The Columbus Blue Jackets raised some eyebrows when they brought in Mike Babcock as their new head coach earlier this offseason, but defenseman Zach Werenski is confident the hard-nosed bench boss has left his controversial reputation behind him.
"I think that's out the window," Werenski said in a recent interview with NHL.com's Craig Merz. "I don't think guys have any second guesses on it. I think guys are really excited, actually, it seems from talking with the guys that have met with him already.
"Everyone kind of came away fired up and ready to go so that's important, right?"
Babcock hasn't coached in the NHL since he was fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs in November 2019. The team was mired in a six-game winless streak at the time, but allegations of a toxic workplace also came to light.
Shortly after the veteran coach's departure, star forward Mitch Marner confirmed that, during his rookie season, Babcock made him rank his teammates according to their work ethic and proceeded to share that list with the players.
In December 2019, former Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen called Babcock a "bully" and "the worst person I have ever met." Franzen's former teammate, Chris Chelios, said Babcock "verbally assaulted" Franzen during the 2012 playoffs, causing him to have a "nervous breakdown."
Babcock also drew criticism for scratching Mike Modano in what would have been his 1,500th NHL game in 2011, and for sitting Jason Spezza during the Maple Leafs' season opener against the Ottawa Senators - Spezza's former team - in 2019.
Despite his checkered past, Babcock conceded that his time away from the NHL was beneficial to him and his tactics.
"Change in all of us takes time," Babcock said during his introductory presser in July, per The Associated Press. "I think what this has done is given me a chance to get outside my body and have a look and see what I'm doing and understand you needed to change, you needed to grow."
Werenski said he recently visited Babcock in Michigan, where they had a "good conversation."
"We talked about myself and what he expects out of me, the team," Werenski told Merz. "I got to know him a little bit, and you know, I left impressed. That kind of fired me up. I think from that point on I just want to get to training camp to get the season going."
Werenski hasn't played since Nov. 10, when he sustained a shoulder injury that required season-ending surgery. The Jackets' No. 1 blue-liner reported that his shoulder is "all good" now.
Babcock is the only head coach in the "Triple Gold Club" after winning the Stanley Cup (2008), the World Championship (2004), and a gold medal at the Olympics (2010, 2014).
He is replacing Brad Larsen, who was fired in April after the Blue Jackets missed the playoffs for the third straight season.
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