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Was Mike Babcock right all along about this Leafs core?

Where's the proof that Mike was a jerk to his players? I've heard different, that he was a sweetheart to his players.
 
Arthur Morgan said:
NHLPA investigation into claims that he violated players' privacy.....
this is the person your trying to defend? maybe do a couple laps pal
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It was completely blown out of proportion. It was ridiculous. Boone Jenner and the late Johnny Gaudreau both said the exact same thing I was saying, and they were the ones who were in those meetings with Babcock and saw nothing wrong with what he asked for. Look past what the sports media tells you and realize that someone in Columbus with a lot of pull did NOT want Babcock there, and did what they had to do in order to get him out. Maybe management changed their minds and wanted to sell some story blown out of proportion. So I'll take the word of the veteran players on the team who didn't see an issue with it. It was soft minds that thought something was amiss.
 
Crosby2010 said:
It was completely blown out of proportion. It was ridiculous. Boone Jenner and the late Johnny Gaudreau both said the exact same thing I was saying, and they were the ones who were in those meetings with Babcock and saw nothing wrong with what he asked for. Look past what the sports media tells you and realize that someone in Columbus with a lot of pull did NOT want Babcock there, and did what they had to do in order to get him out. Maybe management changed their minds and wanted to sell some story blown out of proportion. So I'll take the word of the veteran players on the team who didn't see an issue with it. It was soft minds that thought something was amiss.
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I dont really care to be honest, I think Babcock is a bad person in general and never deserved to be hired again. he obviously crossed a line with someone and Jenner or Gaudreau's opinions mean very little when an investigation was done and it turns out he violated players' privacy.
 
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I dont like Babcock at all (the Modano thing in particular started it all), but he was exactly what the fraud 4 needed and deserved.
 
Arthur Morgan said:
I dont really care to be honest, I think Babcock is a bad person in general and never deserved to be hired again. he obviously crossed a line with someone and Jenner or Gaudreau's opinions mean very little when an investigation was done and it turns out he violated players' privacy.
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It was ridiculous is what it was.
 
rocketdan9 said:
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.
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Scotty Bowman is the only coach who was able to win with more than 1 team.
 
SirKillalot said:
He might have been a dick going about it, and even I wouldn't agree to do what he did with Modano, but he also wasn't wrong. Modano was toast by that time and he expected more.
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I'm of the opinion with Babcock that he probably has done and said some inappropriate fireable things based on what's been reported about the Chelios/Holmstrom incident, but I just don't see how the on-record stories make him unemployable. It's not the same thing as what Quenneville did, where it's a serious offence as a manager whether you manage a McDonalds or an NHL team.

Stuff like sitting Modano might seem petty, but if you let sentimentality dictate your lineups, you'll end up with travesties like Chris Phillips' last season.

The Marner story about the hardest to least working list is really extreme, and I'd consider it a poor coaching choice just for how badly it'll screw up your locker room and your relationships with players, but I don't see how it would be something that would break a code of conduct.
 
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unicornpig said:
Had no issues with what he did then, especially now. Dubas created this culture of babying their superstars. Now they are all still boys and not men
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The Big Fore are Shannahan’s boys. I doubt Dubas was allowed to talk contract with them after November 2018. I don’t think it was coincidence Matthews and Nylander got their blank checks again after Dubas left. Matthews again Over paid and under termed. Nylander got the contract of a 100 point player he was in his contract year while ignoring that he is more of a 80 point player when he doesn’t have the incentive of a contract to play for. Dubas complained he didn’t have full control on his way out.

Maybe if Dubas was allowed to play hardball with Nylander on his first RFA contract the Leafs wouldn't have been bidding against themselves to keep Shannahan’s boys. They should have let Nylander sit the year out, came back fat and useless for the rest of the season anyway.

The cap saving this year and next just from getting these guys to take 8 years like EVERYONE ELSE in their pay grade would have solved some of their problems with “passengers”.

These guys are all The Man in contract negotiations but when it’s time to win they are looking for someone else to step up.
 
If he said that this core can’t get it done when it counts, yeah he’s right at the end of the day. But I’m sure many people working in the league think that, and many people have said that. That doesn’t make him unique. Better to not give that son of a bitch credit if possible.
 
Say what you will about Babcock but he was the best coach we’ve had in a very long time. I am not sure what you’re referring to as I don’t think he ever made his opinion public, but he did sniff them out pretty quickly and tried to change their ways before boy wonder Kyle got in his way and stopped him.
 
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SirKillalot said:
He might have been a dick going about it, and even I wouldn't agree to do what he did with Modano, but he also wasn't wrong. Modano was toast by that time and he expected more.
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Modano had a serious injury, he was passable in his third line role before his wrist got cut. It still wasn't a hard call to play him one more game to get him 1500 during the home stretch of the season. Benching Chelios in the Chicago outdoor game. Chasing Filppula out of town. Spats with both Datsyuk and Zetterberg. As most know the worst of all was with Franzen. You also never heard positive things out of the rank and file people that worked around the team.

Just because he was capable of being nice to a few guys on the team Draper, Cleary, Lidstrom doesn't hide the fact he pulled very manipulative things and bully tactics on other parts of the team. That came out during his time in Toronto as well. He seemed to get caught immediately in Columbus last time. It isn't that he cannot play nice with a few guys, it is that his mind games eventually lead to majorly crossing the line and generally fracturing the dressing room.

Your team will play harder, your systems will get better, I don't question his coaching. He is just a bad enough person and extremely manipulative that you're dropping substantial portions of your team into a hostile work environment. I get why some will still allow for this with an old school toughen up angle, but now that these have become billion dollar franchises, the walking liability that is Mike Babcock really shouldn't be in a dressing room, we know to much.
 
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The best coach I had growing up was divorced and had multiple DUIs. We were 15-3 with him behind the bench (0-5 with him suspended)

The worst coach I had wore Birkenstocks and never raised his voice. We went 5-18
 
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