Will Maple Leafs' Mike Babcock be coach of the year?

Will Maple Leafs’ Mike Babcock be coach of the year?

Nov 23, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock talks to his players during a timeout against the Boston Bruins at Air Canada Centre. The Bruins beat the Maple Leafs 4-3 in the shootout. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /

Mike Babcock is in year one with the Toronto Maple Leafs and has appeared to provide an improvement for the original six franchise

This past summer, the Toronto Maple Leafs were in a state of repair and President Brendan Shanahan promised ‘pain’ along with his management tycoons, General Manager Lou Lamoriello and head coach Mike Babcock. The Leafs spent $50 million for eight years on the former Detroit Red Wings bench boss and they also were able to lure Lamoriello over to Toronto after 28 years with the New Jersey Devils organization.

The way the Toronto Maple Leafs have been playing this season might create a case for Babock being named the coach of the year at the conclusion of the campaign. The Globe and Mail newspaper, in Canada, was also making a case in favor of Babcock.

Entering the 99th season for the Toronto Maple Leafs had promise but nothing was supposed to be quick and simple about this long-awaited rebuild.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have played 37 games thus far and have a record of 15-15-7 for a total of 37 points. This weekend, after defeating the St. Louis Blues in Toronto by a score of 4-1, they have gone an impressive 14-8-5 since the beginning of November. In contrast, in all of October, they only earned four points total.

As good as Babcock is doing in Toronto, in year one, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This team might be a playoff team and may excite the fans in Toronto. However, they are a long way from being considered a threat for the Stanley Cup in June.

Last year was a disaster for the original six franchise! Nothing appeared to be going right for the hockey club and neither of the two former Leafs head coaches, Randy Carlyle and Peter Horachek, could save this sinking ship.

The main piece that was stripped from the roster, from a year ago, was Phil Kessel. Toronto shipped their former sniper to the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 1, 2015.

Last season, they had only nine victories after January 1, 2015. They finished with 68 points and only ahead of the cellar-dweller Buffalo Sabres.

Babcock may lead the team to the playoffs and may even win a coach of the year award but there is still a lot of work to do in Toronto.

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