Mike Babcock reacts to being called a bully, especially as coach of the Wings

We finally get to hear from former Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock after a long silence. He broke it when he talked to insider Pierre LeBrun, who put together an amazing piece of journalism, covering what happened with Babs in Toronto and in Detroit. 

When Babcock lost his job as head coach of the Leafs, Johan Franzen joined a growing list of NHL players speaking out about Babcock, during their time together with the Detroit Red Wings. Franzen gave more details on the incident when the story came out after Chris Chelios spoke of the abuse in an interview with the Spittin Chiclets podcast. Chelios said Babcock “blatantly verbally assaulted” Franzen during a playoff game, which led to Franzen suffering a “nervous breakdown.” Chelios added that the leadership group of Nicklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg talked about Babcock’s behaviour among themselves also spoke with then-general manager Ken Holland. But, Chelios said, Holland backed Babcock.

Babcock spoke about this incident to LeBrun, clearly shaken up that he had hurt Franzen as much, he who he said “had unbelievable years in Detroit.” As an advocate for mental health awareness, Babs is full of regrets for the way he treated Franzen and revealed he reached out to him. 

“He was a big man with great hands. When he first came here, we thought he was a checker and he turned himself into an unbelievable player.
“When a player that you’ve coached says that about you, it stings you big time. But not only does it sting for that, if you’ve been involved with mental health like I have …’”

“Can you imagine having someone say that about you when you have been involved in mental health as much as I have? Now, I’ve reached out to (Franzen). That’s not going to make anything go away.”

Babcock wishes he could take it all back, but knows that’s impossible. He is devastated that he hurt players, but he himself hurts at the suggestion of mental abuse…

“Nothing can hurt you more than something like this,’’ he said.

“Your whole plan as a coach, and your plan as a parent, is to provide the best opportunity for everyone to be the best they can be,”  Babcock added. “And that’s what you do to have success. And you can’t have success year after year in any league without a good environment. It just doesn’t happen.

“So when something like this comes out, that hurts you. And it should. No one ever wants to be perceived that way. I can think of nothing worse than one of my kids going through something that they feel would be like this.’’

Babcock knows he pushes his players hard, but believes he does so out of love. But he does not want to cross the line when it comes to pushing them. 

Do you believe Babcock has learned his lesson? Could he be offered a job back in the NHL as head coach soon enough?