Thank You Babcock

[ULF_55]

Very interesting that he credits Tanenbaum and Lou in recruiting him, fans all seemed to give Shanny credit for that.

He was signed a few months before Lamoriello joined the Leafs wasn't he?

I think he's crediting Tanenbaum for going to Toronto, and then met Lamoriello.

 

[Cap'n Flavour]

My coworker was working construction at a hotel downtown toronto last year... started at 5 am and had tons of supplies to carry in... said Babcock was walking out of the hotel and saw him bringing supplies so he held the door open for like 10 minutes for him to carry everything in. And such a good positive guy man. Who else would have payed attention to a bunch of construction workers at 5am and held the door for them in the cold... I'd assume only the people claiming he has an ego would have held the door open too right... Such a malicious, judgmental group of people slandering him and talking about how he has an ego. Makes me sick

I thought this was a positive thread and here you're calling him a doorstop? Ouch.

 

[WTFMAN99]

He did a great job in laying the foundation. I think the organization failed to recognize that he should not have been back this season. Seems like a good person.

Best of luck in the future.

 

[ULF_55]

He was a huge prize, but it wasn't like he decided to come to the Leafs out of love of the Leafs ... $50mm steered him away from the ?Sabres?

Leafs won the bidding war.

I think he took the focus off the crappy team, but really I think the draft rebuilt the Leafs.

We can thank him for taking the spotlight away from how low the team was at the time of the hiring.

He's among the good coaches the Leafs have had.

 

[qqaz]

What Babcock did here in his first 2-3 years, no other coach could have done. Thanks, Babs, for the work and effort to get us here. He protected the players when they were green, he built up average players while we were sellers/in transition, he got the team to the point where guys like JT wanted to join.

 

[1specter]

He was a huge prize, but it wasn't like he decided to come to the Leafs out of love of the Leafs ... $50mm steered him away from the ?Sabres?

Leafs won the bidding war.

I think he took the focus off the crappy team, but really I think the draft rebuilt the Leafs.

We can thank him for taking the spotlight away from how low the team was at the time of the hiring.

He's among the good coaches the Leafs have had.

The draft rebuilt the Leafs by injecting talent but Babcock also really helped elevate the games of players like Jake Gardiner and Nazem Kadri and rebuilt their confidence, as well as utilizing Bozak and JVR to their strengths and in a way that was most conducive to team success. After the failures of Wilson and Carlyle many fans were ready to write those players off or trade them at the first opportunity and just accumulate picks and prospects. Babcock used those guys effectively to shield the younger shinier players, and those guys all loved being Leafs and loved playing in Toronto and if it were up to them they would've all stayed. Once they were purged out one by one it eliminated some of the camaraderie that this team had and now that the kids got paid and are the main core they have all the weight and expectations on them and they've been struggling to deliver thus far.

Going to be interesting to see how they respond now.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

I thought this was a positive thread and here you're calling him a doorstop? Ouch.

Was it 1 King West? I have heard that is where he has his condo. and I know he runs very early in morning daily.

 

[MarnerElite]

Dubas has let the players run the club. Now they have to produce!

I believe there is no truer statement on here than this. His entire personality actually says that this is true.

 

[Mess]

I think there are some nervous NHL coaches out there today that Mike Babcock is a free agent.

I wonder if there are any GMs thinking about making a coaching change, and asking Leafs permission to talk to Babcock.

Babcock is like the Tavares of UFA in terms of coaches where teams might be lining up to hire him.

 

[Mess]

Babcock’s firing was a hot topic at arenas around the NHL.

Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith, who spent four years as an assistant on Babcock’s staff in Toronto, praised Babcock for his professionalism.

“He gave me my chance in the National Hockey League,” Smith said in Montreal, before the Senators faced the Canadiens.

“He showed me the NHL and he did a great job every day. It’s a tough time for him and his family and I certainly feel for him.”​

Canadiens head coach Claude Julien, who worked on Babcock’s Canada staff en route to gold at the 2014 Olympics and 2016 World Cup, also was full of praise for the ex-Leafs bench boss.

“First of all, I think everybody knows here Mike Babcock is a good coach,” Julien said.

“He’s won everywhere he’s gone, at all levels as well, whether it’s junior, in the pro level, the Olympics, etcetera, etcetera. As far as I’m concerned if he wants to work again tomorrow, he’s got a pretty good chance of getting back to work. That’s how I think everybody who knows Mike feels about him.”

 

[hoglund]

I doubt that Babcock will be unemployed for long.

 

[hullsy47]

I doubt that Babcock will be unemployed for long.

97.1 in detroit wonders if Babcock could work for yzerman.
Bab and his wife both like the area as well
8 years was never realistic

 

[Walshy7]

babcock was huge in giving us credibility and a great tanks season. Then the first year with the talent making the playoffs was huge. Ill always love he did that for us. His style just didnt suit what we evoloved into. Im extremely happy he was fired, but you have to recognize all he did for us

 

[Morbo]

I'm curious to see where he ends up next. San Jose is kind of an intriguing one. Maybe Nashville? I'd have to think it would be a veteran team with a more immediate window. Not sure he'd want to coach say a Seattle where he might not get into the postseason for a while, or a Wild team probably facing a rebuild.

 

[A1LeafNation]

I'm curious to see where he ends up next. San Jose is kind of an intriguing one. Maybe Nashville? I'd have to think it would be a veteran team with a more immediate window. Not sure he'd want to coach say a Seattle where he might not get into the postseason for a while, or a Wild team probably facing a rebuild.

Arizona, he likes to fly down there every summer.

Also, there would be no question where Matthews signs in 5 years.

 

[SprDaVE]

I'm curious to see where he ends up next. San Jose is kind of an intriguing one. Maybe Nashville? I'd have to think it would be a veteran team with a more immediate window. Not sure he'd want to coach say a Seattle where he might not get into the postseason for a while, or a Wild team probably facing a rebuild.

The NHL and Seattle will push hard for him to go there. He would be the face of the franchise before actually drafting their first player. Instant hype.

He doesn't need money, obviously, and he'd probably get a lot of say into players at the expansion draft. Ron Francis is their GM, so I'm not sure if he'd agree with the kind of team Babcock wants though.

But if he's not willing to "grind" a team like Seattle with a lot of misfits and bad players, I do think San Jose fits what he wants. Veteran team with plenty of good players.

 

[Walshy7]

The NHL and Seattle will push hard for him to go there. He would be the face of the franchise before actually drafting their first player. Instant hype.

He doesn't need money, obviously, and he'd probably get a lot of say into players at the expansion draft. Ron Francis is their GM, so I'm not sure if he'd agree with the kind of team Babcock wants though.

But if he's not willing to "grind" a team like Seattle with a lot of misfits and bad players, I do think San Jose fits what he wants. Veteran team with plenty of good players.

a expansion draft would totally acquire a team that babs could work wonders with. A more grind em out cycling heavier team, i think he'd do wonders with an expansion teams. Maybe even a vegas like first season. He would be a great hire for them and it could possibly be great for babs.

 

[leaffaninvancouver]

He helped make this team better. Yes we had some great prospects but you know who else had great prospects Buffalo and Edmonton. Babcock helped us get back to the playoffs and look dangerous faster than any of us expected. I thank him for his time with team, but it's time to close this chapter and move on.

 

[ToDavid]

People are reading a bit too deeply into Babcock's comments. He's always spoken honestly. I don't think there's anything deeper in his comment about being recruited by Tanenbaum other than the fact that he honestly was the one who convinced him to come. We need to remember he was the most sought after person in hockey at the time. It's not a slight to Shanny that it took something extra special to get him to come coach in this media hellscape.

Babcock is a good person. I'm sure he had his preferences for how the team was built and who was running it but I'm also sure he put in an honest effort with Dubas and would have loved nothing more to win with him.

 

[Mess]

The NHL and Seattle will push hard for him to go there. He would be the face of the franchise before actually drafting their first player. Instant hype.

He doesn't need money, obviously, and he'd probably get a lot of say into players at the expansion draft. Ron Francis is their GM, so I'm not sure if he'd agree with the kind of team Babcock wants though.

But if he's not willing to "grind" a team like Seattle with a lot of misfits and bad players, I do think San Jose fits what he wants. Veteran team with plenty of good players.

I agree I think Seattle would be my vote as well as it gives them instant stability and recognition behind the bench.

Mike Babcock was also coach when he was starting out as the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL, which is in the vicinity of Seattle of the North West.

Babcock took our Leafs from last to the playoffs the very next year and Seattle might believe they're getting a Las Vegas like expansion effect right out of the gate.

Also from a MLSE point of view of letting him go to another team, there is little chance of any blow back on the organization as opposed to if Babs joined a contending team and then his success and even going up against him in a playoff match would be a possibility they would want to avoid.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Mike Babcock is a good coach. A legend, even. He deserves a ton of credit for coming here and helping rebuild this team.

Thank you Mr. Babcock for your service to the Leafs.


I think a lot of fans were frustrated with him because there was an obvious disconnect with how Dubas built the team and how Babcock coached it. We placed a lot of blame on Babs, and I think more than just him deserved to shoulder that.

It was time for a change, but I appreciate what Babcock did for us.

 

[Sweet Leaf]

Make no mistake about it....as a non player, Babs has accomplished more in the NHL than Dubas/Shanahan combined and that won't change anytime soon. He was the perfect coach for us to hire at the time he was hired.

He had no control over his roster and we'll never know how things would have turned if he could have kept working with Lou or Hunter. It's clear Babs wasn't on side with the personnel decisions being made by Dubas and the direction Dubas took with skill above all else and the backup goalie position which cost us home ice last year.

 

[TML Dynasty]

I agree to some point. Then I remember the way he treated certain players and think meh. He had his good and bad points. Glad we’ve moved on.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Make no mistake about it....as a non player, Babs has accomplished more in the NHL than Dubas/Shanahan combined and that won't change anytime soon. He was the perfect coach for us to hire at the time he was hired.

He had no control over his roster and we'll never know how things would have turned if he could have kept working with Lou or Hunter. It's clear Babs wasn't on side with the personnel decisions being made by Dubas and the direction Dubas took with skill above all else and the backup goalie position which cost us home ice last year.

Would be cool if people stopped this nonsense. We finished way behind Boston and there's no guarantee that with another backup we pick up that many points.

 

[Martin Skoula]

I agree I think Seattle would be my vote as well as it gives them instant stability and recognition behind the bench.

Mike Babcock was also coach when he was starting out as the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL, which is in the vicinity of Seattle of the North West.

Babcock took our Leafs from last to the playoffs the very next year and Seattle might believe they're getting a Las Vegas like expansion effect right out of the gate.

Also from a MLSE point of view of letting him go to another team, there is little chance of any blow back on the organization as opposed to if Babs joined a contending team and then his success and even going up against him in a playoff match would be a possibility they would want to avoid.

I don't think there's anyone in the league that wants to avoid Babcock in the playoffs, he's very easy to plan around.