Mike Babcock

Mike Babcock
Michael "Mike" Babcock, Jr.is a Canadian professional ice hockey head coach, currently serving as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League. He previously spent 10 seasons as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2008 and helped to the Stanley Cup Playoffs every year during his tenure. He holds the record as winningest coach in Red Wings history, surpassing that of Jack Adams. He has also served...
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth29 April 1963
best coach consultant game history phone talked
I've talked to Scotty a lot. The best reputation, the best record, the best coach in the history of our game is here as a consultant for us. All I've got to do is phone him and ask. He's unbelievable.
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I've coached some real good players -- he's the best player I ever coached. He's classy as they come, as humble as they come. This guy just makes people around him better, and that's the key to having a successful team. He's the easiest person I've ever coached.
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I've coached some good hockey players, but he's the best player I've ever coached. This guy, I always knew he was a good player, but I had no idea he was this good.
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Let's be honest, we had a great regular season, and the regular season's over. It you don't bring your best game, you don't win.
best evaluate gets joe player trade
When I evaluate a trade as a coach, I evaluate who gets the best player. That's all, it's just about the best player because the best player makes everyone else better. That's what Joe has done.
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They're proud guys. They want to win. They want to be the best. We all know the best isn't measured now. You get the silver thing for winning the marathon in the spring. And that's what we want to do.
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That's what the new (salary-cap) system is all about, isn't it? It makes everyone the same. The teams that play the best will win. The bottom line is how do you handle it, and compete, and how do you allow your game to come out. That's the challenge for everyone.
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We just rolled (the lines) one, two, three, four. It didn't matter. We let our guys go, and it kind of worked out well.
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We weren't ready. Between the players and myself, we didn't get the job done to get out and get started and get after them and set the tone. We hung on good enough defensively, and Manny was good enough to give us a chance to get ourselves going and then I think we took over.
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It was unbelievable. Making the finals is one thing, but getting to a Game 7 and being tied in that game after the first period is another. A lot of people think they have a chance to win the Cup, but the only chance to win the Cup is when you have three wins in the final. It's something that I'll always remember, but in the end, we came up empty.
came label
They always have a label for you, ... When I came out of junior, I was a 'junior coach.' When I came out of college, I was a 'college coach.' Then when I made it to the NHL, I was a 'minor-league coach.' And now I'm a 'defensive coach.'
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Edmonton is quick, and it works hard, ... Edmonton just squashed Nashville (Tuesday), so it'll be a good test for us.
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There's adversity; what are you going to do with it? Are you going to turn it into a positive ?
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I wanted to have a competitive training camp. So we went through and put the lineup together. We used Jimmy Nill's advice on all the young guys because I don't know the young guys, and then we tried to get the guys who played in the national league and played on our team to be as competitive a group as we possibly could be, with leadership in all groups.