GDT #45: JAN 8 7:30, Jets @ Leafs

[zeke]

In a way, Babcock is almost lucky that so much of the focus has been on his off-ice behaviour and character in the wake of getting fired. It's taken a lot of the focus away from his brutal roster deployment and on-ice tactics.

He can always come back in the future and claim to have worked on himself and changed. But the way he managed this roster and the systems he had them playing cuts straight to the core of how good or bad he is as a head coach, and that's a lot harder to hand-wave away.

what's hilarious is that his tactics were similar to and nearly as bad as Randy's.....except at least Randy had the decency to play the fuck out of his stars.

 

[JackBurton]

If Babcock would not change anything with this Leaf roster he will never change his ways. I'm sure he will be asked and say yes, but he won't.

 

[zeke]

I wonder at what point he looks in the mirror and says "holy fuck I had matthews, marner, tavares, and nylander and i sacrificed my career because I literally chose not to play them".

 

[JackBurton]

Matthews, Marner will 'probably' see shifts together, but Babcock not sold on combo - TSN.ca

Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner might see shifts together Monday against the Columbus Blue Jackets but head coach Mike Babcock isn't sold on the combination yet, TSN's Mark Masters writes.

www.tsn.ca

This is funny. That was a month before he was fired.

"They got a point together in overtime," Babcock observed of the Matthews-Marner chemistry last night. "You know, we haven't played them a ton together, when it has (happened), it hasn't been like I said to myself, 'Gee, this has got to be perfect.'"

 

[LeafGm]

I wonder at what point he looks in the mirror and says "holy **** I had matthews, marner, tavares, and nylander and i sacrificed my career because I literally chose not to play them".

It'd be fascinating to know, right?

Does he ever have that moment of self-awareness and regret at some point? Is he capable of that?

Or if we do end up winning any championships with this core group under Keefe, does he go to his grave thinking that his ingrate players and his twerp, poindexter child-GM & Shanny cheated him out of the success he set the table for and the team would've had anyway if he'd been left in place as coach?

I'd bet on the latter, personally.

 

[zeke]

Like the team could plausibly win the cup in the year he was fired, led by a Rocket/Hart/Smythe winner.

 

[LeafOfFaith]

And by the way, don’t all stories like this kinda end up that way? I haven’t wanted to jinx anything by mentioning it.