The Columbus Blue Jackets officially introduced Stanley Cup winner Mike Babcock as the franchise’s ninth head coach on Saturday.
“This is a terrific city with strong ownership, a great management team, talented players, world-class facilities and a dedicated, passionate fan base, and I couldn’t be more excited to be the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets,” he said.
Babcock, 60, agreed to a two-year contract through the 2024-25 season. The widely reported deal was finalized after his contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs expired at the end of June.
“Our goal at the outset of this process was to find a coach to give our players the best chance to succeed through structure, discipline and experience as we continue to build a team that can compete for a Stanley Cup championship,” Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. “After a very thorough and lengthy process we are pleased to welcome Mike Babcock as the next head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets.”
The Blue Jackets fired Brad Larsen on April 15 after finishing last in the Eastern Conference at 25-48-9 (59 points).
Babcock has not coached in the NHL since being fired by Toronto in November 2019.
He coached Detroit to a 2008 Stanley Cup championship and also reached the Stanley Cup Final with the Red Wings in 2009 and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2003.
“We are committed to building a Stanley Cup champion and doing it the right way through hard work, pride, professionalism and respect,” said Blue Jackets president of hockey operations John Davidson. “We had extensive conversations internally, with numerous people around our league, with Mike during the interview process, and with players in our leadership group, and we believe we have found the right coach in Mike Babcock.”
Babcock’s NHL coaching career includes 700 wins in 1,301 regular-season games with the Ducks (2002-04), Red Wings (2005-15) and Maple Leafs (2015-19).
He also coached Canada to gold medals at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2004 world championships.
Babcock coached the men’s hockey team at the University of Saskatchewan during the 2021-22 season.
–Field Level Media