5 reasons why Toronto Maple Leafs will win Stanley Cup
By Riley Butler
1. Mike Babcock
Say what you want about the man behind the bench. He’s got the meanest scowl in hockey and he’s got a real knack for putting real gud pros in his line up.
Mike Babcock is the mastermind behind everything that we see on the ice and off the ice. He is a coach who demands the respect of his players and in turn has even been called out for it by former players. Throughout all of the criticisms and the questions, one thing has stayed consistent.
His ability to win.
In his 15 seasons as an NHL coach, Mike Babcock has only missed the playoffs twice. He has brought his teams to three Stanley Cup finals, including a win in the Final with his Detroit Red Wings in the 2007-08 season.
He has molded a young, talented youth core to become a juggernaut offensive powerhouse that has completely bought into the type of hockey that he wants them to play. His team has broken virtually every major franchise record this season and has improved drastically from their already impressive improved form last year. With Babcock having this much command over his team, he can truly show is smart, tactile decision making that makes him such a hard coach to coach against. In a playoff series this type of coaching prowess can allow for the tactical edge that can truly separate good teams from great ones.
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Combining everything that was discussed above with the mastermind of Babcock and you have a recipe for a team that can run and gun with anyone and has the potential to not only just win one series, but they are looking to make the run for sixteen wins.
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