BABCOCK THOUGHTS

1 – THE BABCOCK COLUMN – Originally, I was going to write one or two points on the Mike Babcock situation but then the news came down on Sunday afternoon that he was resigning from his post before even one single regular season game in light of accusations that a player or players were offended that he asked to see personal pictures on a player(s) cell phone.  I’m going to just write and see how many points are a result of this one development.  What should be noted here is that we don’t seem to have much agreement on facts aside from that this request could be seen as innocuous to some and invasive to others.  It’s all in ‘how did you experience the interaction’ (we have a Prime Minister that skated on that excuse).  There’s a suggestion that despite Boone Jenner’s public statement that was supportive of Babcock that it was Jenner who was upset over the request to see family photos.  Who knows.  We live in a backstabbing world so it’s entirely possible.  What we do know is that Jenner is the captain and Johnny Gaudreau is their best player.  Both individuals spoke favorably of the interaction with Babcock but it doesn’t seem to matter.  The vultures were never going to go away and so Babcock is stepping aside.  I was rooting for the man to succeed but I knew he’d never make the year because there are too many people out there who don’t like him and those types of people are very passionate about their crusades.  Alas, he’s gone quicker than, even I, anticipated.

2 – BABCOCK ENABLERS GET AWAY – Let’s go with the narrative that Babcock is a bad man who doesn’t deserve to be behind the bench of a hockey team.  If that’s the case, there are a lot of people above Babcock who have a lot of answering to do.  We will start with the Columbus Blue Jackets GM (Jarmo Kekalainen), who was well aware of the history but ignored it and gave him another chance without, evidently, scrutinizing the way he should when you hire a man who has the history that Babcock does.  Let’s also go after the University of Saskatchewan, who hired Babcock for a season and didn’t report any issues.  If Babcock can’t even get through an NHL training camp without doing something so egregious that he needs to go, he surely did at least one thing during his time in Saskatoon.  But, perhaps the person who has to answer the most (but won’t and won’t even be approached on it) is Brendan Shanahan.  Shanahan played for Babcock in 2006 (was even alternate captain) so he is very much aware of how Babcock conducts himself and yet he saw fit to green light the hiring of Babcock to coach the Leafs.  He also didn’t bother to pay a whole lot of attention to the supposed bullying that went on when Babcock coached the young Leafs (kids, we will call them).  Why?  We’ve got evidence based on Johan Franzen, Mike Modano, and Mike Commodore that pre-date Babcock working with the Leafs. Were they not credible then, but are credible now?  If Babcock is so bad, Shanahan needs to go for enabling the behavior but Shanahan is still very well liked and therefore he escapes without having to really answer any tough questions.  

3 – CORRADO SITUATION – I’m not entirely in the camp of Babcock being unfairly marked by detractors.  Not many will remember, because we are very convenient when it comes to memories on all things, Frank Corrado getting the healthy scratch treatment from Babcock in 2016 and 2017.  He seldom played and the excuse was that he could be claimed on waivers if he was sent to the minors, so they exiled him to the pressbox instead.  It’s debatable, but you could say him not playing at all sewered his development and, ultimately, destroyed his career.  Symbolically, it was a message to the other players who the boss is and if you cross the boss, this is what may happen to you.  It should be noted, no players on the Leafs challenged Babcock until many 0’s were added to their yearly salaries, thus making them more powerful than their coach.  It should also be noted that Shanahan and the General Manager (Kyle Dubas who was with the team for four years prior to spending five as Babcock’s official boss) also seemed to be fine with this (some would call it abuse).  Dubas is in such demand, he quit the Leafs and was hired by Pittsburgh immediately.  Where was he during all of Babcock’s indiscretions?

4 – MEDIA OSTRICHES – The other people who should be answering questions are various media heavyweights (Insiders they like to call themselves) who are very much aware of what goes on behind the scenes and never report it.  I know.  I was once one of them in the WHL and SJHL.  I assure you the NHL has many media people who turn a blind eye to things that make them wince or challenge their own morals because they don’t want to jeopardize certain relationships.  Yet, when information hits the public domain they all jump on Twitter (X) and pile on with their holiness.  It makes me sick.  I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that there are many coaches working at high levels who have done things and continue to do them and it would make your collective heads spin.  But, so far so good at keeping them secret.  Having said that, the public will cancel whoever it wants and it will not be an equal standard for all.  Some will get a free pass forever and it’s frustrating to see. 

5 – CHEVELDAYOFF – I come back to the Kyle Beach situation that blew up last year.  Kevin Cheveldayoff, the Winnipeg GM, gave a totally unbelievable explanation as to why his hands and conscience were clean.  He’s a nice guy, he’s well liked by fans and media and everyone wants to believe him.  So, they did.  However I can tell you that based on my involvement with hockey teams, that coaches and managers micromanage their players, especially ones who aren’t playing as well as they should be.  If Cheveldayoff didn’t know what was going on with Beach, I would say that is odd and to be detached from a first round draft pick to that degree I would question his competence as a General Manager.  

6 – WJC TEAM 2018 – I’ll also bring up the World Junior Team from 2018 and the London incident, where nobody seems to have a hot clue what went on in a hotel room where serious sexual assault allegations have been made and a report is, supposedly, forthcoming but no names have been leaked and nobody has been punished.  We’ve seen in other situations where accusations have been made and a player doesn’t play while the matter is sorted out.  In some cases, even if the legal system ‘clears’ the player there is some sort of further punishment that gets handed down by the league because being legally not guilty doesn’t mean one is innocent.  Yet, in this case from the 2018 World Junior Team, the players in question have had their identities protected (despite the fact almost anyone who is anyone in the media or hockey business knows precisely who they are) and they played without scrutiny last year.  Does that seem right to you?

7 – OVECHKIN – Here’s another uncomfortable problem that isn’t a problem because nobody wants to make it one.  Alexander Ovechkin’s public support for Vladimir Putin has been, largely, unchallenged and he continues to play in the NHL and nobody ever asks him about Putin anymore.  We all just pretend he’s not really a supporter and actually will celebrate his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s goal record.  Again, makes me sick.  We have television networks blacking out the Russian flag on their scoreboard during tennis matches, we are justifying ostracizing Russian athletes when their opponent refuses to shake hands, we have Russia getting banned from various international hockey tournaments, and yet Ovechkin going about his business is no problem and he’s immensely popular despite his views.  You can bet if he was a fourth liner and had social media posts that were pro-Putin, he’d be shipped back home.  Instead, people are making excuses for him by saying things like, “Well he has to do that to ensure his family’s safety.”  Uh-huh.  

8 – I LIKE BABCOCK – I met Babcock a couple times per year when he worked in the WHL (Spokane).  I found him to be professional, courteous, and one of the more pleasant coaches to deal with.  What he’s like behind closed doors in the dressing room I’d have no knowledge of.  However, I also believe that what goes on in there should stay in there, especially when it comes to using tactics to get maximum potential from the players.  Asking to see family photos doesn’t strike me as abuse and it also isn’t something that really needs to be discussed outside of the team domain.  Whoever the player was that complained should have done so within the proper channels of the team rather than go to someone like Paul Bissonette, who already has an ax to grind with Babcock because he’s friends with someone who doesn’t like him.  If the proper authorities on the team don’t take the complaint seriously, then ‘out’ them along with Babcock when the time comes.

9 – BABS UPSET THE WRONG PEOPLE – In short, I think what happened is Babcock made the wrong people in Toronto mad.  The Corrado situation unfolded in plain sight for everyone to see and nobody cared.  But, as soon as Mitch Marner was embarrassed in front of his teammates due to an exercise designed to point out his own poor work ethic, well look out.  The gloves are off.  It’s also somewhat interesting to note that Marner is now generally regarded as the Leafs’ most well rounded player.  You are welcome.  

10 – APOLOGIES AND QUICK HITS – Sorry I got carried away and I’m sure some readers will take issue and disagree with every single point I made and that’s okay.  For now, we are free to debate one another without penalty.  That day, however, is quickly coming where I could be sanctioned or punished for my thought crimes.  Here are some quick hits on other matters:  Edmonton’s CFL team has been saved by Tre Ford.  Chris Jones will get some of the credit, but Tre Ford deserves ALL of it….The Riders are in big trouble.  It’s possible they could lose four of their next five and miss the playoffs….The Saskatchewan Rush have a new logo.  I don’t love it, but I don’t dislike it….George Kirby, who threw a hissy fit because his manager made him pitch the 7th inning last week after throwing 90 pitches through six, left his last start over the weekend after 6 innings and 81 pitches.  He allowed 2 runs in each of the fifth and sixth and took the loss.  I think it’s time he went to the pen and pitched an inning or two a week and then when he complains that he doesn’t cash in when he becomes a free agent, he can look in the mirror for who’s fault that is.

(Mike Stackhouse is a freelance writer/broadcaster. Follow him on Twitter at @Stack1975)