Mike Babcock returns to hockey

[Scooter]

Returns as special advisor to UVM in NCAA hockey. Mark Stuart hired as asst. coach.

[Erick Estrada]

It appears he's going to spend a while outside of the NHL. Looks good on him quite frankly.

[getbak]

NCAA is about the only level that he hasn't worked at yet.

[savemedrzaius]

With this position does he get to keep collecting his Toronto $$$$? Probably the reason for him taking this job.

[Erick Estrada]

I've never liked the guy but I do hope that going forward he's learned from his mistakes and can put his hockey knowledge to good use wherever that may be.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I've never liked the guy but I do hope that going forward he's learned from his mistakes and can put his hockey knowledge to good use wherever that may be.

Dude's a psychopath. He likely learned sweet ####all other than how to not get caught in the future.

No denying his credentials though.

[bluejays]

I don’t have any well wishes for him in the future. He was a deceitful prick. He knew what he was doing all those years. He wants to be seen as a hockey god. How many careers were ruined by his bullying? Hope Vermont doesn’t recruit legit players to allow him to succeed.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

Dude's a psychopath. He likely learned sweet ####all other than how to not get caught in the future.

No denying his credentials though.

Like what?

'Have stacked teams. Win.'

It was like the ultimate question when he went to Toronto...'could Babcock turn them around as they're not a powerhouse like the Red Wings and Team Canada.'

No.

The answer is no.

Babcock is pretty clearly a product of fortuitous surroundings.

[undercoverbrother]

Back to his Red Deer College roots.

[Poe969]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Back to his Red Neck College roots.

Fyp

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

Dude's a psychopath. He likely learned sweet ####all other than how to not get caught in the future.

No denying his credentials though.

I think it’s pretty obvious that a large majority of high-level coaches are psychopaths.

I also think it’s very difficult, if not impossible, to achieve anything of public significance without at least a couple people yelling at you to get your head out of your own ass and be better.

But, when you deify coaches and athletes and winning above all else, this is what you create.

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

No denying his credentials though.

1 Stanley Cup in 16 seasons is not that amazing. He won his Cup in 2008, so it's not even like it was recent. In his last six full seasons his teams lost in the first round five times and missed the playoffs once. He won no championships in his 10 years in the WHL and AHL. He was fired before he could do anything different in the seventh season. The two Olympic gold medals were great, but those teams were stacked.

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by squiggs96

1 Stanley Cup in 16 seasons is not that amazing. He won his Cup in 2008, so it's not even like it was recent. In his last six full seasons his teams lost in the first round five times and missed the playoffs once. He won no championships in his 10 years in the WHL and AHL. He was fired before he could do anything different in the seventh season. The two Olympic gold medals were great, but those teams were stacked.

Winning a cup is a lifelong accomplishment that puts you in a special group. Especially considering that only 6 active head coaches have won Stanley cups. and only 52 have won a cup over the last 101 seasons or what ever it is.

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

Winning a cup is a lifelong accomplishment that puts you in a special group. Especially considering that only 6 active head coaches have won Stanley cups. and only 52 have won a cup over the last 101 seasons or what ever it is.

I am not denying that he won a Cup. I am disagreeing with the statement that you can't deny his credentials. He has done absolutely nothing in the last seven seasons. He has no postseason series victories in those seasons. That's probably its own special group of coaches who were in the league during those seasons and didn't win one playoff series. Bob Hartley also won a Cup and he has managed to win a playoff series in the last seven years. Is he the same as Babcock?

The 2007-08 Red Wings has Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Lidstrom, Chelios, Holmstrom, Franzen, Maltby, Stuart, Draper, and Hudler. They were so good that Dominik Hasek was their back up goaltender. Babcock deserves credit for winning a Cup, but it shouldn't make him immune from criticism. The times Babcock has been the most successful were when he was coaching Team Canada. Obviously you don't get to be the coach of Canada without prior success, but Babcock was never able to elevate a team of low or mid tier level of players to success. In my opinion he was more a product of his environment, rather than the person who produced the winning environment.

[Flamenspiel]

^^He did pretty well with Anaheim, losing game7 with an average team.

[Toonage]

I assume if he's working at a school he will be assigning papers for the players to work on

[getbak]

I'd say that Babcock's most-impressive coaching was getting the Ducks to the Final in 2003. Of course, even then, how much is great coaching, and how much is just riding a hot goalie as far as he'll take you?

[curves2000]

I have always wondered if a decent portion of Canada's thoughts on Babcock have gone up and down as his stock rose and fell with the Toronto based media?

He did have decent success in Anaheim with an average team and did take them to the finals. No small feat.

He then parlayed that success into his job in Detriot. He had 5 very strong seasons there and although his teams were stacked and the organization was strong, they did play a style of hockey that was a little ahead of it's time. Puck possession, north south, quick transition etc.

He did land the Team Canada job for 2010 and I don't know too many people who would argue with that call, it wasn't a poor choice. He won Gold with a stacked club, no doubt but he won. Who else would you give the 2014 job to? He won again.

He goes to Toronto as a savior, the same Toronto that thought GM Brian Burke was the cat's A**. Elite Coach and GM we are told. The best there is! When it flakes out and everybody wants to look smart, they throw water at everybody. You leave Toronto as hot garbage, incapable of holding a hockey stick let alone running a bench or a club.

It's wild out there and with the Canadian media. Sometimes they way they build up these guys you would think they are referring to the Scotty Bowman's or the Bill Belichick of the world, it's wild.

Anyhow, I have no doubt in my mind that he will resurface somewhere and he will have some success for sure. He knows the game and I am sure he may have changed a bit too. People mellow out and generally will learn.

Until than, I am sure he is doing fine collecting his large chq and enjoying his downtime, we all would.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by Locke

Like what?

'Have stacked teams. Win.'

It was like the ultimate question when he went to Toronto...'could Babcock turn them around as they're not a powerhouse like the Red Wings and Team Canada.'

No.

The answer is no.

Babcock is pretty clearly a product of fortuitous surroundings.

Ya that's true. But look at it from the University's perspective. Regardless of him being on stacked teams and whatnot, they have a cup winning, gold medal winning coach who has coached the top players in the world now working for them.

No doubt those stacked Team Canada and Red Wing teams make his resume look good. But still, that's a pretty good ''gym coach'' to have on your staff.

[GreenLantern2814]

Curious, who has won a Stanley Cup without a “stacked” team in the last 50 years?

The 93 Habs and 2006 Hurricanes are the only ones that spring to mind.

2007 Ducks: Three 30 minute per night D in their playoff run.
2008 Wings: Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Lidstrom, Rafalski.
2009 Penguins: early 20s Sid and Geno, Flowers, Letang, Gonchar.
2010 Hawks: Stacked outside the crease.
2011 Bruins: Stacked.
2012 Kings: Stacked.
2013 Hawks: Stacked.
2014 Kings: Stacked.
2015 Hawks: Stacked.
2016 Penguins: Stacked.
2017 Penguins: Stacked.
2018 Capitals: Stacked.
2019 Blues: Stacked.

You can’t win this league without a stacked team. It’s impossible.

People gave Hartley the same ####, arguing that anyone could’ve coached that Avs team to - a title. Of course, if this were true, Colorado would have more than two Cups, given that 1996 and 2001 are not sequential years.