Sabres Daily: Babcock Bye-Bye, Vincent Hired; Khaira Signs

Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Mike Babcock did what appeared to be inevitable on Sunday, announcing that he would resign after allegations that he commandeered their phones in pre-season interviews. After the information leaked on the Spittin Chiclets podcast and gained steam late last week after the NHLPA interviewed Blue Jackets players, the Stanley Cup winner indicated he was resigning because “continuing as head coach….was going to be too much of a distraction”.

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, multiple sources indicated that one of the most serious concerns was a meeting that occurred away from team facilities that included “several minutes” of looking through a player’s phone, which was beyond the scope of what was initially understood to have occurred.

Assistant Pascal Vincent was named the new head coach.

Associate Coach Pascal Vincent has been named Head Coach and has agreed to a two-year contract through the 2024-25 National Hockey League season pic.twitter.com/1a75riPy4E

— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) September 17, 2023

Sabres In Case You Missed It

• Buffalo’s Top Prospects – #9: Ryan Johnson
• Will Kulich, Savoie Replace Quinn?
• Buffalo’s Top Prospects – #8: Lukas Rousek
• Are Dahlin Contract Negotiations At An Impasse?
• Buffalo’s Top Prospects – #7: Anton Wahlberg
• Prospal Hoping To Have Positive Influence On Kulich
• Buffalo’s Top Prospects – #6: Noah Ostlund
• Savoie Among Three Stars At Prospect Challenge
• Buffalo’s Top Prospects – #5: Isak Rosen

Unlike most of the player transactions the week before the beginning of training camp, the Minnesota Wild signed winger Jujhar Khaira to a one-year, two-way contract on Sunday. The former Oiler and Blackhawks forward agreed to a league-minimum $775,000 deal, with a minor league salary of $300,000.

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