the first things he does is he calls in Boone Jenner, the captain of the team, and says, ‘Let me see the photos in your phone. I want to know the type of person you are,'” Bissonnette explained.
The Blue Jackets conducted their own investigation into the allegations and subsequently released statements from Babcock and Jenner. Babcock denied the portrayal of events by Bissonnette, stating that it was “irresponsible and completely inaccurate.”
“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.
“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.”
In his statement, Jenner mentioned that the nature of the meeting between him and Babcock had been exaggerated.
“While meeting with Babs, he asked me about my family and where I’m from, my upcoming wedding, and hockey-related matters. He then asked if I had pictures of my family, and I willingly shared some with him. He also showed me pictures of his family.
“I thought it was a great first meeting and a good way for us to start to build a relationship. It is truly disappointing to see it blown out of proportion.”
Former NHL defenseman Mike Commodore supported Bissonnette’s account on X. Commodore stated that he had heard similar stories about Babcock going through players’ and staff members’ phones.
“All of this is 100% true,” Commodore stated. “I heard about this exact same incident out of Columbus six weeks ago. Recently, I have heard about it happening to multiple players and staff. I was waiting until camp to come out with it to protect sources.”
Babcock has faced accusations of mistreatment throughout his NHL coaching career. Former Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen accused him of verbal abuse, and Babcock allegedly had young forward Mitch Marner rank his teammates by work ethic during his rookie season.
The Blue Jackets hired Babcock on July 1, following the expiration of his contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen stated that the team conducted a comprehensive hiring process for Babcock.
