Another terrible Babcock incident comes out of Detroit

You’ve probably been keeping up with the messy situation in Columbus especially after the Blue Jackets did admit they made a mistake hiring Mike Babcock as head coach earlier this summer. Without a job now, Babs isn’t a threat anymore to players, which has prompted some to come out with stories of past experiences with the controversial head coach.
During his time in Detroit, forward Antoine Roussel was a witness to some of Babcock’s questionable behaviour. On the air of 98,5 radio in Montreal on Tuesday, he recalled how horrible Babcock had been to veteran leader Mike Modano and prevented him from reaching an important milestone in the Red Wings’ jersey.

On April 3rd, 2011, Modano was just four games away from reaching the legendary 1,500-game mark.At 40, he would become the 21st player in NHL history to reach this plateau. On top of that, the scenario was almost perfect as the Wings were hosting the Minnesota Wild. Twenty-three years earlier, the North Stars (of Minnesota) had made Modano their first overall pick in the draft. However, Babcock did the unthinkable and ruin the event for everyone involved. That night, Babcock decided to leave out Modano out of his lineup. We’re talking about the second most prolific American player in NHL history behind Brett Hull with 1374 points. Modano ultimately ended his career playing 1,499 games. One freaking game short because of Babcock.

This is how Roussel described Babcock, translated from French, on the air when referring to the Modano incident:

“He’s a coach who lacks class, judgment, in the end, it caught up with him. I find it a shame that he was given this opportunity to return to the NHL.”

We all do, Roussel, we all do.

Recommended articles:

• Chris Chelios blasts Mike Babcock, reveals more shocking details
• Paul Bissonnette releases another bombshell report on Mike Babcock
• Paul Bissonnette says there's “even worse yet” news to come out about Mike Babcock
• Blue Jackets issue a statement on further changes following Babcock resignation
• Biznasty and Ryan Whitney respond to Mike Babcock's resignation.