NHL Insider reveals the exact situation that cost Mike Babcock his job

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Sam Hutch
September 18, 2023 (11:20)

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It's been less than a day since Mike Babcock stepped down as Head Coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets and as such more details are coming to light as to the reasons behind his resignation.

According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Babcock's final straw wasn't exactly how he had painted asking players for photos of their families, but more more beyond that; take a look.

According to multiple sources, one of the most serious concerns was a meeting that occurred away from team facilities that included "several minutes" of looking through a phone. That was beyond the scope of what was initially understood to have occurred.

Emily Kaplan provided some additional details.

NHLPA investigation revealed some players didn't feel totally comfortable w/ Mike Babcock.

«Just awkward interactions» said one source.

A player agent: «He may be trying to change, but you can't force it. His communication style wasn't going to work for the younger generation»

Babcock, in fact, had a meeting that took place away from team facilities where he took a players phone for �several minutes' and went through it, which, rightly caused a lot of concern.

This was beyond anything Babcock had admitted to in his previous statements an ultimately was the straw that broke the camels back.

In any case, taking an players phone without their permission is wrong, holding onto it for more than servers minutes makes it worse and lying about how the events took place makes it impossible for an NHL organization to keep you.

At the end of the day, Mike Babcock has no one else to blame for having to step down, but himself and he's more than likely ruined any hope he had of returning to an NHL bench.

POLL
SEPTEMBRE 18 \| 242 ANSWERS NHL Insider reveals the exact situation that cost Mike Babcock his job Should Mike Babcock have been fired?
Yes, this is invasion of privacy	104	43 %
No, it's just woke people canceling someone	74	30.6 %
He should have never had this chance	64	26.4 %
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