Former players, pundits and fans slam NBC after Mike Babcock's debut.

Two weeks ago news broke that controversial former head coach Mike Babcock would be joining the NBC crew for their broadcasts of select National Hockey League games. The announcement was met with mixed reactions with some looking forward to hearing the insights of an experienced head coach in the NHL, one with Stanley Cup Championship experience no less, while others were not so ready to see Babcock make his return after some of the things that came up after he was fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

On Sunday Babcock made his debut on the NBC broadcast and although I suspect that there were many who were happy to hear from the former bench boss, there was also a ton of backlash directed at NBC on social media following his appearance. That criticism came from your everyday fans, some pundits, and even former players that have been critical of Babcock in the past.

Former Red Wings defenseman Mike Commodore, a frequent and vocal critic of the former Red Wings head coach, called Babcock a "fraud," not exactly subtle criticism.

Folks...do you remember when Babcock was a “Mental Health Advocate”? What a fraud. When the cameras are rolling he’s an advocate, when they aren’t he is a bully.

Mike Babcock is literally the definition of everything mental health advocates advocate against.
— Mike Commodore (@commie22) January 24, 2021

There were endless examples from fans.

Hey @NHLonNBCSports thanks for ruining the game today with Mike Babcock ?
— Kbeaves (@digitalrev88) January 24, 2021

So...NBC replaced Milbury with Mike Babcock? Jesus Christ.
— Miller (@QuoteTheMiller) January 24, 2021

@NHLonNBCSports mike Babcock slithers out from under a rock! You couldn’t find anyone else?
— craig warwick (@candymancw) January 24, 2021

Pundits got in on the Mike Babcock and NBC criticism as well.

NBC just spent their first 5 minutes of NHL game coverage today having Mike Babcock explain his past actions as a coach. I don't understand what he's doing on TV. Even if he didn't have baggage, he doesn't have the personality for it.
— Ryan Johnston (@Johnston985) January 24, 2021

Mike Babcock on coaching,
just now on NBC: “You do everything you can to get the player to be the best they can possibly be.” pic.twitter.com/ojhxdMqKCm
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) January 24, 2021

mike babcock on the intermission report pic.twitter.com/1j6tITBz2m
— Prashanth Iyer (@iyer_prashanth) January 24, 2021

Babcock has been away from the game for some time but it seems evident that there are fans out there who simply will not be so quick to forgive him, and in light of the accusations levied against him I can understand where their concern comes from. The core of the issue in my estimation comes from a perception that NBC was giving Babcock a platform to rehabilitate his image, and there's no denying that Babcock avoided facing any real tough questions about those aforementioned accusations. The name of former Red Wings forward Johan Franzen never once came up and for many, especially for fans in Detroit, it was the stories about his alleged treatment of that player in particular that have left a bad taste in their mouth when it comes to Babcock.

That being said I don't think you could have honestly expected a company that hired Babcock to do a job to badger him on the air during his first day on the job.

What do you think? Is it too soon for Babcock to make a return to the NHL? Or should he be given a second chance?