Do the Toronto Maple Leafs head coach and franchise player have a problem working together?
Probably not. My inclination to any kind of gossipy story is to doubt it and blame the voraciousness of the media, and the market, for blowing a perfectly normal situation out of proportion. What do we really know besides that the Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock visited Auston Matthews at his home in Arizona after the season concluded?
And why do we even know that?
When the playoffs concluded, there were rumors that Matthews was unhappy with his ice time. Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet said on the radio that it appeared Babcock had “lost” Matthews. This article clears that up a bit. It turns out Kypreos had no inside information and was just going off body language and experience.
On top of Kypreos headline-making take, Babcock went to visit Matthews in Arizona, and then this week, on a Buffalo radio station, John Shannon said that he heard that the meeting “didn’t go well for Babcock.”
So, what are we to make of this? On one hand, should we even care? As long as the Leafs win, I could care less who likes who. I like hockey, not soap operas or gossip columns. But then again, if this is likely to hurt the Leafs, or jeopardize the chances of Matthews signing here long-term, then I do care.
Babcock/Matthews
Could the Babcock/Matthews thing be exasperated by the idea that Matthews did not have a strong playoffs? He might not have scored as much as expected, but it’s not like he was garbage either – he still averaged more than three shots per game, and still finished above 50% in both possession and shot percentage. That’s actually pretty good and over time would yield excellent results. He did this despite facing Chara for 70% of his ice time, and having to play frequently against the Bergeron / Marchand line.
Matthews did that despite not being on the first power play, despite getting jerked around for match-up reasons, and despite not generally getting the ice-time accorded to other players who are the best on their teams.
I have no idea what the coach and player relationship is like, but Matthews may have a point about ice time. Why shouldn’t he get 22:00 per game, and be the first on the ice to start a game, after time-outs, to start a power-play and when the Leafs are protecting a lead?
What to Do?
Even if the coach is right to slow him down and ease him into these roles in increments, you can’t blame Matthews for being impatient.
On the other hand, Mike Babock is well known for not being exactly popular with his players. And so what? A person’s boss isn’t supposed to be their friend, and Babcock does have a track record of success. But if Babcock is a demanding taskmaster, is he also an emotionally manipulative berator creating a toxic work environment? There’s a fine line. What was OK in terms of treatment of players in the past probably isn’t OK today.
And we don’t now. We are left to speculate because as fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs, we are happy to have one of the best young players in the world on our team, and we’re also happy to have one of the best coaches in the world in charge. We’d like them to get along.
But if they don’t? See ya Babcock.
It’s understandable if a coach and a player clash. It’s to be expected that a coach has to use what leverage he can. But at the same time, the optics on the coach flying out to meet the player aren’t good.
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The Leafs paid a lot of money for Mike Babcock. But they’ve got more invested in Auston Matthews. If Babcock doesn’t make this work, he’s going to be the one who leaves. If anyone is going to eat five years of a contract, it’s the Toronto Maple Leafs, since they essentially print money.