Babcock fired by the Leafs discussion
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Martin Skoula
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- Oct 18, 2017
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Same with Barrie and Muzzin. They had their best games under Babcock within the first week of coming here.
I understand not wanting Barrie to do spinoramas in the defensive zone, but Babcock managing to make Muzzin a third less physical than he was in LA is really concerning. It's not like Muzzin was used to playing freewheeling Double Dion hockey, he was coming out of Sutter's system, and Babcock still managed to neuter him even more.
hockeyes
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- Jun 15, 2013
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He will absolutely be hired again unless something a lot worse comes out. He will say he learned from this experience once the heat dies down and will get picked up by a team desperate for a change. I think the part many are forgetting is GM's know exactly what they are getting when they hire these types, sometimes their ego gets out of control though and they need a timeout to deflate.
MsMeow
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Chelios' comments were corroborated by Franzen so loudmouth or not, he's the messenger.
He's a hard man to play for, I think anybody that's seen Babcock work for any period of time would state the same
He's hard on young guys, he's also hard on old guys and can be vindictive and likes to play mind games
That being said coaches have been yelling at players since the beginning of time and playing pointless mind games, Babcock is nothing special in that regard
That doesn't make his behavior right but let's get a little realism here, besides Marner the rest of this stuff is pretty meh
He's hard on young guys, he's also hard on old guys and can be vindictive and likes to play mind games
That being said coaches have been yelling at players since the beginning of time and playing pointless mind games, Babcock is nothing special in that regard
That doesn't make his behavior right but let's get a little realism here, besides Marner the rest of this stuff is pretty meh
Throw More Waffles
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It's true.
If Babcock's behaviour is really seen as a fireable offence worthy of public shame, then I have a feeling things will blow up out of control.
I think this either gets buried with no more said, or there will be a reckoning for nhl coaches. I mean... all he really did here was yell at a player. No the punching or kicking. No racist tirades. He yelled at a player. That's now offbase? Jeez... watch out nhl.
If yelling at guys is a firable offense there won't be many coaches working that's for damn sure
Also does that make a bag skate physical abuse now? What about benching a guy, is that mental abuse?
I'm no Babcock fan by any stretch of the imagination but a lot of this stuff is just a disciplinarian type of coach being a disciplinarian who's got a bit of a vindictive streak
A1LeafNation
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Babcock get to be known as the coach who rode the coattails of talented teams, rode the back of Giguere's run in 2003, and was a shitty human being.
As he would say, that's his lot in life.
As he would say, that's his lot in life.
Dreakmur
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Roll the lines. Equal playing time. Losing ice time can have emotional consequences, so that should be considered abuse now, right?
Johan Franzen is a playoff warrior. He suffered severe emotional abuse at the hands of Babcock. PTSD. Inability to sleep at night from 2011 - 2018.
Go ahead and defend that. Or continue blaming the victims of this abuser.
Go ahead and defend that. Or continue blaming the victims of this abuser.
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Pookie
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Messenger?
More like a passenger.
Chelios was a Senior Advisor in the Wings organization when this happened and all the way through to Babcock’s departure.
He reported it to Holland. Who did nothing.
Oh well right?
Then continued to do his job as Senior Advisor while this behaviour that “shook” him, continued.
His podcast interview now did nothing to help Franzen back then. Or any other player after that.
Pookie
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I think with knowledge of the effects of concussions, depression and other mental health issues.... I would hope Babcock would have found a better way to work with the player if he could do it over again.
Throw More Waffles
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I guess a big thing for me is... did Babcock know he had mental health issues?
If not, then all he did was yell at a player. The nervous breakdown was more about his mental health than Babcock.
likecheese
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Some people will defend and defend it until it happens to them. Or their mother. Or to one of their kids. Happens to a stranger, c'est la vie, toughen up right? The guy's going on about mental health issues and meanwhile, causing his players to have nervous breakdowns.
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Well... they had a team Doctor.
But that doesn’t really reveal much.
Hard to say what was disclosed to the Doctor and whether Franzen was open with Babcock.
I’d like to think that if Babcock would have known, he would have acted differently.
The alternative is just too cruel.
A1LeafNation
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For someone who advocates for mental, you'd think he would know or know the signs.
Babcock walks, talks, smells, and sounds, like a duck...
How about just treat people with respect and dignity?
Nobody really knows what the person across from us is going through.
Babcock loved to talk the talk but look at how he treated his hockey family.
I can still hear him saying "He's a good man...."
What makes a good man Mike? Tell me you f***ing hypocrite coward.
Maybe he would but he doesn't have a time machine and this stuff was seen as acceptable when Babcock was doing it
I'd also point out that if you have any underlying mental health issues professional sports isn't a great industry to be employed in
Your under enormous pressure on an almost constant basis
A1LeafNation
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Franzen: Mike Babcock is "the worst person I have ever met," as translated by the outlet.
On a recent episode of the Spittin Chiclets podcast, Franzen's former teammate Chris Chelios said Babcock "verbally assaulted" Franzen during the 2012 playoffs while serving as bench boss in Detroit, causing him to have a "nervous breakdown."
"I get the shivers when I think about it," Franzen said. "That incident occurred against Nashville in the playoffs. It was coarse, nasty, and shocking. But that was just one out of a hundred things he did. The tip of the iceberg.
"He would lay into a couple of the other players. The nice team players, the guys who don't say very much. When they left the team he went on to focus on me. It was verbal attacks, he said horrible things."
Franzen admitted that as a coach, Babcock was "meticulous and well prepared" but said "he's a terrible person, the worst I've ever met. He's a bully who was attacking people."
The Swedish winger claims Babcocks' tirades began one year prior to the event in Nashville and got so bad he struggled to get out of bed.
"From 2011 on, I was terrified of being at the rink," Franzen said.
On a recent episode of the Spittin Chiclets podcast, Franzen's former teammate Chris Chelios said Babcock "verbally assaulted" Franzen during the 2012 playoffs while serving as bench boss in Detroit, causing him to have a "nervous breakdown."
"I get the shivers when I think about it," Franzen said. "That incident occurred against Nashville in the playoffs. It was coarse, nasty, and shocking. But that was just one out of a hundred things he did. The tip of the iceberg.
"He would lay into a couple of the other players. The nice team players, the guys who don't say very much. When they left the team he went on to focus on me. It was verbal attacks, he said horrible things."
Franzen admitted that as a coach, Babcock was "meticulous and well prepared" but said "he's a terrible person, the worst I've ever met. He's a bully who was attacking people."
The Swedish winger claims Babcocks' tirades began one year prior to the event in Nashville and got so bad he struggled to get out of bed.
"From 2011 on, I was terrified of being at the rink," Franzen said.
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You are a puzzle.
Your voice is amongst those that feel he was a terrible coach, motivator and all around person.
Yet the player you called the heart and soul of the team.... many, many...... many.... times, got traded this offseason.
His reaction? He was devastated. Bummed out. He wanted to stay here.
Even nixed a trade to Calgary. Kadri tweeted he thinks “Babs is a great coach” and let’s not forget the turn around of your favourite player:
Big Read: Babcock will turn Kadri into a star - Sportsnet.ca
If the room was lost. If the coach was so horrible... how do stories like this emerge?
Like most things in life, the truth of Mike Babcock lies somewhere in the middle.
likecheese
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The guy won a single Cup with a team that should have won 3 and hasn't won a playoff round in 10 years. If you're going to use 'pressure to win' as an excuse to verbally abuse players and bring them to tears and breakdowns, maybe you should try winning then.
If you've played professional sports and your over a certain age your almost certain to have run into something like this
Been yelled at?
Been called names?
Been physically assaulted?
I've had every single one of those things done to me by coaches during my professional rugby career
Besides the physical stuff if you were playing any upper echelon sport 10 years ago you were going to get verbally flayed and you expected it, you still should from coaches and spectators
Thankfully it looks to be coming to an end. Or at least the wheels have been put in motion to get all kinds of abuse out of professional sports.
Amateur sports (specifically hockey in Canada) have implemented a zero tolerance abuse and bullying policy.
Babcock's resume is very good
Babcock's a prick and difficult to play for
We all know it but if playing for him is bringing you to tears and emotional breakdowns I get the feeling there an underlying issue beyond just coaching
