Why is Mike Babcock being made the scapegoat for the Maple Leaf's problems?

[hockeyisgud]

They can't make a trade because no sane GM would take any of their big players at their cap hits.

 

[TT1]

Getting a defensive #1 d-man is a lot easier said than done, and Tavares was available as a UFA. It didn't help the defence problems, but I don't see how that was a dumb move.

that wasn't a dumb move at all, he basically got a free elite asset (for money only, caphit was fine for a high-end UFA #1 C)

the dumb move was not moving another piece(s) for a D, he tied up too much their cap up front (and into forwards w/ no bite)

 

[NinjaKick]

In hindsight and a couple of months of watching Leaf hockey... I absolutely hate the Kadri trade

 

[The Podium]

Mostly because he has a ferrari and is trying to use it as a pickup truck.

Lmao! This post could not be more spot on

 

[The Podium]

that wasn't a dumb move at all, he basically got a free elite asset (for money only, caphit was fine for a high-end UFA #1 C)

the dumb move was not moving another piece(s) for a D, he tied up too much their cap up front (and into forwards w/ no bite)

I mean, its not a dumb move considering any of Nylander, Marner or Matthews (least likely) can still be moved if need be. He isnt locked in to this roster other than Tavares.

 

[Rare Jewel]

The issues aren't all on him, but he isn't blameless either.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

There hasn't been any cohesion in the Dzone for the past 3 years. When your players look like they're unsure what they're supposed to be doing defensively, that falls on the coach.

 

[LOFIN]

Because most of Torontos problems can be traced back to bad coaching, or atleast the problems I see. Bad team defense, bad special teams, bad utilization of players, horrible back-to-backs... The team just doesn't seem to be happy at the moment, and even that can be traced back to the coach.

And it's easier to replace a coach than replace the team. Let's face it, Dubas has put together a team that he would like to see. Unfortunately, that's not the team Mike Babcock would like to ice. Something has to give here. Either Shanahan allows Dubas to fire Babcock and try it out his way, or you fire Dubas and start building the team all over again (which won't be easy at this moment).

 

[Dirty Dog]

The leafs offense is really good, and their defense is really bad. Isn't that expected from how their roster is built.

Look how talented their forward core is. Look how un-talented their defensive core is.

 

[TT1]

I mean, its not a dumb move considering any of Nylander, Marner or Matthews (least likely) can still be moved if need be. He isnt locked in to this roster other than Tavares.

you lose value on them once they're signed (unless theyre on really good contract), GMs want to handle that sorta stuff with agents themselves

Nylander is the most likely trade candid tho, his contract is the easiest to move. I dunno where his value is atm vs 2 years ago tho. That said, i know he's been playing well this season. Another issue is that he's wasting contending years by not addressing team needs asap.

 

[Dexter Colt]

A big hire expected to somehow just bring success with him into a market/fanbase/mediascape that is yearning for big wins is often a boom or bust type of an affair.

 

[Johniac]

It's easy to blame the coach, but more problems could be traced to the Tavares acquisition. While he is a great player and said he wanted to help the team win the Cup, he then receives 11 million of cap hit to sign up. That absolutely handcuffed the team in making any other moves and left Toronto top heavy against the cap. I do agree though that Babs is probably not the best fit for that team.

 

[Rude Dog]

As a Leaf fan, I think it’s time to get rid of Babs. Not that I think it will help this year. In fact I don’t think it will. Not sure if it’s coming from Babcock but there is no way this team wins until they start having their teammates backs. I saw way more team toughness watching my son play peewee this weekend and they still aren’t hitting.

But watching 1st PP never play more than a minute, to watching his overuse of talentless players gets old fast. With the offensive talent this team has they should be outshooting most teams badly most nights. He seems to love a tie game with 10 minutes left. Show patience. Wait for opportunities. At that point it’s a lucky goal away from a win or loss. He should be playing for a 5-2 win. Apparently almost all the players hate him Time for a change.

 

[Pens x]

He’s stale and an asshole, by all accounts.

 

[Bandit]

Only the 6th leafs thread on the first page. You guys are slacking...

 

[Rude Dog]

Reminds me of when a big % of Habs fans thought we would be amazing as soon as we fired Therrien.

It took a bit of time but CJ has the Habs playing an upbeat in your face relentless style. Easy to be a fan of a team that works hard shift in shift out.

 

[Hunter368]

Coaching is one problem, but the Leafs have more problems and potentially significant ones. Not saying they can’t be overcome, but anyone thinking a simple coaching change makes them a serious cup contender is wrong. I say this as a Leaf fan.

 

[Chardo]

Put Nick Lidstrom on the Leafs and this thread doesn't happen.

 

[Chardo]

Signing Tavares was not the dumb move. Signing both Nylander and Marner instead of trading one for defense and cap space was the dumb move.

 

[Rude Dog]

Babcock created a side show the first day of camp with Spezza. Then embarrassed him by scratching him against his former team with a bunch of family and friends in the crowd. I can tell you first hand a lot of players on the team weren’t happy with that. He has lost the room.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

It's easier to fire a coach, than trade 23 players. Management usually have 1 free firing to use before the cross hairs are turned on them. Leafs have a plethora of problems. It would be foolish to think it is just the coach, Especially a career .608 winning % coach, and a recent .559 winning % the last 5 years is the sole problem and I am not even a fan of Babcock's per say, but he's not as bad as Maurice so that is that of one wants context of the quality of coaching we are discussing here.

 

[kmart]

i always thought he went away from the redwings because he wanted more power, like coach + gm options which he did not get in detroit. its a possibility that he now pulls all the strings on the leafs and the current gm is just a puppet of him. in any case i guess on a team like toronto there are a lot of powerful people that will get in the way of a very good coach or gm, as burke the "star gm" before babs failed hard, sold out the future with trading picks away with no real success to show for it. the leafs are a bit like the rangers or montreal... they can suck and nobody cares, because the arenas are sold out anyway.

 

[Nick Hansen]

Babcock created a side show the first day of camp with Spezza. Then embarrassed him by scratching him against his former team with a bunch of family and friends in the crowd. I can tell you first hand a lot of players on the team weren’t happy with that. He has lost the room.

He did the same with Mike Modano, hindering him from playing his 1500'th game of his career.

 

[biotk]

Babcock created a side show the first day of camp with Spezza. Then embarrassed him by scratching him against his former team with a bunch of family and friends in the crowd. I can tell you first hand a lot of players on the team weren’t happy with that. He has lost the room.

Yup - I had meant to mention this in one of my posts. Babs made sure on the first day of the season that everyone knew that he was going to be just as big a piece of shit as he had been in previous years. Lost a decent chunk of the team right out of the gate instead of it building up over half a season.

As Mirtle wrote in The Athletic today about Babcock losing the room: "This is nothing new. There has been simmering discontent for years, some of which has come out through media reports, but most of which has not."

 

[biotk]

its a possibility that he now pulls all the strings on the leafs and the current gm is just a puppet of him.

There is no possibility that Dubas is a puppet of Babcock. It is widely believed that Dubas wanted to fire Babs this summer, but that Shanahan vetoed it. It would not be a surprise if the Toronto GM doesn't have the sole ability to fire Babcock as he was hired by Shanahan at a time when Toronto was between GMs.