It’s official. Hockey’s man of the hour is in Toronto: Mike Babcock has signed an eight-year, 50-million contract with MLSE, knowing full well that the Leafs are far from the calibre of the Detroit Red Wings franchise he left behind. This contract makes Babcock by far the highest-paid coach in the NHL—and certainly has the look of an offer that can’t be refused. Despite the obvious salary temptation, Babcock insists that the massive “mountain” that needs to be overcome was part of his motivation to come to Toronto.
Shanahan and company hid no truths from Babcock. There would be a rebuild; existing players of some quality, namely Dion Phaneuf and Phil Kessel, would be readily exchanged for prospects or other talent. This would be a clean slate, and it would likely be at least three years before they’d be remotely close to playoff contention. With all that, Babcock still signed.
Toronto fans should be happy with this acquisition. The Wings made the playoffs every year with Babcock at the helm, and won a Stanley Cup in 2008. He also led Team Canada to back-to-back gold medals in the Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014 Olympics. If Shanahan and Co. stick to a good rebuild plan… the sky is the limit in Leafs Nation.
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