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
defense discipline feels good happens league lose next overtime time tonight win won
One of the things that happens when you win all the time is, when you lose in overtime and lose the next night, it feels like you haven't won in months. But it's unreasonable; you can't go through this league without losing. Our discipline was good tonight and our defense really managed the puck.
bunch easy replay report sleep tonight watched
We watched in on the replay a bunch of times. It doesn't look like that big a deal. ... I'll sleep easy tonight and we'll have a report tomorrow. He'll be fine.
dead league looking means pat tonight
It means I've been in the league a little bit. But I was looking tonight and (Toronto's) Pat Quinn has 640, Scotty Bowman has 1,200-and something. I'll be dead before then.
bottom few games help hockey line played ready steve tonight
The bottom line is, we didn't play Steve much the first few games he played. Tonight he played, and he was important. He played important. He's ready to go and help our hockey team.
early few front good humble minutes played players proud record rest start tonight until yelling
I thought the goalie was real good early when the rest of us weren't. He'll be real humble here tonight and he'll say the players played real well in front of him and all that stuff. If you set a record ... you should be proud of yourself. At least for a few minutes until we start yelling at him tomorrow.
gave middle putting tonight
I thought putting Z in the middle tonight gave us a boost, some energy.
capable defensive game good gotten nice offensive plays team tonight
He's good defensively, but tonight he made plays with the puck, which was nice to see. Sometimes as a defensive defenseman on an offensive team they always want you to do more than you're capable of doing. His game has gotten much better with the puck.
guys worked
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.
chance good hung job ourselves players took
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.
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.
came chance cup finals game people period three tied win wins
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.
best classy coached easiest good guy humble key people players successful
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.
best coached good hockey knew player
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.
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.'