ESPN REPORT: The Toronto Maple Leafs Head Coach is Being Fired Due to…
Following a 9-10-4 start to the 2019–20 season, head coach Mike Babcock was fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. The Leafs have changed their in-season coaching staff three times since the 2011–12 season began, with this most recent move occurring in the midst of a five-game losing skid.
In his four full seasons, Babcock, a bold addition in 2015, led the Maple Leafs to three seasons with 40 wins and a postseason appearance. But in spite of strong hopes, all of them were eliminated in the first round. It’s Sheldon Keefe with the Maple Leafs now.
What does that signify? The biggest unanswered questions are addressed by NHL experts Emily Kaplan and Greg Wyshynski, including what Babcock and the Maple Leafs will do going forward and their assessment of the trade.
Did the LeafsIs this something you really have to do? Not even December yet!
Kaplan: That wasn’t necessary. With a healthy roster, they could have given Babcock a bit more time. The trio of John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and Zach Hyman was the Leafs’ top line last season; however, they haven’t been able to play together much this year (Marner is sidelined for at least three more weeks). They might have discovered a number of other reasons or blamed porous backup goaltending, which is a problem that management could have resolved.
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However, this is unmistakably a hint that the team’s administration, notably general manager Kyle Dubas and team president Brendan Shanahan, believed Babcock’s message had become old with the players and that a change was necessary before the team collapsed. Well, at least the season still has a chance to be saved. Furthermore, I wouldn’t dismiss this as a coincidence: Babcock lost his job on November 20. On November 19, the St. Louis Blues dismissed Mike Yeo. After then, the team moved from finishing last to winning the Stanley Cup.
Wyshynski: Certainly, I believe it was essential. With five straight losses and a six-game losing run, the season was in free fall. The Leafs appeared to be a bunch of people who weren’t interested in listening.Regardless of the message Babcock was pushing, the statistics showed that: The defense, which had become a defining characteristic of Babcock’s teams, was too strong to overcome the lackluster offense (3.13 goals per game). The Leafs have failed to get past the opening round for three consecutive seasons. Any head coach, even a household name like Mike Babcock, would have been fired with their present level of play and lack of success.
But wait, wasn’t Babcock only a few years ago involved in a big eight-year, $50 million contract? I must say, this termination is extremely stunning.
Wyshynski: Babcock has four years remaining on an enormous contract, and the only reasons this feels surprising are that he’s Mike Babcock, acoach whose stature was enhanced by a 2003 record-breaking goaltending performance by Jean-Sebastien Giguere, a Stanley Cup-winning Red Wings squad led by Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom, and gold medals won with Team Canada’s unstoppable superstars. A close examination of this Leafs team reveals structural issues. Either building or coaching is that. Brendan Shanahan, the team president who helped bring in Babcock four years ago, seems to have determined it was coaching.
Since Babcock has only started all three of his studs in the lineup for a small number of games this season—Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner—the timing is really the only thing that surprises me. One thought he would make that shot. Looks like time had run out, though.
Alright, so how much of theAre we putting the coach’s difficulties on the Leafs?
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Kaplan: There is undoubtedly a part of this team that lacks vigor and preparation. Take into account that this season, the Maple Leafs have participated in 23 games. The Leafs have let the first goal in 18 of those games. (Toronto is 3-1-1 when they score first in a game). The Leafs were designed to have a potent attack, so we knew the defense would be poor at best. It’s problematic that they were unable to close those gaps and kept falling behind, especially in light of thea significant portion of their salary cap that they allocate to the forward group. The only team in the NHL with three forwards earning over $10 million annually is the Leafs.
What enduring memories of Babcock’s stay in Toronto do you have?
Wyshynski: Employing him. The Maple Leafs spent decades enticing well-known free players who were born in Ontario to return “home” and assist the team win its first Stanley Cup since 1967. One could argue that Babcock was the first to accept the challenge. His inaugural press conference, which was as extravagant as one could anticipate for the signing of a famous player, is something I will never forget. (And heated, too, as Buffalo media barraged him with inquiries about turning down the Sabres and their money in favor of the Leafs.) It wasa time when you really believed Babcock would either become the subject of a statue or just another depressing chapter in the Leafs’ history of failure. We now understand.
