The last couple postseasons have featured the Toronto Maple Leafs and Coach Mike Babcock vs Boston and whoever happens to be ready to kill the Leafs that year. It’s up for debate as to the reason the Bruins continue to dominate Toronto in April, but the general consensus lately has been coaching. Any team as talented as the Leafs should at the very least get lucky every once in a while. However, it seemed like there were forces at work to actively keep Toronto under Boston’s thumb. That all ends now.
Babcock vs Boston – The Bad
Mike Babcock has coached in 19 postseason games against Boston in his career. All of them in the first round, 12 of them being losses. In the 2013/14 playoffs, Babs’ Detroit Red Wings were completely overmatched by Boston, falling in just five games. Worth noting that just one year earlier, the Maple Leafs blew a 3-goal lead in the 3rd period of game 7 against, you guessed it, Boston. Then, as I mentioned earlier, the Leafs matched up against their rivals in the first round the last two years. Two years, two game sevens, two crushing defeats. It almost seemed like a perpetual collapse, and it’s become a meme all across social media. Babcock vs Boston was the headline, and the Leafs failure was the punchline.
Finally Over
By now you know Mike Babcock has been fired. This only means every Leaf supporter, and hater, has to get their take out as soon as possible, or it won’t count. (That’s how Twitter works if you’re new). The take is simple: Boston, and everyone else, have reason to be worried. Babcock’s time in front of the blue and white will be remembered as a tumultuous deep-dive into how not to coach a handful of elite players. Elite players like John Tavares, Auston Matthews, and, sigh, Mitch Marner. Those guys are not going to let their legacy land in the same purgatory as Babs. If I’ve learned anything over the last 48 hours it’s that the Leafs are now better than Boston strictly based on Dubas’ latest coaching moves.
Sheldon Keefe
Enter Sheldon Keefe. 39-year-old head coach of the Toronto Marlies, the Leafs AHL affiliate. Keefe has won everywhere he’s coached, and always surprisingly early in his tenure. Good news for Toronto. Keefe will have the ears of the locker room for now, and if he turns the pace over to the players this will be a successful endeavor for both sides. This will be made clear when Toronto’s defense decides they can play hockey when it’s not for a stone-faced has-been. When it’s all said and done, Keefe will make the last 53 years look like a blip in the radar. The potential is there. The pieces are there. Everything that was missing with Babcock at the helm is going to magically come together.
While the era of Babcock vs Boston may be over in Toronto, it may pick back up one day if someone (looking at you NJ Devils) decides to take a chance on old Babs. We will always remember the good times. Like playing Auston Matthews 16 minutes a night. But, the bad times will forever be engrained in our memories as “Pack your shit, Babs.” Good luck, Boston. You probably won’t need it.
Love it or hate it, let me know on Twitter. Make sure you’re following both halves of the Belly Up NHL Dream Team, myself and ZachMac. Also check out the best new hockey podcast around, Puck Puck Pass. Thanks for reading!
