Mike Babcock is cleared to return, but the Blue Jackets stayed silent about the former head coach.
That silence became the story almost as fast as the ruling itself.
One of the most watched coaching files of the offseason reached its end when the NHL and the NHL Players' Association completed a joint investigation and cleared Babcock to work in the league again.
That decision removed the last barrier for the Edmonton Oilers, who are now free to move ahead with plans to make Babcock their next head coach.
But while the rest of the hockey world reacted, Columbus chose not to.
According to insider Aaron Portzline, the Blue Jackets declined to comment on the decision through a team spokesman.
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Silence can speak loudly in this league, especially when the name attached to it is Mike Babcock.
Columbus says nothing, and that says plenty about Mike Babcock
Babcock's time with the Blue Jackets remains one of the strangest coaching turns in recent NHL memory.
He was hired in the summer of 2023, then resigned before coaching a single regular-season game.
The fallout came after concerns surfaced over his interactions with players, including allegations that he asked to see personal photos on their phones.
That storyline brought heavy scrutiny at the time, and it never fully left his name. Once Edmonton's interest became serious, the league and the union revisited the matter with a fresh review.
The final result was clear. There was no basis to block Babcock from returning behind an NHL bench.
That should have been the end of it.
Instead, Columbus added another layer by refusing to weigh in publicly on a coach whose exit became a major story before puck drop ever arrived.
The Blue Jackets had a chance to put a clean sentence on the record and move on. They passed on it.
Maybe that silence reflects a team that wants no part of reopening an old chapter. Maybe it reflects discomfort with how the whole episode unfolded from the start.
Either way, the message landed. Babcock is heading back toward the NHL, and Columbus appears content to leave his chapter exactly where it ended.
That's why the reaction mattered. In this case, saying nothing said plenty.
Did the Blue Jackets say more by staying silent on Mike Babcock?
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