Swede Johan Franzen called him “the terrible one”.
Now Mike Babcock has a new coaching job in the NHL.
According to TSN, the 60-year-old is expected to captain the Columbus Blue Jackets.
In November, the Canadian was fired by his employer, the Toronto Maple Leafs, after five seasons. Since then, he has been without a training assignment. On June 30 of this year, his contract with the club expires.
Now many media outlets are reporting that Babcock is expected to take over as the new head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
He missed the playoffs for the third year in a row
According to ESPN, the Ohio club is currently working on the final details of the transfer.
Recently, things have been slow on the sporting front for the club, which this year missed the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third season in a row. As a result, in April management elected to fire head coach Brad Larsen, after only two seasons.
Babcock is a well-deserved gentleman, having coached in over 1,300 NHL games. In addition to Toronto, he has also coached the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Detroit Wings. But he wasn’t always appreciated by his players – far from it.
It was published by El Swede
One of the people who did not like the Canadian leadership style was Swede Johan Franzen, who played under Babcock in the Detroit Red Wings.
In an interview with Expressen from 2019, Franzen called Babcock, among other things, a “horrible person” and a “bully”.
– The worst person I’ve ever met. A bully who preys on people, could be the arena cleaners in Detroit or someone else. Franzen said he just jumped on people.
In Columbus, the Swedes Emil Bemström and Adam Boquist play.
