Connect with us

Featured

Maple Leafs Fire Mike Babcock as Coach

The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Mike Babcock and replaced him with Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe.

On Wednesday, head coach Mike Babcock was fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs after a disappointing 9-10-4 start to the season. He will be replaced by coach Sheldon Keefe, who was the bench boss for the club’s American Hockey League affiliate Marlies.

Babcock, 56, was rumored to be on the hot seat in Toronto with questions surrounding his deployment tactics and insistence on old methods despite having a very talented team that was predicted to content in the 2019-20 NHL playoffs.

Shanahan Makes the Announcement

Interestingly, it wasn’t general manager Kyle Dubas who made the announcement on Wednesday. No, that responsibility fell upon the shoulders of Toronto Maple Leafs President and Alternate Governor Brendan Shanahan. Dubas was considered both a supporter of Babcock’s and also has been seen by many as the reason the Maple Leafs have struggled, not necessarily the coach. It was probably intentional that the Leafs kept him from making this announcement.

Dubas built a softer team with tons of offensive potential, but many of his trades haven’t worked out. While rumors of Babcock being fired existed, so did trades involving a number of the roster, namely Jason Spezza, Nic Petan and even William Nylander.

Still, rumors were that Babcock had lost the room and a coaching change was made.

NHL rumors: Mike Babcock not on hot seat
NHL rumors: Mike Babcock not on hot seat

The Maple Leafs official announcement read:

“Today, we made the decision to relieve Mike Babcock of his coaching duties and named Sheldon Keefe our new head coach,” said Shanahan. “Over parts of the last five seasons, Mike has played an integral role in changing the direction of our franchise.” 

“Mike’s commitment and tireless work ethic has put our organization in a better place and we are extremely grateful and appreciative of the foundation he has helped us build here.”

Can Keefe Do It?

Some will blame Dubas, some will blame Babcock but the chore of turning the Maple Leafs season around will now fall on Keefe’s shoulders. Can he do it? Logic suggests he’ll certainly take a different approach.

Related: Is Tyson Barrie on the Trade Block in Toronto?

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Pingback: Who Were the Best Hockey Players for the Toronto Maple Leafs Over the Past Decade? – NHL Trade Talk – Hockey Rumors

Leave a Reply

More News

PuckPedia NHL Trade Talk

Discover more from NHL Trade Talk

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading