Former Detroit Red Wings netminder Jimmy Howard recently mentioned that he was naive and sort of lost in his own little world in goal while his former head coach Mike Babcock's arrogant tactics persisted.
Howard, 40, spent 11 years as a mainstay for the Detroit Red Wings between the pipes and 16 years overall in the organization between Detroit and Grand Rapids. The product of the University of Maine was selected 64th overall in the second round of the 2003 NHL Entry Level Draft. Howard led Maine to the Frozen Four Championship game only to lose 1-0 to Denver in 2003-04. Howard also set an NCAA record that season posting a 1.19 goals against average (GAA) with a .956 save percentage. Howard went 14-4-3 that season. Also, that sellar GAA record would be since broken in 2022 by Yaniv Perets (1.17), a Carolina Hurricanes draft selection.
Howard succeeded Chris Osgood as the franchise's clear No. 1 goaltender in the 2009-10 season, producing a stellar 37-15-10 record backed by an outstanding 2.26 goals against average and .924 save percentage. Overall, Howard finished his career with 246 victories to 196 losses and 70 ties with an excellent 2.62 GAA and a .912 save percentage.
The former stalwart netminder can be found rotating through the hockey season at the news desk alongside the witty John Keating during Detroit Red Wings games during the pre and post-game show and intermissions. Howard, a bit uncomfortable in the role, continues to improve, but it's apparent that television is not his strong suit. That said, Chris Osgood, who struggled in the same role when he began, really blossomed at the desk and in the booth when he stepped in for Mickey Redmond. Redmond typically stays home when the Detroit Red Wings head out on their West Coast trips, leaving Osgood or Larry Murphy to handle the color commentary duties alongside the elite Ken Daniels. So, there is still hope for Howard, but it just might take some time.
Jimmy Howard shocked by former head coach Mike Babcock's antics.
Howard recently joined the Cam and Strick Podcast and had a few interesting things to say about his former head coach. One thing that stood out was that Howard mentioned Babcock did not endorse him for the Calder Trophy, which is awarded to the Rookie of the Year following his stellar first NHL season. Instead, Babcock publically endorsed defenseman Tyler Myers. “He did a media scrum right in front of me in Phoenix … and he was like, ‘My vote’s for Tyler Myers,’ ” Howard said. “I was like, ‘Huh, that’s nice. Thanks, Mike, I appreciate it. They all turn their attention and come to me, and I’m like, ‘Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a vote.’
There are far too many instances where Mike Babcock felt the need to stoke his ego, but the few that stand out have been heavily documented. Babcock scratched Hall Of Fame forward Mike Modano on the final game of the regular season, assuring he'd finish his career with 1,499 career games. “We were just all in shock. … All of us were like, ‘What in the world is going on here?’ Howard said. “To this day, I still don’t know why.”
Babcock tried to make Chris Chelios a healthy scratch during the outdoor game between the Red Wings and his hometown Blackhawks in Chicago. As the story goes, Chelios went to Red Wings general manager Ken Holland and demanded he play. Babcock then started Chelios, and the Hall Of Fame defender never played another shift. Chelios mentioned that his family was sitting near the player's bench and continued to hand him beers from the stands for the duration of the contest once he realized he wasn't going to play another shift. As Chelios once described, he was asked to play a second shift late in the third period but refused. “Why (did) you bench Cheli in Chicago for the outdoor game?” Howard said. “Some of these moves made zero sense. Probably just to flex some muscle.”
The story that seemingly unleashed the majority of these Babcock stories stemmed from former Red Wings forward Johan Franzen, who broke his silence back in 2019. Franzen called Babcock "a terrible person and the worst person I've ever met." After Franzen spoke about how his former head coach often scolded him, many of his teammates came to his aid, furthermore confirming the mistreatment. Franzen battled a variety of head injuries and usually found himself belittled and chastised by Babcock on a daily basis. He'd be verbally abused so much so that Franzen mentioned that he was terrified to come to the rink.
Babcock's continued antics would later cost him a couple of NHL jobs, one in Toronto and most recently in Columbus. With the Leafs, Babcock had Mitch Marner, who was a rookie at the time, rank his teammates from hardest to least hardest working. Marner was assured the exercise would remain confidential, but Babcock decided to read the list to the team. Babcock was investigated by the NHLPA days after being hired by the Blue Jackets for invasion of privacy as he requested players to turn over their phones and allow him to scroll through their camera roll.
“I didn’t have a lot of interaction with him. All the stuff that came out publicly, I was like, ‘Was I that naïve? Was I living in my own little world that much that I didn’t notice what was going on,’ ” Howard said on the podcast. “But then a lot of the time a lot of the stuff that was went on was during the game and I was 90 feet from the bench standing in the crease, so I had no idea any of that was going on.”
He added, “Every once in a while, I’d turn the corner in the morning, and there he’d be, ‘Huh, played some (expletive) dodgeball last night, eh, Howie?’ And I’m like, “Yup, couldn’t get hit by it. Sorry, Babs.’ Little comments like that, but it was nothing like, ‘Oh my gosh, he just zinged me so hard I’m not going to be able to get by.’ ”