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Blue Jackets hire 17-season NHL bench boss Babcock as coach / Photo: © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
Blue Jackets hire 17-season NHL bench boss Babcock as coach
Mike Babcock, who guided the Detroit Red Wings to a Stanley Cup title 15 years ago, was named on Saturday as the new coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The 60-year-old Canadian spent 17 seasons as an NHL coach, leading the Anaheim Ducks to the Stanley Cup final in 2003 in his first season behind the bench.
Babcock compiled 700 wins, 12th-most in NHL history, in 1,301 games over two years with Anaheim, 10 with Detroit and just over four seasons with Toronto before being fired in November 2019 after a start of 9-10 with four overtime losses.
He spent the past two seasons as a volunteer coach at the University of Saskatchewan before resigning last August.
Babcock signed a two-year contract to replace Brad Larsen, who was fired April 15 after winning only 25 games last season, finishing 31st among 32 clubs and missing the playoffs for the third consecutive year.
"We are convinced we got the best coach for the job," Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "His coaching achievements talk for themselves."
A. Lefebvre--BTZ
