I went with Babcock. He did far more with far less. Yes, JS was playing out of his mind, but the defensive system was designed that way too, to where a lot of shots wouldn't be high danger shots. We had to play like that because we didn't have talent. It was a magical season all around. Who knew the two kids and a goat line would be that special (Chistov, Pahlsson, and Stevie Thomas)?! The following year, it was a different team. No more Kariya as he left us at the alter to pursue his own hockey dreams. Chistov didn't put in more work in the off-season. It just didn't click even though we signed Fedorov and Prospal. Maybe it was a Stanley Cup hangover?
With Carlyle, he had a stacked team and a blue line that didn't need coaching. But even Carlyle's teams began to fade to the point he got fired twice because of it.
Anaheim Babcock was a good coach for us. Outside-of-Anaheim Babcock is a different coach... maybe the snub that Burke gave him just irked him too much? I have no idea, but not the same coach he was in Anaheim. Maybe we need to isolate Anahiem Babcock from outside-of-Anaheim Babcock in this discussion.
We've been blessed with very good netminders since the acquisition of JS. When we won the cup, JS didn't carry us that much as our team was stacked. But for other coaches such as Bruce, RC, and the Doctor, why weren't they able to tap into that goalie skills despite having more talent on the team than Bobcock did? I don't think Babcock gets enough credit to know who his bread and butter was as well as designing a scheme to maximize it. Kariya wasn't the hero in the playoffs, but even Kariya played his part as a supporting role for JS. It was just a magical year, that 10th season of the Ducks' existence.
I remember fondly how Ozolinsh fumbled the puck across the ice heading towards Marty and then Marty somehow stumbled on a easy stop on a puck, but it got past him for a goal. Sheer magic. Too bad we lost.