Mike Babcock reveals what he hated most about his time with the Leafs

The former coach opened up in an interview.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 3 years ago
Mike Babcock reveals what he hated most about his time with the Leafs
Zuma Press

Former Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim (Mighty) Ducks head coach Mike Babcock shocked the hockey world earlier this month when it was announced that he had accepted a position with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, on top of his new job as analyst for NBC Sports.

He’s attempted to prove he had changed, explaining how he was wrong, most notably in the Mitch Marner incident in Toronto and during the altercation with Johan Franzen in Detroit. 

He continued his media tour, maybe in the hopes of getting hired by an NHL team in the near future, and held an interview on the Cam and Strick podcast in which he opened about his time in Toronto after he was asked if he regretted leaving Detroit to accept a job behind the Maple Leafs’ bench. 

While Babcock says he is not a look-back kind of guy, he did reveal what he disliked most about this time in Toronto and I think we get why. 

“I enjoyed everything about Toronto, expect my last year and a bit. You know, I just didn’t enjoy it. That’s the bottom line.”

He went on to say that he believes every general manager in the NHL should hav their own head coach, which would explain why Kyle Dubas preferred to fire him and get his own Sheldon Keefe in charge. 

It remains to be seen which head coach will be hired by GM Ron Francis in Seattle. There were talks that Babcock was a candidate for the head coaching job for the Kraken. It remains to be seen if Babs will land the gig, though he does not need the money : the Maple Leafs owe him $5.875 million a year until his eight-year contract expires on June 30, 2023. Babcock has made the decision to remain a coach and to wait for NHL coaching opportunities because he loves the game too much. 

Except for his “last year and a bit” in Toronto…