WHOA - Mike Babcock OUT | Sheldon Keefe IN
- Thread starter herman
- Start date
Frycer14 said:
Yeah, I thought about the motivation thing, and you shouldn't need someone to motivate you once you get to the NHL level, but it's gotta be different then the environment of the OHL or AHL.
Also, that is a good point about the Marlies, they do have a bit of an advantage.
ZBBM
Active member
Coaches are hired to be fired. Babcock is no different, especially since he couldn't replicate his playoff success with the Wings. I imagine Dubas was none too happy when the team couldn't deliver a G6 win at home last April. As I recall, they were flatter than flat that game ... and like it or not, Babcock has to take the blame for that kind of showing.
As for Keefe, good luck with sorting out this defense crew. Your boss has embarked on a high-stakes experiment that I highly doubt will produce the intended results until he re-thinks what works as an NHL defense.
I also think Dubas should have talked to the media today, not just Shanahan.
I'll also be interested in what the players say. Well, I probably won't be, since none of it will be candid.
As for Keefe, good luck with sorting out this defense crew. Your boss has embarked on a high-stakes experiment that I highly doubt will produce the intended results until he re-thinks what works as an NHL defense.
I also think Dubas should have talked to the media today, not just Shanahan.
I'll also be interested in what the players say. Well, I probably won't be, since none of it will be candid.
Hobbes
New member
Now I'm curious...of the first 30 Leafs coaches is there anyone who wasn't fired? Tom Watt I suppose, but he's the only one in the last 40-50 years.Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
NHL-wide the only name that springs to mind is Scotty Bowman retiring from coaching (and went out in style with a Cup with the Wings).
bustaheims
Active member
Hobbes said:
Babcock wasn?t fired but the Wings. His contract was up and he chose to leave. Barry Trotz wasn?t fired by the Capitals, either. It?s still unusual, but it?s becoming more common for coaches to leave as free agents.
azzurri63
Active member
Something had to be done. Team was just spinning wheels for the last month. How long do you wait to do something? Whether its a trade or coaching change if they waited much longer the season was a write-off. You can look at the Blues scenario last year and say there was still time. No-one knows that but just the way the team was playing and probably a carry over from last year enough was enough.
Is it going to be enough? I don't think so not without some tweaks and a full lineup but in the long run I think we will be better off with Keefe.
Dubas still needs to make some changes. 3-4 guys that need to go, maybe swap Barrie for some defensive help and find a backup. Not sure if Kaskisuo is the answer maybe give him some games and find out. First things first Keefe needs to straighten out how these guys play away from the puck and I think he will do that.
Is it going to be enough? I don't think so not without some tweaks and a full lineup but in the long run I think we will be better off with Keefe.
Dubas still needs to make some changes. 3-4 guys that need to go, maybe swap Barrie for some defensive help and find a backup. Not sure if Kaskisuo is the answer maybe give him some games and find out. First things first Keefe needs to straighten out how these guys play away from the puck and I think he will do that.
hockeyfan1
New member
Zee said:
Re: Brophy. He was as tough as nails as they come, from the school of hard knocks as it is said.
I remember having read of a particular time when the team was taking part in a practice morning skate. Brophy pulled up a chair on the rink itself, sat down and hollered to his players to keep on skating 'till they collapsed (well, not exactly literally). To not stop until the coach says so. Then, he excused himself briefly to go get a cup of coffee all the while reminding his troops to keep moving until he got back.
Well...he never did get back there he went home, unbeknownst to the players, leaving still skating to near exhaustion!
herman
Well-known member
https://mapleleafshotstove.com/2019/11/21/toronto-maple-leafs-fire-mike-babcock-brendan-shanahan-goes-all-in-on-kyle-dubas/
Shanahan has picked his horse of the 4 and now we see if this organization is any better for it with full alignment. I would have preferred a cleaner offseason handover , but Sheldon Keefe has the advantage of being pretty involved in the existing system, has had a hand in developing about half the roster, and is, for better or worse, chained to the GM's own job prospects.
I like a lot of what Babcock established coming into the rebuild and I was hoping he'd be able to see it through, but the teardown/reset folks are rarely the finish-the-job folks, so I guess that's that.
Shanahan has picked his horse of the 4 and now we see if this organization is any better for it with full alignment. I would have preferred a cleaner offseason handover , but Sheldon Keefe has the advantage of being pretty involved in the existing system, has had a hand in developing about half the roster, and is, for better or worse, chained to the GM's own job prospects.
I like a lot of what Babcock established coming into the rebuild and I was hoping he'd be able to see it through, but the teardown/reset folks are rarely the finish-the-job folks, so I guess that's that.
;D
ZBBM
Active member
herman said:
t is noteworthy that it was, in fact, Brendan Shanahan that conducted the press conference, not General Manager Kyle Dubas. That is the most important press conference and news that will come out of the organization this season, and the General Manager was not immediately present or accountable to any of it.
This is what I was commenting on above. For better or worse, the optics were that the mature president was shielding the relatively immature GM from having to face the tough questions on the day of the firing. I think it was right and proper for Shanahan to travel to AZ to tell Babcock the news jointly with Dubas. But Dubas should have faced the press, either alone or else alongside Shanahan.
herman
Well-known member
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
I think the optics were, as Highlander has repeated several times, that Babcock's job was saved by Shanahan/Ownership? at the end of last season, so the timing of this particular move again rests with him.
Whether that is good or makes sense or not (why give Dubas autonomy but not let him exercise it) is a different question. Dubas is going to face the press either way, especially back at home when they've had more of a chance to sharpen their knives.
Guilt Trip
Active member
Dubas and Keefe are meeting the media today apparently. I'm not reading into anything about shielding an immature GM. Dubas is a big boy and can handle the media just fine.herman said: