Oilers interested in hiring Mike Babcock

[tantalum]

He claims there's a ton of stories about player abuse that haven't come out yet. Of course, he won't name any names or get specific. I mean, if it's so bad wouldn't he be considered sheidling an abuser?

No because those are not his stories to tell. He is doing the most he can publicly by saying he knows there are other stories but it's not his role to tell them. That is not shielding an abuser. It's protecting the victims.

Commodore himself is a bit of a piece of work but in tis case he is 100% correct and doing the right thing.

 

[algernon]

Maybe this whole thing has actually just been a ruse to try to get Nurse to waive his NTC?

Faaaar too clever for this bunch.

 

[Albatros]

There is a difference between Mike Modano - a Stanley Cup champ, HHOF, and considered one of the greatest USA hockey players ever and Dennis Cholowski.

Sitting future hall of famer Modano at game 1,499 (after the DRW had clinched a playoff spot) was widely seen throughout the league, and from his own GM and DRW players, as a dick move.

Modano had nothing left in the tank and it was the right coaching decision to dress Datsyuk instead of him. Modano might have been a franchise player in Dallas, but in Detroit he simply wasn't good enough to make the roster anymore. Keeping Modano dressed for the rest of the season just so that he has a chance of reaching game 1500 might have been nice of Babcock, but I'd actually think less of him as a competitive coach if he did that.

 

[rielledup]

So any player that reaches 1499 games, the coach should be forced to play him?

In 2019 Jeff Blashill didn’t play Dennis Cholowski in his hometown Vancouver after family already bought tickets, didn’t play him during the father’s trip, and didn’t play him on his bobblehead night. I guess he should be banned from coaching too?

No, if a team is struggling to make the playoffs and it's an actual hockey decision that's fine. Detroit was cruising into the playoffs that year and Ken Holland has said that had he known he would've intervened.

There's some big differences between spezza and cholowski. Spezza was an established player who specifically wanted to join his hometown team and took a paycut to do so and it was the first game of the season. Cholowski was benched well into the season because he was starting to struggle. Spezza also had to buy a bunch of tickets for his family whereas Cholowskis family already had a couple season tickets.

 

[Nfumass]

Do it!

 

[Breakers]

So who’s the the contender for the 3 whipping boys on the Edmonton roster that Babs takes out his frustration on????

Also apparently 1 training staff member
And
A few hourly employees

Once he gets that……. he is probably content

He needs that little delegation that he can treat like like a doormat and punching bag

 

[MM425]

Modano had nothing left in the tank and it was the right coaching decision to dress Datsyuk instead of him. Modano might have been a franchise player in Dallas, but in Detroit he simply wasn't good enough to make the roster anymore. Keeping Modano dressed for the rest of the season just so that he has a chance of reaching game 1500 might have been nice of Babcock, but I'd actually think less of him as a competitive coach if he did that.

Except Babs thought he was good enough to dress for two playoff games that year.

There’s no defending it. It doesn’t matter how cooked Modano was anyways, the games were meaningless. Dress him and have him play a shift or two then bench him.

The point is, normal human being makes that decision.

 

[GrumpyKoala]

He claims there's a ton of stories about player abuse that haven't come out yet. Of course, he won't name any names or get specific. I mean, if it's so bad wouldn't he be considered sheidling an abuser?

Two different things, Babs can very well be an abuser but Commodore don't comes as someone that takes things in a very mature way.

Again that just my interpretation after listening to the story he tells.

 

[FerrisRox]

Except Babs thought he was good enough to dress for two playoff games that year.

Henrik Zetterberg missed the entire first round recovering from a knee injury.

It's more of an indictment of Modano's ability that he played just two games when the team desperately needed an offensive centre than it's a 'gotcha' on Mike Babcock for dressing him twice.

 

[rielledup]

Modano had nothing left in the tank and it was the right coaching decision to dress Datsyuk instead of him. Modano might have been a franchise player in Dallas, but in Detroit he simply wasn't good enough to make the roster anymore. Keeping Modano dressed for the rest of the season just so that he has a chance of reaching game 1500 might have been nice of Babcock, but I'd actually think less of him as a competitive coach if he did that.

Babcock benched him for exactly one game going down the stretch so he hit 1499. The other veterans didn't like it and didn't understand it and Holland has said he would've intervened had he known. If there was a genuine hockey reason for doing that I don't think there would have been that reaction to it.

 

[H3ckt1k]

Modano had nothing left in the tank and it was the right coaching decision to dress Datsyuk instead of him. Modano might have been a franchise player in Dallas, but in Detroit he simply wasn't good enough to make the roster anymore. Keeping Modano dressed for the rest of the season just so that he has a chance of reaching game 1500 might have been nice of Babcock, but I'd actually think less of him as a competitive coach if he did that.

He won 1 cup with those red wings rosters and you consider him a competitive coach?

 

[pcruz]

Except Babs thought he was good enough to dress for two playoff games that year.

There’s no defending it. It doesn’t matter how cooked Modano was anyways, the games were meaningless. Dress him and have him play a shift or two then bench him.

The point is, normal human being makes that decision.

A normal human being doesn't bench one of the more important players on the team, after 1000 NHL game career, when finally making his home debut for his childhood team, with dozens of friends and family in attendance.

 

[T REX]

Modano had nothing left in the tank and it was the right coaching decision to dress Datsyuk instead of him. Modano might have been a franchise player in Dallas, but in Detroit he simply wasn't good enough to make the roster anymore. Keeping Modano dressed for the rest of the season just so that he has a chance of reaching game 1500 might have been nice of Babcock, but I'd actually think less of him as a competitive coach if he did that.

You've never seen a coach play a player or call plays for said player to break a record or achieve a milestone in any sport ever?

Seriously?

Yeah...I don't believe it. Sorry.

 

[banks]

can’t rely on ai to give you an accurate answer to such a broad/vague question like that. Lots of variables to be taken into account.

That was not an AI quote. Notice the link to a legit legal info site.

 

[banks]

Pro tip, LLMs don't get that words have a relation to objects, events, and situations in a world.

Protip. When words are turned blue it's a link. I quoted a legal info website. Not AI.

 

[Carl Lindros]

So let me get this straight, McDavid is such a respectful stand up guy that he wouldn't come out to accept the Conn Smythe, he spoke up to veto a move for a back up goalie, but has nothing to say and won't get involved with Babcock?

Buddy, show some consistency, be the guy you've shown yourself to be at a time when it matters. You want to meddle in management's business when it comes to trading a back up goalie, you have some type of moral code when it comes to accepting the Conn Smythe. But you keep quiet when your team is going to hire this scumbag?

Multiple former NHL players are calling this guy a scumbag.

A normal human being doesn't bench one of the more important players on the team, after 1000 NHL game career, when finally making his home debut for his childhood team, with dozens of friends and family in attendance.

One was his father, who was very sick and had a f***ing nurse with him. He had a nurse travel with him the entire time he was so sick. If it's spezza you are talking about, and Babcock knew that.

 

[Miami Wice]

Was Mike Modano even benched right at game 1499 as some people suggest?

Based on Hockey reference- the game that Modano got benched for was game #79 for the Redwings which at time would have been game #1497 for Modano.

And Modano was washed and not good enough- because Modano only played 2 games for the Redwings in playoffs. It makes me think less of Modano and some players whining about this if they are so upset about 1500 GP milestone.

 

[Miami Wice]

So let me get this straight, McDavid is such a respectful stand up guy that he wouldn't come out to accept the Conn Smythe, he spoke up to veto a move for a back up goalie, but has nothing to say and won't get involved with Babcock?

Who knows- maybe he speak to Crosby and Crosby say great things about Babcock coaching style for Team Canada?

 

[Carl Lindros]

Who knows- maybe he speak to Crosby and Crosby say great things about Babcock coaching style for Team Canada?

McDavid does seem like he'd be stupid enough to think it would translate to the Oilers when they're not an all-star team like the national team.

This whole thing is such a joke, absolute farce. The NHLPA is a farce, the league is a joke. The PA should be held to the fire by the players for not protecting them in 2023 regardless of him quitting.

 

[nogatco rd]

How out of touch do you have to be to cause yourself to be investigated for two completely separate (presumably) termination-worthy offenses.. after only being on the job for a month… before anyone even laces their skates up

 

[majormajor]

McDavid does seem like he'd be stupid enough to think it would translate to the Oilers when they're not an all-star team like the national team.

This whole thing is such a joke, absolute farce. The NHLPA is a farce, the league is a joke. The PA should be held to the fire by the players for not protecting them in 2023 regardless of him quitting.

The most likely original backer of the idea is Zach Hyman. When Babcock went to Columbus, Hyman was texting Werenski telling him how great Babcock is. He had him for 4-5 years in Toronto.

Nice of you to latch on to a weak theory and call McDavid stupid.

 

[Carl Lindros]

The most likely original backer of the idea is Zach Hyman. When Babcock went to Columbus, Hyman was texting Werenski telling him how great Babcock is. He had him for 4-5 years in Toronto.

Nice of you to latch on to a weak theory and call McDavid stupid.

What's the weak theory? McDavid is stupid, that's why he's still in Edmonton.

 

[Hinterland]

 

[Perfect_Drug]

Babcock gonna demand to see everyones browser history.

 

[Hanji]

Oh god please. Hiring Babs would be glorious.