News Flash - Babcock Meeting with Matthews in Arizona

[Al14]

Leafs' Babcock in Arizona to meet with Auston Matthews - Sportsnet.ca


So, is Babcock trying to mend relations? Or, is he there to discuss the Captaincy of our Leafs, or both?

Rift or no rift, what is the truth?

Discuss.

 

[Zee]

Kypreos sticking to his story of a rift

 

[hockeyfan1]

Kypreos sticking to his story of a rift

A rift based on what exactly?  Was Matthews in disagreement of Babcock's usage of game strategy?  Ineffective or non-eclectic regarding the lines?  Of Matthews own playing time?

Any clues?

 

[OldTimeHockey]

If Matthews, in his second year, has a rift with his coach already then he is not the player we thought he was.

 

[Zee]

Kypreos sticking to his story of a rift

A rift based on what exactly?  Was Matthews in disagreement of Babcock's usage of game strategy?  Ineffective or non-eclectic regarding the lines?  Of Matthews own playing time?

Any clues?

I dunno it's Kypreos, could he total speculation on his part.

 

[herman]

https://twitter.com/pierrevlebrun/status/992952562327400453

 

[CarltonTheBear]

So Babcock's in Arizona on a family vacation, and then he's going to Denmark to likely get in some games at the World Championships.

Quite frankly it'd be more of a story if he DIDN'T visit Matthews and Andersen.

 

[sickbeast]

So Babcock's in Arizona on a family vacation, and then he's going to Denmark to likely get in some games at the World Championships.

Quite frankly it'd be more of a story if he DIDN'T visit Matthews and Andersen.

I disagree.  This story more or less confirms Kypryos's story about the "rift".

 

[Zee]

So Babcock's in Arizona on a family vacation, and then he's going to Denmark to likely get in some games at the World Championships.

Quite frankly it'd be more of a story if he DIDN'T visit Matthews and Andersen.

I disagree.  This story more or less confirms Kypryos's story about the "rift".

How so? We know nothing of what the meeting is about

 

[Guilt Trip]

So Babcock's in Arizona on a family vacation, and then he's going to Denmark to likely get in some games at the World Championships.

Quite frankly it'd be more of a story if he DIDN'T visit Matthews and Andersen.

I disagree.  This story more or less confirms Kypryos's story about the "rift".

How so? We know nothing of what the meeting is about

Exactly.

 

[sickbeast]

So Babcock's in Arizona on a family vacation, and then he's going to Denmark to likely get in some games at the World Championships.

Quite frankly it'd be more of a story if he DIDN'T visit Matthews and Andersen.

I disagree.  This story more or less confirms Kypryos's story about the "rift".

How so? We know nothing of what the meeting is about

Exactly.

Well then why exactly is Babcock flying all the way to Arizona then?  To talk?  About what?  If you guys are going to refute this then at least come up with a more plausible explanation.  The guys reporting on this have inside information.

You guys realize that this report is coming from Elliotte Friedman, probably the most respected hockey "news" guy out there, right?

 

[Zee]

So Babcock's in Arizona on a family vacation, and then he's going to Denmark to likely get in some games at the World Championships.

Quite frankly it'd be more of a story if he DIDN'T visit Matthews and Andersen.

I disagree.  This story more or less confirms Kypryos's story about the "rift".

How so? We know nothing of what the meeting is about

Exactly.

Well then why exactly is Babcock flying all the way to Arizona then?  To talk?  About what?  If you guys are going to refute this then at least come up with a more plausible explanation.  The guys reporting on this have inside information.

You guys realize that this report is coming from Elliotte Friedman, probably the most respected hockey "news" guy out there, right?

Actually the most respected hockey insider is Bob McKenzie. This report of a rift originally came from Nik Kypreos

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Well then why exactly is Babcock flying all the way to Arizona then?

He's there for a family vacation:

https://twitter.com/PierreVLeBrun/status/992952562327400453

 

[Guilt Trip]

So Babcock's in Arizona on a family vacation, and then he's going to Denmark to likely get in some games at the World Championships.

Quite frankly it'd be more of a story if he DIDN'T visit Matthews and Andersen.

I disagree.  This story more or less confirms Kypryos's story about the "rift".

How so? We know nothing of what the meeting is about

Exactly.

Well then why exactly is Babcock flying all the way to Arizona then?  To talk?  About what?  If you guys are going to refute this then at least come up with a more plausible explanation.  The guys reporting on this have inside information.

You guys realize that this report is coming from Elliotte Friedman, probably the most respected hockey "news" guy out there, right?

He's on a family vacation. I'd say you'd have something if he was alone. He's also going to talk to Andersen when he goes to Denmark next. Rift there to?
As for Elliott, he also reported that the league phoned the Bruins after Marchand licked Leo..turned out to be false. Is there a rift? Who knows but I take everything from the media with a grain of salt.
Bob McKenzie is the most respected guy in the hockey world media wise 

 

[Kin]

I don't think we have anything close to the level of information needed to make intelligent conclusions here. To be honest, I'd sort of hope Matthews is a little upset. The team got knocked out in a tough fashion and he wasn't at his best and didn't get used enough. You want that to light a fire under him. Maybe Babcock wants to see how he reacts to that kind of frustration and adversity.

Lots of great athletes have had rocky relationships with their coaches that were defined by pushback and testing boundaries. If Matthews is the kind of competitor we need him to be then a "rift" with his coach could very well prove to be a positive.

 

[OldTimeHockey]

I don't think we have anything close to the level of information needed to make intelligent conclusions here. To be honest, I'd sort of hope Matthews is a little upset. The team got knocked out in a tough fashion and he wasn't at his best and didn't get used enough. You want that to light a fire under him. Maybe Babcock wants to see how he reacts to that kind of frustration and adversity.

Lots of great athletes have had rocky relationships with their coaches that were defined by pushback and testing boundaries. If Matthews is the kind of competitor we need him to be then a "rift" with his coach could very well prove to be a positive.

I don't agree in the least.

Matthews can be angry. He can be pissed the way the season ended and that he was invisible for the entire playoffs but having a "rift" with a coach is Drouin territory for being a prima donna.

Like you said though, we have no idea what any of this means so why jump to conclusions.

 

[Zee]

I don't think we have anything close to the level of information needed to make intelligent conclusions here. To be honest, I'd sort of hope Matthews is a little upset. The team got knocked out in a tough fashion and he wasn't at his best and didn't get used enough. You want that to light a fire under him. Maybe Babcock wants to see how he reacts to that kind of frustration and adversity.

Lots of great athletes have had rocky relationships with their coaches that were defined by pushback and testing boundaries. If Matthews is the kind of competitor we need him to be then a "rift" with his coach could very well prove to be a positive.

I don't agree in the least.

Matthews can be angry. He can be pissed the way the season ended and that he was invisible for the entire playoffs but having a "rift" with a coach is Drouin territory for being a prima donna.

Like you said though, we have no idea what any of this means so why jump to conclusions.

Totally different circumstances. Drouin never was, nor ever could be the best and most talented player on Tampa. Any gripes he had about not playing more were his own inflated sense of worth. Babcock not playing Matthews more is a valid gripe, and has been pointed to by many hockey analysts as being a mistake. Matthews is a legit #1 center and should be given more playing time and trusted to lead the team.

 

[Kin]

Matthews can be angry. He can be pissed the way the season ended and that he was invisible for the entire playoffs but having a "rift" with a coach is Drouin territory for being a prima donna.

Well, that's just ridiculous. Lots of great hockey players have had "rifts" with their coaches. Yzerman and Bowman, for instance. Lecavalier and Tortorella.  Like I said though, the issue is how a player responds and whether they can work through their issues.

As Zee says, it's not like what Matthews could be upset about is wrong necessarily and there's more to being a good player than just mindlessly agreeing with a coach.

Like you said though, we have no idea what any of this means so why jump to conclusions.

Except of course the conclusion that any time a player and a coach disagree the player is a prima donna.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

As for Elliott, he also reported that the league phoned the Bruins after Marchand licked Leo..turned out to be false.

I said this about a week or so ago, but Friedman's become super clickbaity lately. The "report" that Trotz was done in Washington after this season regardless of how far the Caps go because of lip reading, the report of Marchand being spoken to by the league... and then doubling down on that report after the league refuted it, and then reporting on this story while leaving out the crucial detail that Babcock is in Arizona because of a vacation not specifically to talk to Matthews.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Much ado about really nada...

Babcock... has already visited, Matthews? home in Scottsdale, Ariz., to make sure coach and key player are on the same page before the Maple Leafs reconvene in September...he wants to be proactive about improving relations with Matthews, according to a report by Sportsnet?s Elliotte Friedman on Saturday night during the Hockey Night In Canada broadcast.

Matthews was clearly in a foul mood as the Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins wrapped, having been limited to a goal and assist in the series. Rumours circulated of discord between the two, which Matthews denied. Babcock said he went straight to his young star that same locker clean-out day after analyst Nick Kypreos suggested the coach had ?lost? Matthews at season?s end.

It?s hardly a state secret Babcock?s methods can grate on his players in the course of an eight-month campaign, especially in the second full year of the youth movement when expectations on all parties clearly increased.

?I said (to Matthews): ?What?s going on?? ? Babcock told reporters at his final media briefing. ?Auston was pissed off in the third period and in the last 10 minutes of the game. I?m sure 23 other guys were the same.?

Babcock ? who said ?maybe 12% of the time, it?s true? about hot-button speculative stories about his team ? kept his comments on Matthews? future positive.

Babcock said Matthews? frustration at being sat for a portion of Game 7 and being held in check by Boston was no different than the anger experienced by all of the Leafs after their big season failed to yield a series win. Babcock assessed Matthews was unable to regain full skating form after a series of injuries cost him 20 games, though he had a good regular-season finish and seemed ready for playoffs.

?I try to push Auston to be better every day,? Babcock said. ?I made it very clear to him (from the beginning), if I?m pushing him too hard, to come into my office and tell me. Sometimes people snap (on the bench). So what? That?s the game."

http://torontosun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/leafs-coach-mike-babcock-to-meet-auston-matthews-in-arizona-to-mend-fences-report