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Toronto Maple Leafs hire Mike Babcock as coach

By Patrick Schmidt

Jan 10, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock looks on from behind the bench against the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 10, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock looks on from behind the bench against the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mike Babcock is leaving the Detroit Red Wings to take the head coaching position with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

After 10 years, two Stanley Cup appearances and one ring, Mike Babcock is leaving the Detroit Red Wings and signing an eight-year deal worth $50 million to take the same position with the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger.

Babcock’s contract is the richest ever given to a head coach and makes his previous $2 million salary look like minimum wage by comparison to the $6.25 million he’ll receive for coaching in Toronto.

The Maple Leafs can afford it as the NHL’s version of the New York Yankees and the coaching salary doesn’t count against the salary cap, so this is one way for the Leafs to flex their strength as the richest franchise in the league and make an impact hire.

Babcock was granted permission to speak to teams earlier this offseason and the Buffalo Sabres, San Jose Sharks and Maple Leafs all agreed to send a third round pick to the Red Wings if they signed Babcock. Just last night it was reported that the Leafs were out of the running and it looked like Babcock would be heading to Buffalo, but the massive contract was too much to turn down.

The contract dwarfs the reported four-year, $20 million deal that Detroit offered, but it’s not as if they low-balled him either, he simply wanted to take a new challenge, often referring to the job in Detroit as the best in hockey. Now he has a new job and a difficult one at that after Toronto fired coaches Randy Carlyle and Peter Horachek and general manager Dave Nonis after finishing with a 30-44-8 record.

Babcock is leaving the most stable organization in professional sports and a team that’s made the playoffs 24 straight years for a franchise that is in dire need of a ridding themselves of their losing culture, but it won’t be a quick fix.

Toronto won’t be drafting either Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel in the draft and the free agent class lacks high-impact talent but the organization has arguably the best coach of his generation to develop the crop of talent the new general manager will bring in and I’d expect Babcock to have a voice in terms of personnel.

It’s hard to preach patience for a fan base who has grown tired of waiting, but that’s what Maple Leafs need to give Babcock so he can implement his system in Toronto and get the type of talent he needs to win consistntly. The hire gives them instant credibility and this is a major win for Toronto who may have the coach in place to win their first Stanley Cup since 1967.

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