Was Mike Babcock right all along about this Leafs core?

[Danarqhy]

Mike Babcock is an old school hard ass-type coach and the Leafs quit on him in 2019. Sure he's an ass and used questionable methods, but 6 years and multiple EMBARRASSING playoff exits and breakdowns later it looks like the same core players still can't get it done. They are slowly earning the crown as the biggest collection of chokesters in NHL playoffs history.

For all his faults, Babcock knew this Leafs core was rotten to the mushy soft core, and almost a decade later they still haven't matured and grown up. The more time passes, the more it looks like this rotten core was the problem in Toronto.

 

[Riggins]

What did he ever say to suggest he knew their core couldn't get it done? Did he find anything incriminating on their cell phones?

 

[Danarqhy]

What did he ever say to suggest he knew their core couldn't get it done? Did he find anything incriminating on their cell phones?

He was mean to Mitchy, his hard ass methods were tuned out by the team and he was fired shortly after. He was too "tough" for this marshmallow soft core and basically got blackballed from the league as a result.

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

These guys couldn't even handle Sheldon Keefe calling them out for not playing like elite players.

... Of course they were too soft to handle Babcock.

 

[Mrfenn92]

Babcock was and still is a dinosaur. His time has passed.

 

[DeathSniper]

There's tough love and then there's w/e the f*** Babcock did.

 

[FissionFire]

Times have changed. Old school hard-ass coaches don’t work anymore because players are too important. No team is going to watch their top players walk just to support a touch coach. It’s not just hockey either, no sport really has those guys anymore. Gone are the days of guys like Bobby Knight verbally abusing players without fear of being fired. Not even Hall of Fame coaches can survive without their star players approval.

Coaches now are a messy combination of babysitter, psychologist, and PR agent. Realistically very very few coaches have anything more than a tiny fraction of influence on game results. The ones that do tend to be either hugely motivational like Dan Campbell or willing to embrace unorthodox or controversial tactics like AJ Hinch.

 

[SI90]

Mike Babcock is a piece of shit. I can’t believe there was a time I would have killed to have him coach my team

 

[tarheelhockey]

He may have been right, but he seems like the kind of guy who would say that about any team on the way out the door.

 

[JS19]

Times have changed. Old school hard-ass coaches don’t work anymore because players are too important. No team is going to watch their top players walk just to support a touch coach. It’s not just hockey either, no sport really has those guys anymore. Gone are the days of guys like Bobby Knight verbally abusing players without fear of being fired. Not even Hall of Fame coaches can survive without their star players approval.

You do realize Babcock's responsible for 3 playoff runs with this squad before his firing?

This is not about being a hardass.

 

[FissionFire]

You do realize Babcock's responsible for 3 playoff runs with this squad before his firing?

This is not about being a hardass.

I don’t recall ever saying it was idk what you are reading.

 

[JS19]

I don’t recall ever saying it was idk what you are reading.

You brought up old school hardass coaches not working anymore. It has nothing to do with that, at least not with regards to the assessment of the Leafs core.

If you're an effective coach, you will figure out how to bring out the potential in your guys without being a jerk.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I don't think the core was ever the issue, it's just not identifying how to use it imo. Their issue was depth and so their solve was not identifying it at all, adding more Defense, ignoring the paper tiger goaltending and assuming it would work and then blame players for it?

They stack Knies, Matthews, and Marner on one line, then the 2nd line is also stacked, but then it just turns into nothing after that. They've struggled all year to find a 3c solution and never felt comfortable with Domi there, not his fault really.

But then you have Stolarz get hurt during the season, your next up is Woll and then after that, Matt Murray? Was Carlo really that big of a need? It's unfortunate Marner gets shit on, because Matthews is just as big of a passenger as he is if that's the way they want to label it. Someone in the Leafs management really thought McMann, Domi, Holmberg was a suitable 3rd line to win it all this year?

Issues start there.

Domi did his part, worked his ass off, lad has no reason to feel bad for his play imo.

 

[Johnny Concussion]

What Mike Babcock did to Mike Modano is enough for me to hate him. Not to mention the lazy list and the snooping through players phones.

And you know an NHL team is just waiting for the heat to cool down before bringing him back into the NHL coaching fold.

 

[rocketdan9]

Yes. Leafs best players are also the softest. Nylander plays with the most grit.

I doubt Am34 will be traded though I can't see him "fight it"... if the Leafs wanted a reset.

Berube is a proven winner. So when isolated... it does come down to the core.

 

[Fatass]

Yes, Babs knew. Berube knows now too. Keafe knew.

 

[Mr Nogatco]

He was too "tough" for this marshmallow soft core and basically got blackballed from the league as a result.

How did he get blackballed? Toronto had to pay out the rest of his salary, and if he took another NHL job he wouldn’t have earned any extra money on top of the TML paycheck.

As soon as the checks stopped coming he resurfaced in Columbus and promptly wore out his welcome with his creepy behavior.

He was in no way blackballed as a result of the Toronto situation. He just didn’t feel like working because he was getting paid the same either way.

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

Babcock was and still is a dinosaur. His time has passed.

And Toronto's core was and is still soft.

 

[PistolPete]

My read on these guys is Marber os weak, Tavares is just ineffective, Nylander is pretty solid and Matthews is thinking about what suit jacket to get to match with those exquisite Italian leather shoes he just bought.

 

[banks]

I'm as mad as any Leafs fan about another early exit. But what does that have to do with Babcock?

Babs never said "this core can't win."

They tried a harass coach. They tried a new age coach. Now they tried a defensive coach. All of them failing doesn't prove any of them right.

 

[Fatass]

I'm as mad as any Leafs fan about another early exit. But what does that have to do with Babcock?

Babs never said "this core can't win."

They tried a harass coach. They tried a new age coach. Now they tried a defensive coach. All of them failing doesn't prove any of them right.

That’s an excellent point about the variety of coaches tried. The core is just not tough enough.

 

[PistolPete]

I'm as mad as any Leafs fan about another early exit. But what does that have to do with Babcock?

Babs never said "this core can't win."

They tried a harass coach. They tried a new age coach. Now they tried a defensive coach. All of them failing doesn't prove any of them right.

It just proves CoreFour = Door

 

[Crosby2010]

It is obvious Babcock was never the issue. And to be honest, he never really had a lot of time with this core to prove much. 2017 no one expected them to beat Washington but they put up a fight. 2018 they are young still and took Boston to 7 games. 2019 they can very well beat Boston by now, but still lost in 7 games. Maybe, just maybe, 2019 is the one year the Leafs under Babcock let it slip away. But the following 6 years they got older, wiser, more in their primes and STILL lost under different coaches. I don't know what the Leafs do post-2019 with Babcock, but it is hard to imagine they win only two playoff rounds in 6 years. Like him or not, and I liked him simply because he didn't pamper the players, he got results. Internationally and in the NHL. Very much a HHOF type of resume. But yeah, this team just can't get it done regardless of who is their coach.

 

[Suntouchable13]

Babcock was right by keeping Marner and Matthews separate.

 

[BHD]

Isn't that more of an indictment against the core than a gold star for him? I don't know how anyone can apologize for them at this point.