2023-10-05 23:52:27
The Mike Babcock saga has received a lot of attention in recent weeks.
During an interview with Jean-Charles Lajoie on Thursday, Pascal Vincent wanted to provide his version of the facts.
“I can just speak regarding what I know. I don’t know what the stories are. Even if I knew, I wouldn’t say it. These are private matters, but I’ll be honest. The first time we met, ”Babs” had called me the day before. He told me that we were going to get to know each other, that I might show him photos of my family and that he was going to show me some of his family. It was his house, so his wife was obviously there. I found that quite correct. I was actually excited to show him my family, my parents and what I do in the summer. There was nothing intrusive regarding it.”
The new head coach of the Blue Jackets had had time to build a bond with Babcock and he was not indifferent to his departure.
“It was especially surprising. The morning it happened and we found out Mike was leaving, we had been in a meeting for four hours. We talked regarding the season, training camp and watched videos. Early in the followingnoon, one of the deputies called me to tell me that he had seen Mike leaving. It happened very quickly. We worked hard this summer and met several times. We spent a lot of time together. Shortly following, I called him. He was in the car. It was a fairly short conversation. He told me it wouldn’t work. I might tell he was emotional. When he left, we had to find a solution.
Now head coach, Vincent says he is proud of his journey and the resilience he has shown to get here.
“The path you have to take to get to your destination is sometimes different from others. When I look back, I have to say I wouldn’t change a thing. I have no doubt in my mind that I can do the job and that I am ready. It will be my first contract, but I don’t feel like that. I worked with good people. I’ve been around hockey for a long time. My time with Paul Maurice, Brad Larsen, Claude Noel, and even with Mike Babcock during the summer, these are all elements that helped me understand a little more the different philosophies and increase my baggage of experience. Not only am I confident, but I think the moment has come at the right time.”
The former Montreal Junior driver knew he was close to achieving his goal of becoming a head coach in the NHL. Other training courses have also shown interest in him in recent months.
“I didn’t have a summer. I had interviews with the Blue Jackets, the Calgary Flames and the New York Rangers. The three interviews were completely different. These are good experiences. The Flames and Rangers have been very honest. They told me exactly what they were looking for. Calgary was looking more internally and New York wanted a coach with experience. They still wanted to interview me. In the end, it went very well. I was in the race until the end.”
Watch the interview in question in the video above.
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