Blue Jackets: Mike Babcock is the future coach (not Patrick Roy)

The situation in Columbus has been under close scrutiny for several weeks now. The reason is quite simple: the club has a head coaching vacancy to fill, and among the candidates most often mentioned are Quebecers Patrick Roy and Pascal Vincent.

And in the last few days, the buzz was that the Blue Jackets might already have their man, but would have to wait to announce him. This gave some substance to the rumour surrounding Roy, who might want to wait until after the Memorial Cup to announce his return to the NHL.

This morning, Aaron Portzline stated that he feels the Jackets have made their choice, but that something is preventing an official announcement. Once again, Roy agrees.

#CBJ taking longer than they wanted or anticipated to hire a coach, but the delay this week is not due simply to their own deliberations. Something or someone is holding up the process. Will be fascinating to see this unfold, hopefully soon.

– Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) June 3, 2023

However, according to Darren Dreger, it’s not just Roy who’s in a situation that could force a delayed announcement.

In fact, according to what he’s currently hearing at the Memorial Cup, Mike Babcock would be the club’s next coach.

The reason for the delay? Babcock is still under contract with the Maple Leafs until the end of the month, so the Blue Jackets may have to wait a little longer to announce him.

Speculation around the Memorial Cup is Mike Babcock will return to the NHL as @BlueJacketsNHL new coach and the delay in announcing coincides with his existing contract with the Maple Leafs expiring the end of this month. https://t.co/OUlxBRS8bq

– Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 3, 2023

In fact, Dreger reiterates that this is just what’s being said in the industry right now. It’s not impossible that sometime Monday, the Blue Jackets will announce that Roy (or any other candidate) has won the job.

But if no announcement is made in the next week or so, it’s probably safe to say that Babcock will be the club’s next coach. The announcement could come as late as early July.

If the rumour is true, then, it would mean that Babcock would have the task of developing a young club and taking it to the top within a few years. I hope he doesn’t make one of the club’s top prospects make another list of the team’s laziest players.

We’ll have to keep an eye on this over the next few days, but then again, if nothing is announced in the next few days, we can probably assume that Babcock will be the man to trust in Columbus. It remains to be seen whether he will repeat the successes of the Red Wings or the failures of the Maple Leafs in his new position.

Gossip

– What do you think?

The Stanley Cup Final kicks off tonight.

Are you feeling the buzz? 🏒

– Maxime Truman (@MaximeTruman) June 3, 2023

– We can hear each other.

Tkachuk, Bobrovsky and Eichel start with a head start, but other candidates could be on the horizon. https://t.co/4h1vBalw0t

– Jonathan Bernier (@JBernierJDM) June 3, 2023

– Once again, Max Verstappen is out front.

The Quebecer gets 6th in qualifying 🏁 https://t.co/4YoBUnPdAL

– TVA Sports (@TVASports) June 3, 2023