Twitter’s Reaction to the Toronto Maple Leafs Firing Mike Babcock

Mike Babcock was given the ax as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Players reacted in an interesting way on social media.

In a move that many fans have been waiting for, Mike Babcock was relieved of his duties as the coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

In his place steps the 31st man to hold the position in team history, Sheldon Keefe.

The news broke at exactly 4:30 on the afternoon of Wednesday, November 20 via the Maple Leafs PR Twitter account. Reactions came pouring in quickly and en masse.

Toronto Maple Leafs Twitter Reactions

Perhaps the best personality in the game, Paul Bissonnette, wasted no time sharing his thoughts. The former player turned media man let the world know that things are about to get interesting in Toronto. They certainly were on Twitter.

Current Maple Leafs players didn’t take to social media right away to share their messages about the news. There really is only one thing that those players should share publically and that’s their support for the coach and wish him well. As such, it’s wise for them to lay low until they can have their representatives help construct the right statement.

Players no longer under contract with NHL teams didn’t have to hold back on their feelings. A player who was on Babs 2011-12 Detroit Red Wings team wasn’t shy about sharing his opinions on the news of the day. Mike Commodore dropped a string of tweets, most of which laden with curse words. He didn’t mince words when he told the former Leafs coach, “Hey Mike Babcock….your daily National TV time is over. Finished. You are a fraud. Nobody gives a sh*t what you have to say anymore. Let that sink In you arrogant prick.” He wasn’t done there, sharing far more unfiltered opinions.

Perhaps using Twitter as a form of personal therapy, he continued to lay into the man who just lost his job. Commodore’s comments were so scathing that his name was trending in Canada. He also prompted another former player, Eddie Lack, to disclose that he was interested in the remarks.

Commodore finally ended his rant by calling Babcock a “failure”.

Other former players were more level headed. Theo Fleury retweeted a message of Babcock’s dismissal and Jeremy Roenick simply wrote, “Babcock Fired!!”. Former Maple Leafs defenseman and current radio show co-host Carlo Colaiacovo showed that it’s time to turn the page and look forward to the team’s future.

Colaiacovo was referencing that it was Lou Lamoriello who wanted Babs behind the Leafs bench, not the team’s current general manager, Kyle Dubas. This same sentiment was echoed by Darren Dreger who posted on his account, “It’s reasonable to assume Mike Babcock likely believed the clock started ticking when Lou Lamoriello was replaced.”

The truth is that the team now belongs to Brendan Shanahan, Dubas, and Keefe. It will be up to them to show that they can right the ship after what can only be described as a disappointing start to the season.

It would seem most fans are on board with this decision, but not everyone is.  What do you think?