The Columbus Blue Jackets named associate head coach Pascal Vincent as the new bench boss on Sunday. Vincent's promotion came on the heels of former head coach, Mike Babcock, resigning due to a recent scandal. Babcock is alleged to have gone through his players' phones searching for their personal photos.

Vincent spoke about his promotion and the resignation for the first time on Sunday. “This is a difficult day, but I am looking forward to this opportunity and appreciate the organization's confidence in me to lead this team,” the Blue Jackets head coach said, via The Athletic's Aaron Portzline.

“We have a great group of guys that have been working very hard to prepare for the season. My focus will be to work with our staff to help them get better every day and be ready for what we believe will be an exciting season,” Vincent continued.

The Blue Jackets hired Babcock on July 1. Babcock's experience and track record of success was attractive to the team. Especially given the franchise's lack of success in the postseason. Columbus has made it past the first round just one time in their history.

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The allegations against Babcock emerged a few days ago. Paul Bissonnette went public on the Spittin Chiclets podcast to share the allegations that he received from players on the team. Initially, Babcock said the whole thing was a misunderstanding.

Eventually, the NHL and NHLPA got involved in the situation. Their initial findings found no wrongdoing, but the tune soon began to change. It all ended with Babcock's resignation on Sunday.

Vincent makes his regular season debut as head coach in front of the team's home fans. The Blue Jackets welcome the Philadelphia Flyers to town on October 12 to ring in the new hockey season.