The next season in the National Hockey League has not yet started and the account for coaching resignations has already been opened. Due to a major scandal that broke out, one of the most decorated coaches in the world, Mike Babcock, lost his job with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 60-year-old specialist was not forgiven for wanting to get to know the new team better by studying personal photos on his players’ phones.
The only hockey coach in history is a member of the Triple Gold Club, who, as head coach, led his teams to victory at the Olympic Games (Team Canada in 2010 and 2014), the World Championship (Team Canada 2004) and the Stanley Cup (Detroit Red Wings in 2008) after being released by the Toronto Maple Leafs, he remained unemployed at the NHL level for the last four years.
Last summer, Babcock took over at Columbus, but his official return to the North American league never happened. The specialist left the club after it became known that he asked hockey players to show personal photographs. For the first time, relevant information was made public by the hosts of the famous American podcast Spittin’ Chiclets. Babcock admitted this was his way of getting to know the players better.
After this information spread, many uniformed hockey players publicly came to the coach’s defense, saying that they had not been pressured and that they themselves saw nothing reprehensible in it. But in the modern Western world you can lose your job for less money. Babcock came under enormous public pressure and was forced to resign to save the organization from loss of image.
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Considering the Canadian coach’s entire background, and this is not the first time Mike has found himself in such a situation during his career, it seems quite doubtful that Babcock will be able to get a job in the NHL again in the future. Maybe in a couple of years Mike will have another chance, but most likely the “cancel culture” will finally close the legendary coach’s path to the North American league.
What should a specialist do in this stagnant situation? A job in the KHL could be Mike’s salvation. After all, there is already a corresponding example in Russian history. A few years ago, another Canadian coach, Bill Peters, lost his job with the Calgary Flames due to a racist scandal and moved to Russia, managing Avtomobilist. Nothing successful came of Peters’ union with the Yekaterinburg Club, but this is a completely different matter: this does not cancel the very fact of Bill’s stay in Russia.
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It is interesting that last year there were cautious talks about Babcock’s possible arrival at Avangard. At that time, the director of the Omsk Club was Alexander Krylov, and such an appointment would have been completely in his style. In the Krylov era, the “hawks” would definitely not have skimped on the salary of the Canadian coach, but at that time Mike himself was only formally unemployed. Although Babcock had long since stopped coaching the Maple Leafs, his contract with the Canadian club was still legally valid. According to him, the coach continued to earn a huge salary, and if Babcock had moved to Russia, he would have stopped receiving that money. Mike did not approach this option and all conversations remained at the level of conversations.
And a year later, there are not many options for an absolutely hypothetical transfer of a member of the “Triple Gold Club” to Russia. Now in Omsk there is a different direction and it is unlikely that the new bosses will be interested in the Canadian coach and, moreover, it is very doubtful that there will be a lot of money for him now. Due to high financial demands, only a few KHL teams can afford Babcock. From now on, “Avtomobilist” and… SKA come to mind.
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There are simply no other suitable options available. “Salavat Yulaev” in the current situation does not have enough financial resources to pursue Babcock. The tractor is in the same position. It is unlikely that Chelyabinsk will be willing to sign a big contract for the head coach. “Ak Bars” is already doing well in its relationship with Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, Moscow’s “Dynamo” had an almost ideal start to the season, and this capital club will definitely not pay millions of dollars to any coach.
CSKA, after winning two Gagarin Cups in a row, may remain unstable in the regular KHL championship, but Sergei Fedorov’s position in the military club will not weaken any time soon. And even if the unbelievable happens and Fedorov’s chair suddenly shakes, then Canada or the United States would be the last countries where the top leadership of the military would want to hire a head coach.
As for Lokomotiv, whose management once actively practiced the use of Canadian specialists, Igor Nikitin has a recently signed long-term contract and there are definitely no grounds for his dismissal. Especially after the successful start of the new KHL season for the railroaders. All is well at Metallurg Magnitogorsk under the leadership of their new coach Andrei Razin.
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Average clubs are not worth discussing in relation to Babcock. That leaves Avtomobilist and SKA. In Yekaterinburg there is a lot of money to support the team, but the sponsors who provide the funds cannot wait for the corresponding result of their club. So the start of the new season was not good for the Urals. The team’s play is not pleasing to the eye and many of the club’s iconic hockey players still play clearly below the expected level. An additional trump card to attract the Canadian to Avtomobilist could be the figure of Pavel Datsyuk, who successfully played for Babcock in Detroit.
“I am very grateful to the many coaches who helped me develop. Starting with the children’s coach Valery Goloukhov, who worked with me in Sverdlovsk, Vladimir Krikunov, who turned me into a professional hockey player. I had little contact with Bowman during my rookie season. He’s great, there’s no doubt about that. But Babcock made me the player I am right now,” Datsyuk said of working with Mike.
If we talk about SKA, then everything comes down to the figure of Roman Rotenberg. Now the 42-year-old civil servant is both king and god in the military club. Originally from Leningrad, he is at the same time head coach and vice-president of the board of directors of the hockey club. Additionally, Rotenberg is the same person responsible for selecting Army players. Without the approval of Roman Borisovich, not a single transfer is made in the Army Club, both to enter and leave the team. If at some point Rotenberg decides that it is time to focus again on managerial activities, then the option with Babcock may well shine in new colors. For now, it is almost impossible to see Mike in Russia.
