Former Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock resigned from his coaching duties with the Columbus Blue Jackets this weekend after an investigation by the NHLPA.
After being out of the league since November 2019, Babcock counted his money until his contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs ended and was recently hired by the Blue Jackets this summer. The hiring was controversial at the time, but after recent allegations, it was clearly a terrible decision by the organization, as Babcock is so out of touch.
Prior to joining the Leafs, rumors surrounded Babcock about his coaching styles, but for the most part, he was considered one of the best coaches in hockey. He’d taken multiple organizations to the Stanley Cup Finals, won gold medals with Team Canada, and was successful everywhere he went.
Although there were some reports by players saying mean things about how Babcock treated them, those allegations were never taken too seriously because he won. Winning is everything in professional sports, so even if he didn’t treat players with respect, it didn’t matter because he could help you win.
However, once Babcock was signed in Toronto and given the biggest coaching contract in NHL history, his ego got even bigger, and he was eventually fired as a result. During his tenure, the biggest news story was that Babcock allegedly asked Mitch Marner to rank his teammates based on their work ethic and then shared it with the rest of the team, which was insane behavior.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Never Should Have Hired Mike Babcock
Prior to even joining the Leafs, Babcock was never someone who got along well with younger players, so the fact that Toronto still thought he was the right man for the job is actually insane when you look back on it.
I know that the Leafs went for a quick rebuild, drafted Auston Matthews first overall, and have made the playoffs ever since, but if we look back at the last seven years, should we be blaming Brendan Shanahan as to why this team hasn’t been more successful in the playoffs?
After Babcock’s most recent allegations in Columbus and what we know about his past, it’s clear this isn’t the only time that he’s acted super weird with his players. In my opinion, hiring Babcock is probably one of the reasons this team never won during Matthews’, Marner’s, and Nylander’s entry-level contracts.
Babcock clearly isn’t fit to coach millennials, and I truly believe that, after understanding more about him thanks to recent news, Shanahan never should have signed him in the first place.
Shanahan knew Babcock better than anyone, as he coached him, yet he still took a risk and looked past all of his problems, thinking he was the right man for the job.
That Leafs roster was pretty loaded with Zach Hyman, Nazem Kadri, James van Riemsdyk, Patrick Marleau, Tyler Bozak, Marner, Matthews, and Nylander in their top-nine and even had some solid grit on the blue-line with Roman Polak and Ron Hainsey and could have done something.
However, now that I look back on it, one of the biggest mistakes in Shanahan’s career should be hiring Babcock in the first place because this Leafs team could have won a few playoff rounds by now if he wasn’t the coach.