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kickazz

All purpose Mike Babcock thread

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I loved Babcock when he was here. I thought he was a great coach for the Wings. But.

The Leafs are off to a worse start with Mike Babcock as their head coach than the last 5 seasons. Yes 5 seasons!

The last time the had only 1 win in the first month of hockey was in 2009-2010 season when they went 1-7-4.

This season their record for October is posted at 1-7-2

I can't help but scratch my head with this one folks.

Also any other Babcock rant or praise is welcome. We talk about it enough in other threads maybe all that can be directed here to one thread instead

I'd like to say that we will find out if Babs really IS the best coach in all of hockey. Sooner or later.

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I think Babcock is an overrated blowhard, but just like with Blashill, it's WAY too early to judge his body of work with his new team. Especially when you consider he lost his only high end player in the off season. Give him a while and they'll be better. Not great, of course, because Babs won't have Dats, Z, Lidstrom, Osgood, and Kronwall to carry him to a Cup. But they'll be better than they are now.

Edited by kipwinger

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Babcock can coach all-world teams to victory. BFD. His system is painful to watch, as he requires the same brand of hockey out of all 18 skaters. I dont care if Dylan Larkin is good in the dot or hard on the puck or makes the safe play or plays well without the puck. He's fricking awesome. Just let him be awesome.

Overrated.

And him parading around taking pics with his former assistants made me not like him personally, as well. Great job, Mike. You got paid. Glad Toronto fans have to deal with his painful to watch playofc style hockey in October now instead of us.

Way Overrated.

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He is smart, sharp and successful. Period.

He signed for guaranteed multi-year contract with lot more money and lot more vacation time.

Who would say he isn't smart?

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I believe Mike Babcock is a very good coach, one of the best in the league in fact. I will admit, I wanted him to stay and I was extremely disappointed when he left. However, some around here put him on a pedestal and claim is the best in the world no questions asked, and as soon as anyone says otherwise they make it sound like you are turning on him.

You cant put this entire start on him as everyone knows the Leafs are a mess, but at the same time if he was the best in the world by a mile like some say, you would think that he could be doing a bit better. The guy is overrated, but not because he isn't good, it's because of the way people talk about him.

If I had to summarize his career, I think Babcock did something special in '03 with the Ducks, but that was also during a time where obstruction played a huge part in the game, and he had a goalie that quite possibly had the best playoffs any goalie had ever had.

With the Wings, he always had good players in front of him. You can say what you want about 2012-2015, but its not like he set the world on fire and even though we weren't the Wings of old, we still had a plethora of talent.

As far as the Olympics go, while I do give him credit, that should in no way define him. The roster he has was truly amazing and most good coaches should be able to win with it.

This is the biggest test of Babcock's career, and so far he is not doing well. It's very early and he does have a pretty crappy roster, but I have seen plenty of good coaches do extremely well with crappy rosters. If Babcock is truly "the best in the world" the Leafs should get better then what they are right now.

*Cue Living Color: Cult of Personality*

Edited by kliq

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I don't really think you can rate a coach with much accuracy. It will always be debatable whether results are due to the players or the coach. A lot rests on luck of getting in position where you will succeed. And reputation plays a role in much that a coach does. If a coach wins somewhere, even if it was with an incredibly good team, they will be given the opportunity to coach other good teams. Also, going in as winning coach, you will likely be more respected by players which likely improve your effect on players.

That is one aspect of Babcock's decision that I respect - he put himself in a situation that could possibly ruin or at least tarnish his very high reputation. Some will say it was for the money, but he could have been well payed by far better teams.

Babcock's biggest issue is he thinks he's the smartest guy in the room. Once his ego shrinks a bit he'll be back to being a great coach.

I don't see what this comment is based on. He brought in assistants here with new ideas and delegated to them (PP in particular). Has often said that he didn't really coach Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Z, because they do things right and you don't need to guide them. Took line suggestions from those top guys as well.

And him parading around taking pics with his former assistants made me not like him personally, as well. Great job, Mike. You got paid. Glad Toronto fans have to deal with his painful to watch playofc style hockey in October now instead of us.
Way Overrated.

You mean the one photo at the draft? Don't see why getting a photo with his friends would reflect badly on him.

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3 words: Toronto is rebuilding

Guy will go down as one of the best coaches ever not even Toronto can tarnish this legacy at worst Babs reputation might take a bit of a hit if the team doesn't improve in a few years but right now there are absolutely zero expectations and of course the Leafs are one of the favorites for Matthews.

Babcock did an unbelievable job by getting the Wings into the playoffs the previous years.

Stanley cup , b2b gold medals on different ice his legacy is already set. Personally I'm still shocked that the Penguins didn't try to get him or that he chose Toronto over the Buffalo Eichels.

Edited by frankgrimes

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I haven't watched any Leaf games, so I can give my own opinion, but living in the Toronto area, I've had a couple friends, who are Leaf fans, tell me they think Babcock has them playing well. They said the team is playing aggressive, and they're getting more shots on net, but they just can't score. I would think their 1-7-2 start is due to not having Kessel anymore.

Also, as far as I know, the Leafs are going to bottom out a couple seasons and draft, so this is all being done by design.

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I don't really think you can rate a coach with much accuracy. It will always be debatable whether results are due to the players or the coach. A lot rests on luck of getting in position where you will succeed. And reputation plays a role in much that a coach does. If a coach wins somewhere, even if it was with an incredibly good team, they will be given the opportunity to coach other good teams. Also, going in as winning coach, you will likely be more respected by players which likely improve your effect on players.

That is one aspect of Babcock's decision that I respect - he put himself in a situation that could possibly ruin or at least tarnish his very high reputation. Some will say it was for the money, but he could have been well payed by far better teams.

I don't see what this comment is based on. He brought in assistants here with new ideas and delegated to them (PP in particular). Has often said that he didn't really coach Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Z, because they do things right and you don't need to guide them. Took line suggestions from those top guys as well.

You mean the one photo at the draft? Don't see why getting a photo with his friends would reflect badly on him.

He brought in coaches for new ideas and kept doing the ae thing for years. He dumbed down the game plan instead of letting players use their skillset. He decided what a player was early on and nothing could change his mind about it, good or bad.

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Toronto shouldn't get the number one pick until next year give Matthews to Columbus or new jersey.

The same New Jersey that currently sit at 8th in the conference?

I'm not saying that they'll make the playoffs, but it wouldn't take much for them to stay out of the basement and a few minor misfortunes in Wings land could have them below the Devils next April. Not inconceivable at all.

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"Basically no separation," Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "I think both guys have been really, really good. If you look at the numbers, they've both been really good. Numbers don't tell everything but they're both real close and they've both done a real good job. I think they've both given us chances to win every night."

Wrong thread, but you wouldn't notice if:

"Basically no separation," Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "I think both guys have been really, really good. If you look at the numbers, they've both been really good. Numbers don't tell everything but they're both real close and they've both done a real good job. I think they've both given us chances to win every night."

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Also, as far as I know, the Leafs are going to bottom out a couple seasons and draft, so this is all being done by design.

I doubt that.

The leafs have had plenty of good high 1st rounders in their system and still sucked. Kessel and Riemsdyk were top 5 for instance.

Besides. With the new drafting rules taking effect, tanking it isn't really all the helpful. The bottom team no longer is guaranteed a first or second pick I believe.

Edited by kickazz

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Look at his resume... That should be enough. The fact that Hockey Canada are choosing him again, another solid indication of his ability. Truth is, the Wings missed the play offs 2 and 3 years back if it were for his ability to get the most out of players. He is the best coach in the world, that does not mean he is a miracle worker. Toronto is a team that has few good players and NOTHING in the pipeline. Hate him if you want, think he is traitor, a miserable prick whatever but you can't let that cloud the fact that is is the winningest coach in Red Wing history. 1 tim Stanley Cup Champion, 2 time Olympic gold Champion, and a World Cup champion... Winning is in his blood as it is in Bowman blood also.

Edited by The Secret

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How many Stanley Cups does Joel Quenneville have to win before people stop calling Babcock the "Best coach in the world"? Six? Seven? Fifteen?

This is the biggest issue I have with Babcock. He's clearly a good coach. Nobody would argue that. But it's this asinine insistence, by his legion of acolytes, that he's "the bestest of the bestest" that drives me ******* crazy.

He's not. There's not a single objective measure that indicates he's the best at anything. Other people have more wins. Other people have a higher win percentage. Other people have more Cups.

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How many Stanley Cups does Joel Quenneville have to win before people stop calling Babcock the "Best coach in the world"? Six? Seven? Fifteen?

This is the biggest issue I have with Babcock. He's clearly a good coach. Nobody would argue that. But it's this asinine insistence, by his legion of acolytes, that he's "the bestest of the bestest" that drives mef****** crazy.

He's not. There's not a single objective measure that indicates he's the best at anything. Other people have more wins. Other people have a higher win percentage. Other people have more Cups.

Yup

But if you don't insist your guy is the best them you're a hater.

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