Does Dubas have the power to make a coaching change?

[sabresEH]

I think he has the power to do so. Which means if he gets the boards approval he is allowed to fire him. But how many years does he have left on his contract? And how much does he get paid per year? That’s a lot of money they are paying him to not coach the leafs.

 

[TootooTrain]

Does he have the power? Yes.
Will he do it within the next 2-3 years? No.
Babcock has alot of rope with his resume. When he's in the final year or two of his contract, the team is in shambles, and the entire management staff think a new voice is needed, then it happens.

 

[leaffaninvancouver]

Does he have the power? Yes.
Will he do it within the next 2-3 years? No.
Babcock has alot of rope with his resume. When he's in the final year or two of his contract, the team is in shambles, and the entire management staff think a new voice is needed, then it happens.

Why would Dubas be able to light 30 million dollars on fire without getting approval?

It’s not a slight on Dubas, I don’t think Lou could have either.

 

[Zizzzzy]

Poll needs "LOL" as an answer option .

 

[The CyNick]

I think the Raps are a bit different though in that Masai is basically President and GM in practice.

Shanahan certainly doesn’t seem to be as involved in the day to day as Masai is. This is key because I think Shanahan can hold a Lou or Dubas now accountable in a way that Masai can’t hold Bobby Webster

You are right about day to day. Shanny has no interest in making trades, although neither does Masai to be fair. Both of the GMs were put in place because they are young and okay with a setup where the Prez calls the shots.

Neither GM has a say at this point in who the coach is. Like zero.

 

[Budsfan]

James Mirtle @mirtle
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Exclusive: Lou Lamoriello will be hired to run Islanders' hockey operations theathletic.com/363029/2018/05…

 

[Judas Tavares]

So apparently, Babcock reports Dubas.

Who'd have thunk it?

 

[SprDaVE]

So apparently, Babcock reports Dubas.

Who'd have thunk it?

Nuh huh someone here told me it's not like that.

 

[kihei]

It would be odd if the GM didn't have the power. Can't imagine Dubas doing anything crazy, though, so I don't see much of an issue here.

 

[leaffaninvancouver]

So apparently, Babcock reports Dubas.

Who'd have thunk it?

Which has nothing to do with the fact that Dubas can’t fire him. Just because your someone’s boss doesn’t mean that someone isn’t your boss.

Why in the world would anyone think that Dubas could just unilaterally decide to burn 30,000,000 dollars?

 

[moon111]

Getting JVR off the team is a management issue. Any coach would really have no alternative to use him. When I see Babcock's real decisions, I see him going with more hustle, more speed. Matt Martin out scored Kaps and Johnsson, yet was cut. Josh Leivo probably had more offense then all of them. But Babcock's image is a fast team that never gives the opposition a change of pace. Babcock wants to put the opposition on their heels all game. People wonder why Komarov played so much. He skates pretty fast with a lot of hustle. Dubas isn't getting rid of Babcock, Babcock is getting rid of Lou. Babcock doesn't want to build a clone, or some old-style team, he's making the Leafs in the image of the future of the NHL. And I think that's why Dubas is the G.M. I think both of them have the same vision for the club, which doesn't include making a trade for Tomas Plekanec.

 

[A1LeafNation]

Yes

 

[Battle Lin]

i just hope he has enough power in him to move martin and get us more cap space

 

[DarkKnight]

I will say no, practically sure, realistically no, because if we ever get to the point where there is serious talk of turfing Babs, it means the whole thing has gone to shit and Kyle would be gone too anyways.

 

[93LEAFS]

No, and to think he does is completely ignoring the reality of the situation. The Leafs were willing to write off the Clarkson money as they realized that it was a massive mistake made by a prior regime (and he was a useless asset). This is much different than Babcock for a variety of reasons. Lou did not have this power.

No one, I'm not even sure Friisdahl has the power to for anything related to on-ice Hockey performance. Babcock is the highest paid person in the Leafs management, by a wide margin. So, if Dubas wanted to fire him, it would have to go to the board. On top of that, Shanahan would lose serious job security due to the fact he was the one who agreed to pay Babcock this type of money, which makes it quite unlikely Shanahan (even if he could) would unilaterally agree to give Dubas that type of power. Finally, it would go to the MLSE board and be decided on by the board. If Dubas can make a valid case on why, then he would get the approval, but at the same time, if Babs thought there were a serious issue with upper management there is the chance he has the political capital to overthrow Dubas and potentially Shanahan. There aren't many situations where the head coach makes significantly more than his two immediate superiors.

Either way, I don't see Dubas trying to remove Babcock and I don't see Babcock organizing a palace coup.

Now, in 4 years and Babcock looks to be worn out, he could fire him. But, when there is over 30 million left on Babcocks deal, and likely only 10 or so left on Dubas's, its going to be damn hard to win that battle without strong ammunition and the board agreeing with it.

 

[Razz]

This discussion is a moot point. Babcock is one of the few NHL coaches that really doesn't get "fired". If a Babcock team is bad, it's because of personnel, not coaching. Sames goes for Joel Quenneville. These are hall of fame coaches.

 

[81Leafs50]

He can absolutely make a change whenever he wants. He just has to tell Shanahan that a better coach is out there and available. Who that could be I have no idea. I think Babcock is a great coach, maybe the best at the moment.

 

[81Leafs50]

No, and to think he does is completely ignoring the reality of the situation. The Leafs were willing to write off the Clarkson money as they realized that it was a massive mistake made by a prior regime (and he was a useless asset). This is much different than Babcock for a variety of reasons. Lou did not have this power.

No one, I'm not even sure Friisdahl has the power to for anything related to on-ice Hockey performance. Babcock is the highest paid person in the Leafs management, by a wide margin. So, if Dubas wanted to fire him, it would have to go to the board. On top of that, Shanahan would lose serious job security due to the fact he was the one who agreed to pay Babcock this type of money, which makes it quite unlikely Shanahan (even if he could) would unilaterally agree to give Dubas that type of power. Finally, it would go to the MLSE board and be decided on by the board. If Dubas can make a valid case on why, then he would get the approval, but at the same time, if Babs thought there were a serious issue with upper management there is the chance he has the political capital to overthrow Dubas and potentially Shanahan. There aren't many situations where the head coach makes significantly more than his two immediate superiors.

Either way, I don't see Dubas trying to remove Babcock and I don't see Babcock organizing a palace coup.

Now, in 4 years and Babcock looks to be worn out, he could fire him. But, when there is over 30 million left on Babcocks deal, and likely only 10 or so left on Dubas's, its going to be damn hard to win that battle without strong ammunition and the board agreeing with it.

this is pure conjecture and speculation. Lou had all the power in the world and so does Dubas. Shanahn is not the kind of guy to interfere. He has enough confidence that he always has the best person in charge and therefor they have all the power to do whatever is necessary for the betterment of the team.

 

[leaffaninvancouver]

this is pure conjecture and speculation. Lou had all the power in the world and so does Dubas. Shanahn is not the kind of guy to interfere. He has enough confidence that he always has the best person in charge and therefor they have all the power to do whatever is necessary for the betterment of the team.

It’s unlikey Lou had the power to unilaterally fire Babcock. It’s not about authority it’s about money.

 

[DowntownConnorBrown]

no brendan shanahan would never allow him to replace babcock

 

[QJo]

Do you guys think Dubas actually has the power to fire Babcock?
If not then he's not a true GM as far as I'm concerned. The coach can't have more power than the GM in any successful team. GM's typically like to bring in their own coach as well. If they don't make it to the second round next year I think Babcock's job will be in jeopardy.

A lot of people have claimed Babcock got out coached, he hasn't won a round in the playoffs in x number of years, 8 or 9 I think? Albeit the wings took a huge nose dive talent wise once Lidstrom retired(OBVIOUSLY.) but still not a good stat to have on your resume. Overplaying Anderson even though a playoff spot was locked up is another thing people have doubts about...the use of Leivo, etc.

The possible power struggle within the organization combined with the rumored rift between Babs and Matthews should make things very interesting moving forward. As much as Babcock has helped the rebuild I'm not convinced he's the coach to take the team to the top. Babcock may be too old school for this era. He's very hard on his players, does that work nowadays?

I'd prefer Dubas to have full autonomy to make a coaching change if he sees fit but I don't think that's the case.

Putting feelers out there on public opinion pretty early there, Dubas?

 

[Buds17]

It’s unlikey Lou had the power to unilaterally fire Babcock. It’s not about authority it’s about money.

Perhaps to some extent. It's definitely a big financial commitment, but I think the situation he walked into is the reason for the money and term. It was looking to be a potentially lengthy process to move things forward. Playoffs were achieved quickly. Now, it's about success in the playoffs. I think Babcock's job only becomes tenuous if we have back-to-back seasons of regression, or a few years of stagnation.

I think ownership would absorb the hit if change is needed in less than five years from now. For the sake of team success, I hope it isn't.

 

[Legendary]

He can’t right now but will eventually be able to if things go sour. My prediction is he fires Babcock wihin the next three seasons.

 

[93LEAFS]

this is pure conjecture and speculation. Lou had all the power in the world and so does Dubas. Shanahn is not the kind of guy to interfere. He has enough confidence that he always has the best person in charge and therefor they have all the power to do whatever is necessary for the betterment of the team.

Even Shanahan doesn't have the power to just fire Babcock. A decision this big goes to the MLSE board. They may side with him, but they may not. When Babcock makes more money than both Shanahan and Dubas, it isn't fully there call. No one has that type of autonomy.

 

[Al14]

If Management wants to change the Head Coach, they will do it by asking Babcock to take another job in the organization.

If he refuses, and wants to continue coaching in the NHL, he'll have to resign his position, otherwise he sits.

Well, that's if there is no protection against this in his contract!