Mike Babcock’s full scale of alleged abuse revealed in new interview

Mike Babcock tarnished his reputation as a tactical mastermind due to the scope of verbal abuse he inflicted upon his players during his stints with the Anaheim Ducks, Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Athletic’s Katie Strang and Dan Robson wrote a comprehensive, exclusive feature detailing Babcock’s full scale of alleged harassment and abuse, where he targeted players and sought to embarrass them in a cruel attempt to maintain control.

It was previously reported that Babcock made Mitch Marner rank his teammates’ effort levels on from best-to-worst during his rookie season. Marner was under the impression that his impressions were confidential but Babcock revealed the list to the team, which deeply upset Toronto’s burgeoning star. The Athletic  reported Friday that Nazem Kadri and Tyler Bozak spoke to Babcock, and he eventually apologized to Marner.

This wasn’t Babcock’s first one-sided confrontation with Marner. The Athletic reported that Babcock met Marner in the tunnel during the first intermission of his initial preseason game and told him he’d be sent back to the Ontario Hockey League, as opposed to meeting with him privately, which is generally considered standard procedure.

Babcock most recently was hired as the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets but prior to the beginning of the 2023-24 season but the NHLPA launched an investigation into allegations that the veteran head coach shared his players’ private photos against their will, and he resigned on September 17.

Although he won prolifically with the Red Wings, several of Babcock’s former players have levied allegations of verbal harassment and abuse. Johan Franzen said Babcock is the worst person he’s ever met, Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Chelios confirmed Babcock’s abusive conduct towards Detroit’s towering winger, and former Ducks defenseman Mike Commodore celebrated Babcock’s firing from the Maple Leafs in 2019, calling him ‘a terrible human being’ in a multi-tweet thread.

We’re not going to aggregate Robson and Strang’s entire story — it’s certainly worth reading the full story at The Athletic. Babcock was once considered the best coach of his era and he squandered it due to his abject cruelty.