Mike Babcock didn’t exactly hide the edge in his assessment of his Toronto Maple Leafs exit.
Speaking ahead of Saturday night’s game, the Edmonton Oilers coach said he looked back on his time in Toronto positively overall, but made it clear the ending left a different taste. He said he “loved it” and described the people around the team as “good hockey men,” adding that he “enjoyed the heck out of” his first three years with the Leafs.
The last part of the run, though, was another matter. Babcock said he didn’t enjoy his final year and a half as much, but brushed it off with, “That’s the business,” before adding that he still “really enjoyed” his time in the city.
He then delivered the line that set people talking: “We went to a situation where we were able to draft Auston (Matthews). The team got better; we made the playoffs and set a franchise record for points.
We didn’t have enough success in the playoffs, but that is often what happens with young teams. In the end, they gave me a 5-year holiday, which I really enjoyed.”
The way he framed it left plenty of people thinking the target was Kyle Dubas, who was the GM by the end of Babcock’s Toronto tenure. Brendan Shanahan hired Babcock in 2015, and once Dubas took over, Babcock’s time there didn’t last much longer.
Babcock’s remarks came as he continues his stint with the Oilers, where the early results have been strong despite the noise that followed his hiring. Edmonton is off to a 14-3-3 start, and Connor McDavid praised the coach’s impact.
“(Babcock’s) come in and set a standard here that we strive to meet every day,” said Connor McDavid. “When we don’t, we hear about it, and that’s what we want. He’s come in and been great, honestly.”
McDavid also said, “Seems to care for the people around him, which is obviously important.”
The comments didn’t take long to ripple through the fan base. Steve Dangle Glynn playfully pointed toward who Babcock might have been referencing when he talked about that difficult final stretch, and while Babcock never named anyone, it’s hard to read the quote any other way.
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