Mike Babcock spent 17 consecutive NHL seasons behind a bench, racking up trophies like few ever have in the sport.
Suddenly, the past few years, the only coach in hockey history to win a Stanley Cup, Olympic gold medal, World Cup, World Championship and World Junior Championship was in cold rinks in such places as Burlington, Vermont, and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
After being let go by the Toronto Maple Leafs following a tough start to the 2019-20 season, Babcock could have gone in any number of directions. The one he went was college hockey, first as a volunteer advisor at the University of Vermont in 2020-21 and then as head coach at the University of Saskatchewan in 2021-22.
An assistant coach at that later stop? Michael Babcock, his son, who was working toward his MBA at the school after a short pro career as well as four years playing at Merrimack College in Massachusetts. There were plenty of family pulls back to what has become his home province, including his sisters and in-laws nearby in Saskatoon, but one of the most special parts about Babcock's year at the University of Saskatchewan was getting the chance to work with his son every day.
"When your kid is involved in sport, they're busy working out, they're busy playing junior hockey, then they're in college hockey, then you're in pro hockey," Babcock said. "It's, I don't know, seven years? You don't see them as much as you'd like to see them. Suddenly, I'm renting a house in Saskatoon 20 feet from the rink and he's living in the basement and you're working together every day while he takes his MBA.
"That's something I would never give back. I've said it a number of times -- the last three-and-a-half years has have been a gift from God to me. It's been absolutely spectacular. Getting involved in college sports and getting involved with my son has brought the joy for the game back for me, and I'm excited about being involved."
That's why a proclamation that made headlines -- Babcock saying in a radio interview in August 2022 that he had retired from coaching -- ended up being revisited. The younger Babcock continued his coaching career last year both with the University of Saskatchewan and helping out with the Ottawa Senators, often talking to his dad about the game and running ideas past him.
"I started breaking down every Ottawa game so we could talk about it, and the next thing you know, you're kind of getting excited about it," he said. "And then I had teams reach out. And the staff here, because I've known them for so long, it was something that I could see working for myself. I'm comfortable with it.
"Now I'm excited. I'm really excited, to be truthful. It's going to be a lot of fun. We have good young players here. We have a lot of things we need to fix and work on. But it'll be a lot of fun."
In fact, that's what drew Babcock to Columbus the most -- fun. He said he's known many of the major decision makers with Columbus, including president of hockey operations John Davidson and general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, for decades, and the chance at age 60 to work a group like that was attractive.
"I've known these guys forever, so you're more comfortable with them," he said. "I'm at the stage in my life, I've done this for a long time. I'm only doing it if it's going to be fun, and this is going to be a lot of fun. And I like having fun."
On the other side of things, the draw for the Blue Jackets is the chance to bring in a Stanley Cup winner (2008 with Detroit) as well as a two-time conference champion (2003 with Anaheim and 2009 with Detroit). Babcock's 700 wins are 12th most in NHL history, and he's led playoff teams in 14 of his 16 full NHL seasons. Of coaches with at least 1,000 games behind an NHL bench, his points percentage of .608 is fourth all-time.
Add in his international accomplishments, including gold medals with Team Canada at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, and Babcock has been one of the most successful coaches in hockey history as he arrives to coach a Blue Jackets team looking to take the next step.
The Blue Jackets have an interesting mix of young talent in such building blocks as Kent Johnson, Kirill Marchenko, Cole Sillinger and potentially rookies David Jiricek and Adam Fantilli, plus veterans ready to win like Johnny Gaudreau, Patrik Laine, Zach Werenski, Sean Kuraly, Erik Gudbranson, and the recently acquired Damon Severon and Ivan Provorov.
"I look forward to getting to know them," Babcock said. "I look forward to understanding what they perceive of themselves and what they think they're great at, and then a plan we could build together to help each one maximize their game. But also then to maximize the group game so we can all look organized and look good together. That's the biggest thing -- for individual success, you have to be organized as a team to work right. I look forward to that."
But the biggest draw for Babcock to Columbus might be the city itself. He's spent a fair amount of his career close to Ohio's capital city, including stints coaching with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the AHL and with the Red Wings. He owns a farm in Ohio and has made plenty of trips to Columbus to coach against the Blue Jackets over the years.
Given that familiarity, he knows how much The 5th Line wants to win, and the plan is to help make that happen.
"The fanbase here, it's ridiculous how good it is," Babcock said. "But if you're a fan, you like to watch your team be good, so we have an obligation to be better than we've been for this fan group that's as loyal as any fan group. It's a heck of a place.
"I know when I used to come in here, I'd hate it when that cannon went off, so I look forward to enjoying that now."
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