Thank You Babcock

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1specter

Registered User
Sep 27, 2016
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Please keep all negativity out of this thread, if you want to have critical discussion use the firing thread.

Babcock's methods may have gotten stale here, but he did a great job setting a foundation, bringing the team back into relevancy and took a lot of the heat off the players by managing the media excellently. It's disappointing how things turned out with him, but that 2016-2017 season was such a fun one and one that I will never forget personally. He's a good man and is still a good coach despite it not working out here.

I see him like Mark Jackson for the Golden State Warriors or Dwane Casey for the Raptors; they were needed at the time, did a great job for the first couple of years and laid a good foundation before things got stale. Hopefully Keefe can be like Kerr or Nurse.

The players must also step up now, at the end of the day they need to execute and they're the ones on the ice, not the coach. No more excuses or free passes for them.

Good luck Mike, wish him the best.
 
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I was excited when he came here and I do thank him for what he’s done, but, it was time for him to go.
That whole signing saga was pretty epic I have to say. All the media had the Leafs out of the race literally just a day before he signed with us, and it was truly the beginning of real change. Shanahan pulled a boss level move with that.
 
Thanks for your service Mike !

I'll miss your pressers where you only use like 15 words.

But i won't miss your potty mouth, or your ability to annoy every ref in the league.
 
someone in a main board thread suggested that he might land in Seattle. That would be a great spot for him - opinions on how good of a coach he is aside, he is one of the most renowned coaches so landing in an expansion role would be low pressure to win and also give the team some marketable identity while it develops players. Lightning probably won't strike twice the way it did in Vegas, and it'll likely be a while before Seattle starts to contend, so that would be a feel-good ending to this imo
 
Hopefully he goes to a team where him and the GM are on the same page. Once Lou got fired I think a lot of us knew Babcocks days were numbered.
Lou wasn't fired, his deal ended and the transition plan was already established to move on with Dubas.
 
Has a great outlook on life, I learned a lot just listening to him speak.
Yeah, for all the annoying Bab-isms, he also had a lot of valuable nuggets around life and being the best version of yourself. He's not an idiot, things just ran their course and he couldn't adjust in this situation, it happens.
 
Enjoyed his early years with Toronto. Believe in how he views life and how to succeed as an individual. He's a very knowledgeable man and has experienced great things in hockey.

It's too bad it didn't work out here for him, but I'm sure he'll be picked up by Seattle if no one gives him a look. Take care Mike.
 
I wasn't without criticsm of him, but I think he's had some people let him down here.

Best of luck, I don't think it will long before he's back behind a bench.
 
Salute to Babcock for helping us turn the corner.

Shame it didnt work out, but I dont think he was the one to get us to the next level.
 
Liked him then and like him now. Just don’t think he works with those guys. I feel he needs tough guys that can take accountability.

these players might not have liked being put in the spotlight.
 
Babcock just couldn't stay out of his own way. There's something to be said for sticking to your guns and not pulling panic changes, but at a certain point something has got to give. He was unable to adapt until his hands were literally forced.

Was a great day when we hired him and he clearly helped change the culture of this franchise. A shame he couldn't get them over the hump or fix the many flaws exhibited by the team over the past 11 months. I'd have loved nothing more than for him to win here, but alas.

He'll land on his feet no problem, and his statement I don't have any problem with, glad he wished us the best.
 

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