Stories came out after he was fired that Babcock had asked rookie Mitch Marner to rank his teammates' effort on the ice which he thought would be confidential. Babcock ended up reading the list to the team which put Marner in a tough situation. Veterans Nazem Kadri and Tyler Bozak went to see their head coach after this asking him to apologize to Marner which he did.
Former Red Wings have also spoken up about Babcock, even though he was very successful in Detroit, he seemed to be just as ruthless with the players. Johan Franzen said that former head coach was the worst person he has ever met. Hall of famer Chris Chelios also said Babcock was abusive toward Franzen.
Most recently, the former Wings coach was hired by the Blue Jackets but was fire before the season even started because he apparently asked players to show their private pictures in which he shared with members of management.
