Mike Babcock slams "Spittin' Chiclets" podcast for "gross misrepresentation"

Former Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock is fighting back against claims made about his off-ice coaching strategies on a Barstool Sports podcast.

According to former NHLer Paul Bissonnette via the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, Babcock — hired this summer by the Columbus Blue Jackets after a four-year hiatus from the NHL — has reportedly been trying to gauge his players’ character by asking to see their photos on their phones.

“I get a text from a player. He goes, ‘Have you heard what Babcock is up to again?’ And I’m like, ‘No,’” Bissonnette told his co-host, Ryan Whitney on a recent episode. “He gets to Columbus; he calls in Boone Jenner, the captain of the f***ing team, and says, ‘I want to see the photos in your phone. I wanna know the type of person you are.’”

Columbus Blue Jackets Head Coach Mike Babcock and center Boone Jenner have released the following statement:

📝 https://t.co/ytvGVXzF2w pic.twitter.com/htlgl1UgAR

— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) September 12, 2023

Today, both Babcock and Jenner replied to the claims via a joint statement made via the Blue Jackets.

“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,” Babcock said. “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.”

Jenner added his own context for the series of events.

“While meeting with Babs he asked me about my family and where I’m from, my upcoming wedding, and hockey-related stuff. He then asked if I had pictures of my family and I was happy to share some with him,” Jenner said. “He showed me pictures of his family. I thought it was a great first meeting and good way for us to start to build a relationship. To have this blown out of proportion is truly disappointing.”

This isn’t the first time the longtime NHL coach’s off-ice methods have been made public, with a story reported by the Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan following his departure from the Leafs bench about Babcock asking a rookie Mitch Marner to rank his teammates’ work ethic, a list which was later revealed to members of the team that ended up lower on the list.

Babcock, who has coached for the Leafs, Red Wings, and Anaheim Ducks in his career, has an NHL record of 700-418-19-164 while winning Olympic gold medals in 2010 and 2014 with Canada.

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