Mike Babcock

Michael Babcock Jr. (born April 29, 1963) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach, who most recently served as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously spent ten seasons as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, winning the Stanley Cup with them in 2008, and helping them to the Stanley Cup Playoffs every year during his tenure. He holds the record as the coach with the most wins in Red Wings history, surpassing that of Jack Adams. He has also served as head coach of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, whom he helped to the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals.

Mike Babcock
Babcock in 2013
Born	(1963-04-29) April 29, 1963 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Nationality	Canadian · American[1]
Occupation	Ice hockey coach
Coaching career
Team(s)	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Detroit Red Wings Toronto Maple Leafs
Stanley Cup wins	2008
Years as a coach	1991–2019
Years as an NHL coach	2002–2019

Babcock was born in Manitouwadge, Ontario, and grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.[2] As of August 2020, he is the only coach to gain entry to the Triple Gold Club (Stanley Cup title, IIHF World Championship title, and Olympic Gold medal in men's ice hockey). He guided the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup in 2008; he led Team Canada to gold at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships in 2004; and he led Team Canada to gold at both the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Babcock is the only coach to win six distinct national or international titles. In addition to the three distinct titles described above, he guided Canada to gold at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, to gold at the IIHF World Junior Championships in 1997, and the University of Lethbridge to the CIS University Cup in 1994.

Education and playing career

Mike Babcock playing in the United Kingdom in 1987 as a player-coach for Whitley Warriors.

Babcock played for the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL in 1980–81, and spent a season with the Kelowna Wings in 1982–83. In between, he played a year under Dave King at the University of Saskatchewan, and transferred to McGill University in 1983, to play for coach Ken Tyler. In September 1985, Babcock also had a brief try-out with the NHL's Vancouver Canucks. While at McGill University, Babcock joined the Tau Alpha chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

Babcock graduated from McGill in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in physical education, and also did some post-graduate work in sports psychology. In 146 career games with the Redmen, he tallied 22 goals and 85 assists for a total of 107 points and 301 penalty minutes, graduating as the second-highest scoring defenceman in McGill history. Playing for McGill from four seasons, 1983–84 to 1986–87, he was a two-time all-star rearguard, served as captain, and also won the Bobby Bell trophy as team MVP.

On November 25, 2013 He was awarded the Honorary degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D) by McGill University. [3] On June 2, 2016, Babcock was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D) by the University of Saskatchewan.[4]

Player-coach

He moved to the United Kingdom in 1987 as a player-coach for Whitley Warriors, who missed out on the league title by two points. In 49 games, he contributed 45 goals and 127 assists, accumulating 123 penalty minutes.

Coaching career

Babcock is one of four McGill University players to coach an NHL team (Lester Patrick with the New York Rangers; George Burnett with the Edmonton Oilers; and Guy Boucher with the Ottawa Senators). In 2008, Babcock became the second McGill hockey player to coach a Stanley Cup winner, the first being Lester Patrick.

Babcock has had a distinguished coaching career, and entered the 2011–12 season with a lifetime 798–540–148 regular season coaching record in 18 seasons overall, including a 373–188–95 NHL mark in eight seasons (two with Anaheim and six with Detroit). He also guided Team Canada to gold medals at the 1997 world junior championships in Geneva, the 2004 IIHF world hockey championships in Prague, the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in Toronto. In addition, he guided the University of Lethbridge to a CIS national title in 1994.

Detroit marked the seventh coaching stint for the nomadic Babcock, a native of Saskatoon, SK, who has lived in six Canadian provinces (Saskatchewan, Quebec, Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia, and Manitoba) and four American states (Washington, Ohio, California, and Michigan).

Red Deer College

In 1988, Babcock was appointed head coach at Red Deer College in Alberta. He spent three seasons at the school, winning the provincial collegiate championship and earning coach-of-the-year honours in 1989.

Moose Jaw – WHL

Babcock moved to the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1991, where he guided the Moose Jaw Warriors for a two-year term.

University of Lethbridge – CIS

He then served one season as coach of the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns, earning Canada West coach-of-the-year honours in 1993–94 after guiding Lethbridge to their first-ever appearance in post-season play and an entirely unexpected Canadian university national title with a 34–11–3 overall mark.

Spokane – WHL

In 1994, he was appointed coach of the WHL's Spokane Chiefs, where he posted a regular-season record of 224–172–29 over six seasons for a .564 winning percentage. He was named twice as the West Division coach of the year (1995–1996 and 1999–2000).

Cincinnati – AHL

From 2000–01 to 2001–02, Babcock guided the American Hockey League's Cincinnati Mighty Ducks to a 74–59–20–7 record, including a franchise-high 41 wins and 95 points. The team qualified for the playoffs both years.

NHL

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim

Babcock was named head coach of the NHL's Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on May 22, 2002, and through two seasons, guided them to a combined 69–62–19 regular season record (including 14 overtime losses). In the Stanley Cup playoffs with the Ducks, he posted a 15–6 record, leading the Mighty Ducks to the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost in seven games to the New Jersey Devils.

Detroit Red Wings

Following the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Babcock declined an offer to remain with the Ducks, and on July 15, 2005, was named head coach of the Detroit Red Wings. In his first three seasons, Babcock led the Red Wings to a combined 162–56–28 regular season record and a 28–18 playoff record. He and the Red Wings were eliminated by his former club, the Anaheim Ducks, in the Western Conference Finals of the 2007 playoffs.

Babcock as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings during the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs.

In the 2007–08 season, Babcock earned his 200th NHL career win in Detroit's 5–2 victory over the Florida Panthers on December 15, 2007. Heading into the 2008 All-Star Game, as the top team in the NHL, Babcock was selected to coach the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. On June 4, 2008, he led the Red Wings to another Stanley Cup championship by defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

Babcock was announced as a finalist for the Jack Adams Award for the 2007–08 season, awarded to the coach who best contributes to his team's success, but ultimately finished third behind Bruce Boudreau of the Washington Capitals and Guy Carbonneau of the Montreal Canadiens.[5]

In June 2008, Babcock signed a three-year contract extension with the Red Wings. In the 2008–09 season, the Red Wings again made the Stanley Cup Final, but lost in seven games to the Pittsburgh Penguins. With the loss in Game 7, Babcock became the first head coach to lose a Stanley Cup Final Game 7 with two different teams.[6]

In the 2011 playoffs, Babcock's Red Wings fell behind the San Jose Sharks three games to none in the second round, but won three-straight to force a Game 7, which the Wings lost 3–2. At this point in his coaching career, Babcock had accumulated an impressive NHL playoff record of 63–39.

In October 2010, Babcock signed a four-year extension with the Red Wings that saw him through to the end of the 2014–15 season.[7]

On April 8, 2014, Babcock earned his 414th career win as head coach of the Red Wings, surpassing Jack Adams as the winningest coach in Red Wings history.[8] Babcock was announced as a finalist for the Jack Adams Award for the 2013–14 season, his second nomination, but finished second in voting behind Patrick Roy of the Colorado Avalanche.[9] On December 6, 2014, Babcock earned his 500th career win as a head coach, becoming the second-fastest coach in NHL history to do so; only Hockey Hall of Famer and former Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman reached the 500-win plateau faster.[10]

Toronto Maple Leafs

After failing to come to terms on a contract extension with the Red Wings, Babcock requested and received permission to seek employment elsewhere on May 8, 2015. The Buffalo Sabres were considered the most serious contenders for Babcock's services, with the St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks also being in the mix.[11] However, on May 20, 2015, it was announced that Babcock would become the new head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.[12] He reportedly signed an eight-year contract worth $50 million (an average of $6.25 million per season), and will be the highest-paid coach in NHL history.[13] Prior to Babcock signing the contract, Todd McLellan of the Edmonton Oilers was the highest-paid coach in the NHL, reportedly earning $3 million per season.[14]

On February 4, 2016, Babcock coached his 1,000 NHL game against the New Jersey Devils.[15] The Maple Leafs finished last in the entire league during Babcock's first year, compiling a record of 29–42–11 and 69 points. Despite this, praise was given to Babcock's coaching and patience with a team that was expected to do extremely poorly. This season was also the first time Babcock missed the playoffs since the 2004 playoffs when he was with the Mighty Ducks.

The last place finish allowed the Maple Leafs to win the draft lottery, and the number one pick was used to select coveted centre Auston Matthews. The next season was marked by many high-end rookies in Toronto's system, including Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, Nikita Zaitsev and Connor Brown, among others, making the team to play out the 2016–17 season. Babcock worked closely with these rookies, and their youthful energy and talent, coupled with the addition of goaltender Frederik Andersen allowed the team to qualify for the playoffs, marking a rare occasion where a team goes from last in the league to capturing a playoff appearance. Toronto faced the top seeded Washington Capitals in the first round, and though many analysed the series as lopsided in the Capitals' favour, the Maple Leafs again defied expectations, pushing the Capitals to six games (with five going to overtime, tying an NHL record) before the team was eliminated by the Capitals.[16] Babcock's coaching was praised throughout the playoffs as it was during the regular season, with many lauding his attempts at player development whilst maintaining a high level of team success.[17] In recognition for these achievements throughout the season, Babcock was nominated for the Jack Adams Award, but once again lost to John Tortorella of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

On November 20, 2019, the Leafs relieved Babcock of his duties after a six-game losing streak, and amidst allegations of a toxic work environment.[18][19][20] At the time of his firing, the team had a record of 9–10–4 and were outside of the playoffs, despite being projected before the season began to be Stanley Cup contenders. This was the first time in Babcock's professional coaching career that he had been fired.

Coaching style

Babcock's teams generally focus on skills and puck possession over physical play and toughness.

Babcock continued his tradition of building a team with skills rather than enforcement in Detroit.[21] Since the 2005–06 season, Babcock's teams have consistently had the fewest penalty minutes of any NHL team.[22] From 2005 to 2015, the Red Wings averaged 22 percent fewer penalty minutes than the league average, and 44 percent fewer penalty minutes than the highest league total.[23][24][25]

International coaching career

Babcock coached Canada's team at the 1997 World Junior Championships, where the country won a fifth consecutive gold medal.

On June 24, 2009, Babcock was announced as the head coach of Canada's men's national ice hockey team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.[26] The team finished the round robin with a regulation win over Norway, a shootout win over Switzerland, and a loss to the United States. In the elimination rounds they defeated Germany, Russia, and then Slovakia to advance to the gold medal game where they defeated the United States 3–2 in single overtime.[27]

With the win Babcock became the first coach (and only thus far) in the International Ice Hockey Federation's Triple Gold Club.[28][29] In addition to the Olympic gold, Babcock earned a World Championship title coaching Canada in 2004 and a Stanley Cup championship coaching the Detroit Red Wings in 2008.[28][29]

To honour Babcock's entrance into the Triple Gold Club, the City of Saskatoon announced that July 17, 2010, will be known as "Mike Babcock Day."[30]

On July 22, 2013, Babcock was announced as the head coach of Canada's men's national ice hockey team for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.[31] The team finished the round robin with regulation wins over Norway, and Austria, and an overtime win over Finland. In the quarterfinals they defeated Latvia, and in the semifinals they defeated the United States to advance to the gold medal game, where they defeated Sweden 3–0.[32] With the win, Babcock became only the second (Viktor Tikhonov led the Soviet team in '84, '88) head coach to lead one country to a gold medal victory in consecutive Olympic appearances.[33]

Babcock coached Canada to victory at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey on September 29, 2016, making him the first and only coach to date to have won the Stanley Cup, coach a team to an Olympic gold medal, a World Cup, a World Championship, and a World Junior Championship.[34]

Personal life

Mike and his wife, Maureen have three children: Alexandra, Michael III, and Taylor.[35][36][37] Although he was born in Manitouwadge, Ontario, he grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He spent the majority of his childhood moving around between Northern Ontario, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories, before his family settled in Saskatoon, which he considers his hometown, in 1975. Babcock attended both St. James Elementary School (since closed) and Holy Cross High School on Saskatoon's east side. Babcock is one of the many notable graduates on Holy Cross High School's "Wall of Honour."

Babcock is an outspoken advocate for Bell Let's Talk, CAMH, and other mental health awareness campaigns.[38] He became involved in the fight for awareness when his hometown in Saskatchewan lost two boys to mental illness in one summer.[38] In 2017, he became involved with a campaign called Ahead of the Game to raise money for youth mental health in sport.[38]

Babcock was made a member of the Order of Hockey in Canada in 2018.[39]

Head coaching record

WHL

Year	Team	W	L	OT/T	Finish	Postseason
1991–92	Moose Jaw Warriors	33	36	3	6th in East	Lost East Division quarter-final
1992–93	Moose Jaw Warriors	27	42	3	8th in East	Did not qualify
1994–95	Spokane Chiefs	32	36	4	5th West	Lost West Division semi-final
1995–96	Spokane Chiefs	50	18	4	1st in West	Lost WHL finals
1996–97	Spokane Chiefs	35	33	4	3rd in West	Lost West Division semi-final
1997–98	Spokane Chiefs	45	23	4	2nd in West	Lost West Division final
1998–99	Spokane Chiefs	19	44	9	7th in West	Did not qualify
1999–2000	Spokane Chiefs	47	19	6	1st in West	Lost WHL finals

AHL

Year	Team	W	L	OT/T	Finish	Postseason
2000–01	Cincinnati Mighty Ducks	41	26	13	2nd in South	Lost in first round
2001–02	Cincinnati Mighty Ducks	33	33	14	3rd in Central	Lost in preliminary round

NHL

Mike Babcock NHL coaching statistics[40]

Team	Year	Regular season							Postseason
		G	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	Finish	G	W	L	Win%	Result
ANA	2002–03	82	40	27	9	6	95	2nd in Pacific	21	15	6	.714	Lost in Stanley Cup Finals (NJD)
ANA	2003–04	82	29	35	10	8	76	4th in Pacific	—	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
ANA total		164	69	62	19	14			21	15	6	.714
DET	2005–06	82	58	16	—	8	124	1st in Central	6	2	4	.333	Lost in Conference Quarterfinals (EDM)
DET	2006–07	82	50	19	—	13	113	1st in Central	18	10	8	.556	Lost in Conference Finals (ANA)
DET	2007–08	82	54	21	—	7	115	1st in Central	22	16	6	.727	Won Stanley Cup
DET	2008–09	82	51	21	—	10	112	1st in Central	23	15	8	.652	Lost in Stanley Cup Finals (PIT)
DET	2009–10	82	44	24	—	14	102	2nd in Central	12	5	7	.417	Lost in Conference Semifinals (SJS)
DET	2010–11	82	47	25	—	10	104	1st in Central	11	7	4	.636	Lost in Conference Semifinals (SJS)
DET	2011–12	82	48	28	—	6	102	3rd in Central	5	1	4	.200	Lost in Conference Quarterfinals (NSH)
DET	2012–13	48	24	16	—	8	56	3rd in Central	14	7	7	.500	Lost in Conference Semifinals (CHI)
DET	2013–14	82	39	28	—	15	93	4th in Atlantic	5	1	4	.200	Lost in First Round (BOS)
DET	2014–15	82	43	25	—	14	100	3rd in Atlantic	7	3	4	.429	Lost in First Round (TBL)
DET total		786	458	223	—	105			123	67	56	.545
TOR	2015–16	82	29	42	—	11	69	8th in Atlantic	—	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
TOR	2016–17	82	40	27	—	15	95	4th in Atlantic	6	2	4	.333	Lost in First Round (WSH)
TOR	2017–18	82	49	26	—	7	105	3rd in Atlantic	7	3	4	.429	Lost in First Round (BOS)
TOR	2018–19	82	46	28	—	8	100	3rd in Atlantic	7	3	4	.429	Lost in First Round (BOS)
TOR	2019–20	23	9	10	—	4	22	(fired)	—	—	—	—	—
TOR total		351	173	133	—	45			20	8	12	.400
Total		1,301	700	418	19	164			164	90	74	.549	1 Stanley Cup 14 playoff appearances

References

1. "Like Matthews, Mike Babcock also cited respect for the military when discussing the current intersection of sports and politics". Twitter. September 25, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
2. "Mike Babcock (B.Ed. (Physical Education) 1986) 25th NHL coach to reach 1,000 game milestone". McGill University. February 15, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
3. https://mcgill.ca/senate/files/senate/list_of_mcgill_honorary_degree_recipients_from_1935_to_september_2019.pdf
4. "Mike Babcock receives honourary degree from University of Saskatchewan". CBC News.
5. "BOUDREAU WINS JACK ADAMS AWARD AS TOP COACH". TSN.ca. June 12, 2008. Archived from the original on March 15, 2009. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
6. Podell, Ira (June 13, 2009). "Penguin power: Pittsburgh motors away from Detroit with the silver Cup". Salt Lake Deseret News. Associated Press. p. D1. The Penguins...beat the defending champion Detroit Red Wings 2-1...in Game 7 and win the Stanley Cup for the third time...In 2003...the last series in which the home team won all seven games...the Mighty Ducks team that lost then was coached by current Red Wings bench boss Mike Babcock.
7. Babcock receives four-year extension NHL.com, October 11, 2010
8. Babcock establishes new coaching mark NHL.com, April 9, 2014
9. Avalanche's Roy Wins Jack Adams Award NHL.com, June 24, 2014
10. Detroit Red Wings' Mike Babcock happy to be second-fastest coach to reach 500 wins MLive.com, December 6, 2014
11. Wawrow, John (May 19, 2015). AP source: Babcock in contract talks with Buffalo Sabres. Associated Press. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
12. Mike Babcock named Maple Leafs head coach
13. St. James, Helene (May 20, 2015). "Babcock leaves Red Wings for megacontract with Leafs". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
14. Mike, Halford (May 21, 2015). "Five years, $15M for McLellan in Edmonton". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
15. "Maple Leafs' Babcock to coach 1,000th NHL game". NHL.com. February 4, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
16. Cotsonika, Nicholas (April 24, 2017). "Future bright for Maple Leafs despite early exit". NHL. National Hockey League. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
17. Feschuk, Dave (April 23, 2017). "In the end, Leafs coach was wrong after so much went right: Feschuk". Toronto Star. Torstar. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
18. "Maple Leafs Make Coaching Change". NHL.com. November 20, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
19. "Maple Leafs fire head coach Mike Babcock - Sportsnet.ca". www.sportsnet.ca. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
20. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/article-mike-babcocks-reputation-hasnt-just-taken-a-hit-its-now-a-writeoff/
21. Cotsonika, Nicholas J. "No goons, just good: Red Wings' winning ways fights NHL belief that every team needs enforcer". Retrieved April 29, 2015.
22. Pleiness, Chuck. "Red Wings focused on play between the whistles". themorningsun.com. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
23. "Sortable Team Stats (NHL)". hockey-reference.com.
24. "Sortable Team Stats (NHL)". espn.com.
25. Albergotti, Reed (April 15, 2009). "Why the Red Wings don't fight". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
26. "Babcock named Canada's Olympic team bench boss". National Post. June 25, 2009.
27. Elliott, Helene (March 1, 2010). "Canada defeats U.S., 3-2, to win gold medal in men's hockey". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 1, 2010.
28. "Hockey's exclusive company". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
29. Merk, Martin (February 28, 2010). "Triple gold for Eric Staal". IIHF.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2010.
30. "Mike Babcock Day announcement". Archived from the original on July 16, 2011.
31. Mike Babcock named head coach of Canada's National Men's Team for 2013-14 season HockeyCanada.com, July 22, 2013
32. "Mike Babcock-Led Team Canada Wins Second Consecutive Gold Medal". Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
33. Canada wins second straight gold medal NHL.com, February 23, 2014
34. Seravalli, Frank (September 30, 2016). "Babcock says World Cup a 'sign of things to come in Toronto'". TSN. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
35. "Mike Babcock - Head Coach". Detroit Red Wings. Archived from the original on June 8, 2008. Retrieved July 3, 2008.
36. Wolfe, Cory (June 5, 2008). "Dream Come True". The Star Phoenix. Archived from the original on May 4, 2009. Retrieved July 3, 2008.
37. Niyo, John (June 6, 2008). "Babcock sticks to winning blueprint". The Detroit News. Retrieved July 3, 2008.
38. Fox, Luke (October 17, 2017). "Maple Leafs' Babcock working to change mental health conversation". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
39. "Mike Babcock, Danielle Goyette, Ryan Smyth Hockey Canada's 2018 Order of Hockey in Canada Distinguished Honourees". Hockey Canada. January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
40. "Mike Babcok NHL & WHA Coaching Record". HockeyReference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2015.

Preceded by Bryan Murray	Head coach of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 2002–2005	Succeeded by Randy Carlyle
Preceded by Dave Lewis	Head coach of the Detroit Red Wings 2005–2015	Succeeded by Jeff Blashill
Preceded by Peter Horachek Interim	Head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs 2015–2019	Succeeded by Sheldon Keefe