Mike Babcock reveals how he felt about Toronto in the years after his dismissal as Leafs head coach

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Mike Armenti
August 3, 2023 (12:22)

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For Mike Babcock, signing in Toronto was not only a chance to sign the richest deal in NHL coaching history, but also a huge risk, coming into a sometimes volatile hockey market, where the microscope is always on. Win and you're a god. Lose and you become a target. Everything is amplified, win or lose. However, I don't think anyone could have predicted the trainwreck in Toronto under Babcock and everything that followed after his departure.

Babcock has been remarkably quiet about his time from Toronto since being fired back in 2019. Now, back in the league as the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Babcock had a chance to sit down with Sportsnet 590's The FAN this morning to discuss his tenure as Leafs head coach and how he feels about the Leafs and the city of Toronto after the fallout.

"When I went there and signed 8-year deal, I thought I'd probably get 5 years in - I got 4 and a half years in. All the time I was in Toronto, I enjoyed it. Do I like the way I was talked about when I left? No. Do I think I did anything wrong? Absolutely. In our business, what are you gonna do? When you leave, you're gone and someone else comes in and replaces you and you wish them luck." - Babcock on his time with the Leafs and how he feels on the other side of it

The infamous list incident, when Babs had asked a rookie Mitch Marner to prepare a list of his teammates ranked from hardest-working to laziest in confidence only turn around and share the list with the entire team and throw his rookie under the bus, was despicable behaviour. We know the stories from other NHLers, current and former, who disliked playing for Babs as well.

Is this a PR spin to try to repair his image? He certainly seems like he's being genuine, but is that really the case? Look, everyone deserves a second chance. For Babcock, the actual coaching isn't in question. The man can coach. However, if he hasn't cleaned up the other behaviour, then it's very possible that we're discussing yet another Babcock firing in a few short seasons. Only time will tell.