If The Toronto Maple Leafs Fire Mike Babcock, Where Could He Land?

After another disappointing first-round loss at the hands of Boston, the Toronto Maple Leafs high hopes for this season fell short. Head coach Mike Babcock might not be the problem, but for a franchise struggling to take the next step toward the Stanley Cup, it might be time for him to go. But where would he land?

Even though times change and people come and go, one thing you can always count on is the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins playing each other in first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Although the matchup may seem like bad movie series with too many sequels making us say “hey, we’ve seen this before”, it’s done nothing to diminish the rivalry between the two.

It all began after the Leafs blew a 4-1 lead in game seven to the eventual cup champion Bruins back in the lockout-shortened 2013 season. It might even be safe to say that the Toronto-Boston rivalry has eclipsed the traditional Montreal-Boston one.

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But all of these playoff meetings between the two have the same ending – Boston prevails. This year’s loss stings just a bit more, as not only did the Leafs have the chance to close the series out on home ice Sunday night, but the lofty expectations the free agency signing of John Tavares brought this off-season. After years of continued playoff disappointment, it might be time for the Leafs to part ways with head coach Mike Babcock.

He is arguably the most legendary active head coach in the NHL today, being a member of the Triple Gold club. Babcock won a Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings in 2008, along with Olympic Medals and IIHF World Championships with Canada.

When Babcock left the Red Wings, he set off an unprecedented free agency frenzy for a coach, only matched by Barry Trotz‘s departure from the Washington Capitals in 2018. In 2015, Toronto won the Babcock sweepstakes and inked the veteran head coach to an eight-year deal.

While he has been good as the Leafs bench boss, he hasn’t been especially great in end the NHL longest Stanley Cup drought. All of his success in Toronto came with the maturation and drafting of the likes of superstars Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.

Furthermore, there was the signing of the likes of Patrick Marleau and Tavares. After four years of not good enough results, Maple Leafs brass might take a look and saying moving on from Babcock is the next step to propel the team forward.

Babcock’s Suitors

If he gets the pink slip for the Leafs, he’ll get no shortage of suitors just like his last time shopping for offers. Where would be land this time is a rather interesting question.

St. Louis Blues

Last time he was open to offers, Babcock was linked to the St. Louis Blues. But with St. Louis almost certain to remove the interim title from Craig Berube after a stunning mid-season turnaround, that seems out of the question.

Minnesota Wild

Then there’s Bruce Boudreau, who didn’t live up to his playoff guarantee with the Minnesota Wild. Even Babcock’s brilliance couldn’t fix their biggest problems in those terrible Zach Parise and Ryan Suter contracts.

Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers would be an interesting choice for Babcock, as they have the NHL’s most underperforming roster. Their goaltending and defense might not be elite, but is there any excuse for a team with two top five scorers in Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid to make the playoffs?

On the other hand, minus a Stanley Cup victory, few coaches of the 2005-2015ish era had more playoff appearances than former Oilers coach Todd McLellan and Babcock himself. Playoff experience in coaching was never missing from Edmonton for sure.

Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings

Tampa Bay and Detroit are two interesting options for the same reason – Steve Yzerman. While the Tampa Bay Lightning hasn’t taken any steps to jeopardize the job security of current head coach Jon Cooper, a beyond disappointing playoff exit at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets raises those questions.

If Babcock were to become available, maybe Tampa would want to bring someone whose led their team to the promised land. Besides, Yzerman and Babcock were a cup winning duo in Detroit, and this roster still has Yzerman’s fingerprints all over them.

Yzerman himself moved into the GM’s role in Detroit. As much as Detroit fans would love an actual Yzerman and Babcock reunion in the Motor City, it’s not going to happen. The contract extension of Jeff Blashill pretty much stops any speculation in its tracks. The rebuilding Detroit would probably rather grow with the coach that’s been used to their maturing roster.

Arizona Coyotes

One dark horse contender for the Babcock’s services could be the Arizona Coyotes. Former Coyotes player Rick Tochett seemed like a good choice coming off Stanley Cup wins as a Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach, but Babcock is a clear upgrade.

The Coyotes squad is trending upwards, nearly making the playoffs for the first time since 2012. Maybe Babcock as the bench boss would be one thing to push them over the edge and back into the postseason.

It may not be a perfect comparison, but Babcock taking over the reins in Arizona wouldn’t be that much different from his last Pacific division coaching experience with the Anaheim Ducks, back when they were still the Mighty Ducks.

Babcock’s Future In Toronto

Toronto is in a great short-short term solution, but a bad long-term solution. Their roster is the envy of the NHL after a solid decade of mediocrity and basement dwelling, but never getting over the first round hump is starting to hurt their reputation.

More importantly, on the horizon lies the dreaded salary cap where they’ll quickly run of out space once most of their young guns need new contracts. Mitch Marner will require a lot of money to keep around long-term.

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Unfortunately, and thought it may hard to believe, without some salary cap and contract acrobatics that would make Cirque Du Solei jealous, the Maple Leafs window will begin to start slowly closing soon. While not as desperate as the Blue Jackets to win now, time is running out for them. If Babcock isn’t going to deliver anything better than a first-round exit in that timetable, it might be time for them to part ways.

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