It’s hard to find a coach in modern hockey history who has had a bigger fall from grace than Mike Babcock.
The veteran bench boss, who was let go by the Toronto Maple Leafs in November of 2019 after four so-so seasons, drew plenty of ire from the hockey community when it was officially revealed shortly after his firing that he “asked” (aka forced) then-Leafs rookie Mitch Marner to rank his own teammates from hardest to least-hardest working. He would then go on to share the list with other players on the team — putting Marner in an absurdly uncomfortable situation.
One of Marner’s former Leafs teammates and good friends, Nazem Kadri — who now plays for the Calgary Flames — had a front and centre view of Babcock’s strange tactics and treatment of younger players. In his recently-released book, titled Dreamer: My Life On The Edge, Kadri revealed, in detail, just how that whole situation went down.
And it’s even more wild than we initially thought.
The Babcock incident happened on a road trip in New Jersey. It was what we called a “Dad’s trip,” meaning our fathers were tagging along, which was special for all of us. I’m sure it was an exciting time for Mitch [Marner], having his dad join us. But [Babcock] ruined that.
He stepped out of line big time when he asked Mitch to make a list of the most and least hardworking guys on the team. And he didn’t mean just a few names at the top and bottom; he wanted a list from one to 23, all the guys on our roster. Of course, in doing something like that, you’re going to have to throw some people under the bus. Mitchy was not that kind of kid. This was the last thing he’d ever do, and he wanted no part of it. Regardless, Babcock made him do it.
And afterward, he showed the rankings to some players. I’m not sure if it was a large group of guys or just a few individually, but either way, guys caught wind of the list. Mitch felt terrible about it. He ended up telling us the story — almost confessing in a way. I could tell that it was eating away at him.
Kadri went on to explain the power dynamics between a Cup-winning coach and a rookie, and how Babcock picked his spots with players he knew would — or had to — essentially do whatever he said.
What a bullsh*t position to put a player in, let alone a rookie. It’s not as though Babs was asking a veteran who could push back and say “F*** you, I’m not doing that.” Mitch obliged, feeling pressured — forced, really — to do what Babs wanted. When Mike Babcock is your coach and it’s your rookie season, if he tells you to do something you’re probably going to do it.
When it comes to hockey, there are “player’s coaches” and there are old-school authoritarian bench bosses who try to rally players against them — Babcock was clearly the latter, and it wasn’t even close.
And it didn’t just stop at the infamous Marner incident, either. According to Kadri, Babcock wasn’t afraid to put, of all people, the team’s training staff in an extremely awkward spot, either.
Still, it wasn’t the last time Babcock would share information we considered private. Another incident that rubbed some of the guys the wrong way happened when Babcock called a meeting with the team and the entire training staff in the same room. He’d ask all the trainers to rank players on the level of effort they put into their gym routines.
There was an assumption that the information would be kept confidential, but Babcock brought up each assessment, one by one, in front of the entire team. The whole point was to embarrass guys, and it made for some awkward conversations between the the players and the training staff. Once you break that trust it’s hard to come back, so it was all a bit of a sh*tshow.
Kadri continued:
Babs was really into the psychological aspects of performance. He’d been a psychology major at McGill University, a fact that everyone seemed to know. As I’ve said, he was interested in ways to motivate players, to get the most out of them by knowing what buttons to press, what games to play. All that kind of stuff.
But over a long period of time, that can wear on you, and so these kids of coaches often have a shelf life. Obviously, there was some benefit because Babs had a lot of success. He was a brilliant coach. But again, his tactics could also backfire. And with players having changed so much over the past decade, there’s no longer a place in the league for mind games like that.
Because of all his success — having won a Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings and two Olympic gold medals coaching Team Canada — Babcock was given another chance to coach despite his shady past, as the Columbus Blue Jackets hired him in the offseason of 2023. It was set to be his first NHL coaching gig since the Maple Leafs fired him nearly four years earlier.
It seemed like Babcock was back on the right path, especially after the veteran coach admitted publicly that he “absolutely” made mistakes during time as the Leafs’ coach. But they say a tiger can’t change his stripes and that was certainly the case here.
Before even coaching a single game for the Blue Jackets, Babcock resigned when it was reported by Paul Bissonnette of Barstool’s Spittin’ Chiclets podcast that the maligned coach asked to see photos from his players’ phones, then allegedly displayed the content in his office via AirPlay. Bissonnette named Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner among the players asked to show Babcock their personal photos in yet another invasion of his players’ privacy.
“Upon reflection, it has become clear that continuing as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets was going to be too much of a distraction,” Babcock said via the statement. “While I’m disappointed to not have had the opportunity to continue the work we’ve begun, I know it’s in the best interest of the organization for me to step away at this time. I wish everyone in the organization well in the upcoming season.”
Upon Kadri’s revelations, fans had plenty to say online about the ol’ Babs situation.
Other former players have publicly scorned Babcock for his tactics and mind games. Former Red Wings defensemen Jakub Kindl and Mike Commodore have been among the loudest detractors, while Johan Franzen, who won a Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 2008, called Babcock the worst person he’s ever met.
Despite his tactical prowess as a coach, Babcock simply did not know how to treat the modern player, and knew even less about team chemistry and properly managing a dressing room.
Dude just couldn’t adapt — refused to stay out of his own way.
And that’s likely how his hockey story ends.