There was a time when Mike Babcock was considered a highly respected, well-established, elite NHL coach.
During his NHL coaching career, which accounted for 1,301 games with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, Babcock put together a solid 700-418-19-64 record.
During 18 seasons as an NHL coach, Babcock's biggest achievement came in 2008 when he led the Red Wings to a Stanley Cup Championship.
Babcock was once considered the top of his class, not only as an NHL coach but also on the international circuit, where he gained entry into what is known as the Triple Gold Club, having won the Stanley Cup. IIHF World Championships and coaching Canada to an Olympic Gold medal.
It wouldn't be until approximately November 2019, when shortly after being fired by the Leafs, his reputation rapidly began to crumble as all sorts of criticism from former players began to surface about the bullying and inappropriate methods he used with his players.
The first big brick to fall occurred when Babcock, shortly before getting fired, had an awkward incident with 19-year-old forward Mitch Marner. Babcock in a one-on-one meeting, asked Marner to make a list of players on the team's roster and rank them based on their effort level. Later on, Babcock showed the list to two of Marner's teammates in forwards Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri, which of course put Marner in a humiliating position.
Apparently, asking a young player to make this sort of list is nothing new for Babcock who did the same thing when coaching the Red Wings.
Among those many former players coached by Babcock who in recent years have come out to voice their complaints is Hockey Hall of Fame defenceman Chris Chelios, who when with the Wings, was coached by Babcock.
Chelios, who as all hockey fans know, is widely respected in the game, remarked on how Babcock used to always verbally bully forward Johan Franzen.
"Literally, he (Babcock) was calling him into his office once a week to call him a fat pig and say that your teammates hate you, and why don't you just quit?"
A few years after being fired by the Leafs, Babcock would resurface again when on July 1. 2023, he was hired as the Columbus Blue Jackets new head coach.
As hockey fans know, he wouldn't end up coaching a game, as the organization fired him a couple of months later following an investigation by the NHL's Players Association after he was being accused of invading the players' privacy by demanding that they show personal pictures on their phones of family.
Recently Babcock's name was brought up, only this time by former Leafs defenceman Tyson Barrie who, on the Empty Netters podcast, reflected with a chuckle on his less-than-flattering, strange first interaction with the coach.
Barrie, who is now retired, was part of a multi-player July 1, 2019, trade which saw him as one of the Colorado Avalanche players traded to the Leafs in return for a couple of Leafs players, including forward Nazem Kadri.
According to Barrie, when he first met Babcock, the coach was brutally honest when he stated that the trade was something he wouldn't have done.
"I won't speak too much on it, but I think one of the first things (Babcock) said to me, he says to me, 'You know, I wouldn't have made this trade. Naz is a big part of the team," Barrie laughed. "And I was like, Oh okay, sick. This is going to go well. It was an interesting start.
For the record, Barrie played only one season with the Leafs, where he produced five goals along with 39 points in 70 games played.
Barrie, who wasn't offered a contract extension with the Leafs, went on to enjoy stints with the Edmonton Oilers, Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames.