How Confident Are You In Babcock?

[janesy12]

Player	PPG	TOI/GP
Kucherov	1.62	19:30
Kane	1.53	22:16
McDavid	1.46	22:56
Gaudreau	1.32	20:17
Point	1.32	18:40
Rantanen	1.29	20:57
MacKinnon	1.29	21:50
Crosby	1.28	20:50
Bergeron	1.27	18:52
Draisaitl	1.20	22:17
Matthews	1.20	18:18
Stamkos	1.20	18:09
Panarin	1.20	20:08

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Matthews plays less than any other forward besides Stamkos with similar or more PPG than him. Babcock should rely on him more.

 

[BlueForever75]

No reason why a team down a center for 2 periods doesn't play their 2 best centers more in a game down by 2 and you cant buy a PP!!!!

Enough said.

 

[Erdinger]

Babcock will still be here next season regardless of whether the Leafs soil the sheets in the 1st round. But next season he's going to finally start feeling the heat if he doesn't change. Dubas has just made Matthews the 2nd highest paid player in the league and at some point his obvious frustration with the way he is being used by Babcock will have to be addressed. Dubas (Shanahan) is Babcock's boss. If he is going out and getting him players that Babcock then doesn't seem to want to use then there is obviously a disconnect. Dubas will have to take Hainsey away from Babcock by not re-signing him next season. Sure the buyout of 3 years of Babcock's contract will be expensive but the Leafs can afford it and there is no cap problem. Did anyone expect him to coach the full 8 years?

 

[zeke]

Since the trade:

First 6gms (4-1-1, +0.83gdiff)

Rielly 23:32, 5pts, +1, 54.2cf%, 54.7scf%
Muzzin 19:04, 4pts, +3, 55.5cf%, 53.9scf%

Gardiner 19:30, 3pts, +0, 52.0cf%, 56.5scf%
Zaitsev 19:06, 1pts, -3, 48.4cf%, 53.7scf%

Hainsey 20:11, 0pts, +4, 53.6cf%, 57.5scf%
Dermott 15:47, 2pts, +7, 58.9cf%, 60.8scf%

Dominant top pair, middling 2nd pair, great 3rd pair - probably could have started leaning more heavily on that 3rd pair going forward.

Note: the effect could have been even stronger if babcock had actually given Muzzin top pair minutes and not hilariously still given Hainsey big minutes even while playing on the bottom pair.


Last 4gms (2-1-1, +0.75gdiff)

Rielly 21:56, 2pts, -2, 46.0cf%, 37.7scf%
Hainsey 18:57, 0pts, -1, 44.6cf%, 37.9scf%

Zaitsev 19:01, 1pts, +4, 51.5cf%, 59.1scf%
Muzzin 18:15, 1pts, +2, 49.7cf%, 50.6scf%

Gardiner 19:50, 1pts, +0, 61.7cf%, 68.5scf%
Dermott 16:17, 0pts, -4, 50.6cf%, 53.5scf%

Right back to the top pair being a weakness again. Sweet.

We literally had our defense completely fixed, and coach decided to sabotage it again.

But hey, as long as Zaitsev looks better then it's all good.

Our coach has lost his marbles.

 

[BlueForever75]

Since the trade:

First 6gms (4-1-1, +0.83gdiff)

Rielly 23:32, 5pts, +1, 54.2cf%, 54.7scf%
Muzzin 19:04, 4pts, +3, 55.5cf%, 53.9scf%

Gardiner 19:30, 3pts, +0, 52.0cf%, 56.5scf%
Zaitsev 19:06, 1pts, -3, 48.4cf%, 53.7scf%

Hainsey 20:11, 0pts, +4, 53.6cf%, 57.5scf%
Dermott 15:47, 2pts, +7, 58.9cf%, 60.8scf%

Dominant top pair, middling 2nd pair, great 3rd pair - probably could have started leaning more heavily on that 3rd pair going forward.

Note: the effect could have been even stronger if babcock had actually given Muzzin top pair minutes and not hilariously still given Hainsey big minutes even while playing on the bottom pair.


Last 4gms (2-1-1, +0.75gdiff)

Rielly 21:56, 2pts, -2, 46.0cf%, 37.7scf%
Hainsey 18:57, 0pts, -1, 44.6cf%, 37.9scf%

Zaitsev 19:01, 1pts, +4, 51.5cf%, 59.1scf%
Muzzin 18:15, 1pts, +2, 49.7cf%, 50.6scf%

Gardiner 19:50, 1pts, +0, 61.7cf%, 68.5scf%
Dermott 16:17, 0pts, -4, 50.6cf%, 53.5scf%

Right back to the top pair being a weakness again. Sweet.

We literally had our defense completely fixed, and coach decided to sabotage it again.

But hey, as long as Zaitsev looks better then it's all good.

Our coach has lost his marbles.

The constant I see in your evaluations is that Gardiner brings down the play of Zaitsev and now Dermott. As I have been saying all along, Gardiner is the weak link in the d core and he's the one that should be traded immediately. Any of the dmen discussed (Pesce, Gudas, Jensen) would instantly make our D that much better by simply replacing Gardiner with one of them.

 

[Bluelines]

So the last time Babsuck won anything of consequence was 5 years ago with a stacked team. Before that 9 years ago. Before that 11 years ago.

The game has passed him by. Admitting that is the first step to recovery.

or winning the Cup is really hard thing to do or winning anything of consequence is a really hard thing to do. Saying the game has passed him by is ignoring every possible logical scenario and going for the laziest opinion possible. If winning championships were easy, the same team would do it every year.

If we follow your logic, you are saying that the only reason why we have not won the cup in the last 3 years is because of Babcock. So if Babcock is fired you are clearly guaranteeing that we will win the cup?

Tied for 5th OA in the standings, 2nd most ROW, 5th in GF, 7th in GA, 2nd best GF/GA differential, 19-8-3 AWAY (2nd best in the league), 17-11-1 @ HOME - if this is what a team looks like when it is coached by a guy who has seen the game passed him by, pretty sure more GM's will be looking for coaches who have had the game pass them by.

So we have the above stats that clearly don't support your opinion, what you got? N_th_ng is what you have ... wanna buy a vowel?

 

[Matthews34]

Why do those idiots in STL play ROR with Tarasenko? Don’t they know about “Balance”!?

So your answer is to play 2 lines after Kadri leaves? I’m glad you’re not the coach.

 

[Bluelines]

The constant I see in your evaluations is that Gardiner brings down the play of Zaitsev and now Dermott. As I have been saying all along, Gardiner is the weak link in the d core and he's the one that should be traded immediately. Any of the dmen discussed (Pesce, Gudas, Jensen) would instantly make our D that much better by simply replacing Gardiner with one of them.

Yep, I agree been saying that for a while now. Not that Jake is a bad player but it takes a special person to play well with him. Zaitsev is a decent bottom 3 defender that can be an effective shut down defender with the right partner. Rielly is now playing with Hainsey and is looking better and better every game. We finally have a top four that can play at a high level. Time to get Polak back to play #6 (kidding)

 

[Bluelines]

So your answer is to play 2 lines after Kadri leaves? I’m glad you’re not the coach.

I know right. The Leafs who are on game 6 of 6 on the road got stronger as the game went on, the blues faded as the game went on. It should be clear to even the most casual viewer why we spread out the ice time. But haters will hate.

 

[Matthews34]

Hey! hey! ho! ho! Babcock needs to go!
Hey! hey! ho! ho! Babcock needs to go!
Hey! hey! ho! ho! Babcock needs to go!

 

[WilliamNylander]

So your answer is to play 2 lines after Kadri leaves? I’m glad you’re not the coach.

No, just play the best players on the same lines.

 

[HomerJLeafs]

So your answer is to play 2 lines after Kadri leaves? I’m glad you’re not the coach.

Play 3 lines. Play the best player of the game (WILLIAM NYLANDER) for more than 4 minutes in the 3rd.

 

[6ix]

It’s as clear as day this ego maniac clown is NOT the right coach to lead this team to glory.

Has this leaf team played a complete game all season? After every win or loss it’s the same BS “oh they were better than us in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd” etc depending on the game.

Why can’t they play a complete game? Because egocock refuses to create lines that have chemistry and can dominate.

Andersen is masking Babcock’s problems, but when push comes to shove in the playoffs and teams are going 110%, it’s quite obvious why Mike Babcock hasn’t made it out of the 1st round in about a decade now.

 

[Whaleafs]

Fortunately, if there’s any team that can eat the remaining years of Babcock’s salary it’s Toronto. If it’s another first round exit this year, and I think it will be, that should be the last straw. Quenneville should already have been brought on in some kind of advisory role so he can step right in when the time comes.

 

[Kazparov]

I noted this in the gameday thread last night vs the Blues.

Watch the St Louis Dzone breakout. All five players back supporting the puck vs 1-2 forecheckers. A few short passes and the blues would get out.

The Leafs have 2 D back, under pressure from 2 forecheckers. Forwards have blown the zone waiting for a stretch pass. Toronto D gets pressured back and back and make a long, low percentage pass which often goes nowhere or gets intercepted in the neutral zone.

That's a coaching systems issue.

 

[stickty111]

Thanks to @SprDaVE for posting the tweet.
Marlies are playing right now. Watch this breakout.


Another red mark for Babcock.

 

[usernamezrhardtodo]

All decisions where he just reacts to the other team, rather than try to force the gameplan our way. We owned this game in shifts where a Nylander, Matthews, or Marner came down low and built up speed. There was one shift where they tried to put pressure on us but Matthews and Kapanen ran circles around them in the neutral zone before breaking into the offensive zone with control. How many times didn't Nylander break down their neutral zone defense completely by just beating the forecheck and attacking with speed? I have no idea why we don't do this more often. Coaching staff seem to think that since we are a quick team we need to stretch the ice, but that's not taking advantage of your legs. That's making your legs a non-issue and letting the puck do the work.

I've largely been a Babcock supporter but he does things that are very hard to understand or support, and the issues I have with his coaching feels like the biggest issues I have with the team right now.

Either the other teams have figured a way to totally counter our way of playing the breakout or he is a moron. What I mean by that is this: If a team plays a trap...it means they are sitting back in the N-zone waiting passively for you with a 1 man forecheck and 3 in the N-zone waiting...the answer to that is NOT stretch passes....its either skating the puck out by a D-man or a winger.

So...if teams are trapping us..that is the way to get around it. With a strong forecheck you can chip it out to the N-zone and past the 2F in your face. Why do we use the same system of stretch passes to a stationary player to deflect the puck in ALL the time? it doesn't make any sense.

A good coach would have a plan A + B ...if they do this..do that..but we don't. His excuse for the system not working is always we didn't work HARD enough (to overcome his stupidity)...I really think this guy is just a cliche machine that must grate on the young players with his B.S.

I think he has lost Mathews TBH... he NEVER coasted into the D-zone in his first 2 yrs on the club...now he looks like Eichel half the time. He used to take pride in his Defense. Now it seems like he is waiting for someone else to get the puck to him so he can just go on offense. Whether or not that is because he is feeling that there is no point in killing yourself for a stupid system...I don't know.

 

[zeke]

Thanks to @SprDaVE for posting the tweet.
Marlies are playing right now. Watch this breakout.


Red mark for Babcock. Why can't we have a proper breakout?

O'keefe as coach.

Muzzin - Rielly
Gardiner - Dermott
Sandin - Liljegren

 

[zeke]

I noted this in the gameday thread last night vs the Blues.

Watch the St Louis Dzone breakout. All five players back supporting the puck vs 1-2 forecheckers. A few short passes and the blues would get out.

The Leafs have 2 D back, under pressure from 2 forecheckers. Forwards have blown the zone waiting for a stretch pass. Toronto D gets pressured back and back and make a long, low percentage pass which often goes nowhere or gets intercepted in the neutral zone.

That's a coaching systems issue.

The Babcock stretch pass breakout is really not a whole lot different than the Randy Carlyle breakout.

It's a system that tries to be a "cheat code", imo.

 

[IPS]

Is there a clip of Babcock saying he would "prefer to have St. Louis' D-men instead" or was it just relayed from Johnston?

if he really did say that, f*** this guy, seriously. You have a Norris contender and a #2 who played the second most minutes on a cup-winner but you choose to load Hainsey's minutes up instead of playing him more. So now this twat is throwing underhanded insults towards of defensemen? Maybe it's time for a players only meeting.

 

[zeke]

Is there a clip of Babcock saying he would "prefer to have St. Louis' D-men instead" or was it just relayed from Johnston?

if he really did say that, **** this guy, seriously. You have a Norris contender and a #2 who played the second most minutes on a cup-winner but you choose to load Hainsey's minutes up instead of playing him more. So now this **** is throwing underhanded insults towards of defensemen? Maybe it's time for a players only meeting.

nah babs never said that. it was just that Bombur johnston.

 

[thewave]

More confident in Babcock than the losers out there that don't even stand up for Kadri after he got rocked. This team is not lovable, it has lovable players but as a team you can't love this.

 

[IPS]

I think he has lost Mathews TBH... he NEVER coasted into the D-zone in his first 2 yrs on the club...now he looks like Eichel half the time. He used to take pride in his Defense. Now it seems like he is waiting for someone else to get the puck to him so he can just go on offense. Whether or not that is because he is feeling that there is no point in killing yourself for a stupid system...I don't know.

I can't believe this isn't getting talked about more. Surely people have noticed this. Matthews 1000% took his 2-way game extremely serious prior to this year. Now? He straight up does not give a f***. I'm passed the whole lingering injury thing, there's been enough spurts where he's shown that's not the case. And if he really was, he would have been sat by management. I'm convinced there is clearly something else going on here. I just don't think he has any interest in putting his body on the line for such a stupid coach/system.

 

[Bluelines]

Babcock is such a bad coach.... the game has clearly passed him by.

... did you hear this team just set the franchise record for the fastest team to win 36 games?

... that is on Babcock, how dare he set the fastest wins record for a 102 year old franchise... does he have no respect for the previous 38 coaches?

... clearly all the stats indicate that he is horrible, well except for his win/loss record and the 102 year old records he is breaking and him having the Leafs in the top ten in almost every 5 on 5 category ... but he sucks for all the other stuff... FIRE HIM NOW...

I sure hope some super smert Leaf fan has a hot take on how they know better than a coach, who just coached his team to the fastest 36 win season in club history... did I mention the club is 102 years old?

#hottakedummies #livehere #ignoranceisbliss #stupiddontknowitsstupid

 

[Peasy]

Babcock is such a bad coach.... the game has clearly passed him by.

... did you hear this team just set the franchise record for the fastest team to win 36 games?

... that is on Babcock, how dare he set the fastest wins record for a 102 year old franchise... does he have no respect for the previous 38 coaches?

... clearly all the stats indicate that he is horrible, well except for his win/loss record and the 102 year old records he is breaking and him having the Leafs in the top ten in almost every 5 on 5 category ... but he sucks for all the other stuff... FIRE HIM NOW...

I sure hope some super smert Leaf fan has a hot take on how they know better than a coach, who just coached his team to the fastest 36 win season in club history... did I mention the club is 102 years old?

#hottakedummies #livehere #ignoranceisbliss #stupiddontknowitsstupid

Yes, there is 0 chance that another coach could get similar results with this team. It is all Babcock, bow down to him.