Babcock will be back next season

[Bill_Berg]

Feels like people are praising Bab`s for evolving at a snail`s pace. A pace that has been detrimental to our playoffS (more than one). He is the highest paid coach in the league. We can afford anyone why do we have to wait for the coach to evolve/change?

I don't see a lot of praise, mostly just comments that people disagree with firing him. No one is saying he should be up for a Jack Adams award.

 

[Fanatic]

Sports radio is filled with people talking about the stock of Sheldon Keefe rising and that teams like Ottawa, Buffalo and Edmonton will come calling on him.

The Leafs can afford to pay him plenty as an AHL coach, but at some point he is going to want to be in the big show - get off the buses and start moving around with a big team.

Is it crazy to assume that the Leafs best (maybe only) shot at keeping him would be to make him one of the highest paid assistants in the NHL? He could still learn and develop while working at that level.... and then yes, much like Berube in St. Louis, he is a guy in waiting for the big job when it comes available.

 

[Kin]

If someone desperately wants to be a Head Coach in the NHL then an assistants job, no matter how well paid, won't scratch that itch. If the money is the issue, you can just pay them really well to be a AHL coach.

Either way though I'm not that concerned. It wasn't too long ago that Dallas Eakins was the AHL coach the Leafs had to protect at all costs.

 

[Fanatic]

Either way though I'm not that concerned. It wasn't too long ago that Dallas Eakins was the AHL coach the Leafs had to protect at all costs.

So, just to be sure I follow your logic here, people should ignore the fact that Keefe has a solid track record of success (even over achieving with this year's team) in favor of the belief that since Eakins did not work out as hoped for, neither will Keefe?

 

[Bullfrog]

I'm quite confident you're not following his logic.

 

[Bender]

If someone desperately wants to be a Head Coach in the NHL then an assistants job, no matter how well paid, won't scratch that itch. If the money is the issue, you can just pay them really well to be a AHL coach.

Either way though I'm not that concerned. It wasn't too long ago that Dallas Eakins was the AHL coach the Leafs had to protect at all costs.

I think the difference here though is that Dubas has a long standing history with Keefe and has brought him wherever he went. I think he isn't likely to go anywhere early on in Dubas' tenure.

 

[Kin]

I think the difference here though is that Dubas has a long standing history with Keefe and has brought him wherever he went. I think he isn't likely to go anywhere early on in Dubas' tenure.

Like I said, I'm not that concerned either way. If Keefe sticks around, great.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Like I said, I'm not that concerned either way. If Keefe sticks around, great.

Maurice, Eakins, Spott, Keefe... the Marlies have always been able to attract top-flight AHL coaches for pretty obvious reasons. If/when Keefe goes they'll be able to replace him no problem. As for losing him as a NHL asset, again if/when the Leafs need a new head coach their resources both on and off the ice will attract top flight candidates.

 

[Bullfrog]

If someone desperately wants to be a Head Coach in the NHL then an assistants job, no matter how well paid, won't scratch that itch. If the money is the issue, you can just pay them really well to be a AHL coach.

Is this true, though? Is it accepted that an assistant coaching job in the NHL is/isn't a step up from an AHL head coaching job?

 

[Kin]

If someone desperately wants to be a Head Coach in the NHL then an assistants job, no matter how well paid, won't scratch that itch. If the money is the issue, you can just pay them really well to be a AHL coach.

Is this true, though? Is it accepted that an assistant coaching job in the NHL is/isn't a step up from an AHL head coaching job?

I have no idea. I'm pretty sure I didn't claim it one way or the other. I just said that if someone wants to be a head coach in the NHL then offering them an assistant's job is absolutely a step down from that.

 

[Bullfrog]

I understand.

My second question is more of a musing. If the relationship is so strong between Keefe and Dubas that Keefe wants to stay working for Dubas, I could see him accepting the assistant's role as a stepping stone.

 

[Highlander]

I understand.

My second question is more of a musing. If the relationship is so strong between Keefe and Dubas that Keefe wants to stay working for Dubas, I could see him accepting the assistant's role as a stepping stone.

The real question is if Babcock meets with real success for the 19-20 season and goes to conference finals, then that means he probably cements the rest of his contract and then stays for 2 more years because the team is going to be that good. Or he we bow out in round one and then Dubas reaches for some Keefe.  So I bet he sticks around at least one more year with the Marlies. There are always going to be head coaching jobs available in the early summer every year.

 

[Bill_Berg]

I understand.

My second question is more of a musing. If the relationship is so strong between Keefe and Dubas that Keefe wants to stay working for Dubas, I could see him accepting the assistant's role as a stepping stone.

Whether he's an assistant with the Leafs of the head coach of the Marlies, he's going to leave if he feels there is no HC of the Leafs available to him eventually. Assuming there are other teams offering and he prefers being the HC of one of those to being with the Leafs but not the head. Dubas may even give him the option between AC of the Leafs and HC of the Mariles and say he's next in line after Babcock. No one knows how long Babcock will be around so it's up to Keefe to wait or jump ship.

There are lots of coaching options out there. Keefe wanting to move on to another club shouldn't be a significant factor in deciding Babcock's fate. 

 

[CarltonTheBear]

My second question is more of a musing. If the relationship is so strong between Keefe and Dubas that Keefe wants to stay working for Dubas, I could see him accepting the assistant's role as a stepping stone.

I've suggested this before so I could certainly see this happening but in terms of how appealing being a NHL assistant vs. AHL head coach is I could see it going either way. Especially on an AHL team like Toronto where Keefe is reportedly the highest paid coach there and has access to NHL facilities/resources. If he's pretty much only here for one more season before becoming a NHL head coach here or somewhere else, would he want to take a "reduced role" by having to fit into someone else's system as opposed to running his own team his own way with the Marlies?

 

[bustaheims]

If he's pretty much only here for one more season before becoming a NHL head coach here or somewhere else, would he want to take a "reduced role" by having to fit into someone else's system as opposed to running his own team his own way with the Marlies?

Yeah. I think being an NHL assistant only really becomes a good option for Keefe if he doesn't land any of the NHL head coach options he's interested in.

 

[Bullfrog]

I've suggested this before so I could certainly see this happening but in terms of how appealing being a NHL assistant vs. AHL head coach is I could see it going either way. Especially on an AHL team like Toronto where Keefe is reportedly the highest paid coach there and has access to NHL facilities/resources. If he's pretty much only here for one more season before becoming a NHL head coach here or somewhere else, would he want to take a "reduced role" by having to fit into someone else's system as opposed to running his own team his own way with the Marlies?

It might depend on how much Dubas thinks he benefitted from working under Lamoriello. Perhaps he, and maybe Keefe, feel that working under an experienced head coach might be of some benefit.

 

[OldTimeHockey]

Feels like people are praising Bab`s for evolving at a snail`s pace. A pace that has been detrimental to our playoffS (more than one). He is the highest paid coach in the league. We can afford anyone why do we have to wait for the coach to evolve/change?

Babcock's salary has nothing to do with how he should be evaluated by the fans. MLSE may see it as a problem...but for us, it means nothing. It doesn't eat salary cap. It doesn't increase our ticket price. It doesn't make popcorn cost more.

 

[herman]

I've suggested this before so I could certainly see this happening but in terms of how appealing being a NHL assistant vs. AHL head coach is I could see it going either way. Especially on an AHL team like Toronto where Keefe is reportedly the highest paid coach there and has access to NHL facilities/resources. If he's pretty much only here for one more season before becoming a NHL head coach here or somewhere else, would he want to take a "reduced role" by having to fit into someone else's system as opposed to running his own team his own way with the Marlies?

It might depend on how much Dubas thinks he benefited from working under Lamoriello. Perhaps he, and maybe Keefe, feel that working under an experienced head coach might be of some benefit.

With the players at least, there is a Management level philosophy of only moving people up when they're going to be in position to have success or desperation. I am pretty sure that same philosophy applies to management/coaching staff pieces as well.

I recall Dubas wanting to leverage the draft pick compensation rule early by basically developing coaching staff to release into the wild. Once we paid for Babcock and Lou, they killed the rule lol.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

Good, I'm glad. He's been a great coach in a very difficult market. He's taken a young team, and all of the core pieces have improved each year under him. There's been constant attempts over the years at manufactured drama by the typical media types, and he's batted them away without breaking a sweat or fueling more stupidity.

While I don't always agree with all of his on-ice decisionmaking, I do so with the understanding that I'm doing it from my living room, and he's there with the players in the situation and in the moment. I think the Leafs are lucky to have him.

 

[IJustLurkHere]

Babcock may not be perfect, but the Bruins are a top team. Sucks we got them in round one, but if the playoff format was different and we beat a weaker team before losing to Boston in seven, would people still be wanting to fire Babcock? It's possible that the Toronto/Boston series will be /would have been the toughest series for either team all playoffs long. It's not a video where it gets progressively harder each round. Again, first round exits suck cause you want to see them win and keep playing, but it's not the same as it was years ago.

This sums up how I feel... if the same series had been in round 2 (old playoff format), the response would be more balanced. It seems like many are taking their own bugbears and presenting them as evidence of a problem I?m not sure exists, and then declaring Babcock under a pressure I?m not sure exists.