The veteran Stanley Cup- and Olympic gold-medal-winning coach understands he’s in for some surprises, but he doesn’t want the team’s recent struggles to cloud his view.
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Among the questions Babcock was forced to answer concerned the captain – Dion Phaneuf.
“He brings exceptional speed”, Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello said, the Toronto Star notes.
Who knows if any of this is going to work, but with Lamoriello and Mike Babcock at the helm, you have the sense that there’s a plan, a vision, a blueprint in place. “Everything’s crystal clear”. President Brendan Shanahan fired GM Dave Nonis, eventually replacing him with Lamoriello.
The Maple Leafs are counting on him to do just that. “That’s good news for everyone”.
Big numbers at camp: The Senators will work with three groups of 20 – give or take, depending on injuries – at the opening of on-ice workouts at training camp Friday. The players that are there now, I think, are really going to benefit from his background, his experience and his ability to communicate with them.
With Phil Kessel and his 30-goal prowess now in Pittsburgh, Babcock can’t say for certain where the bulk of goals will come from in the months ahead.
Players joining the team as main camp opens on Sept. 17 in Toronto include forwards Martins Dzierkals, T.J. Foster, Frederik Gauthier, Michael Joly, Kasperi Kapanen, Mitchell Marner, William Nylander, Jack Rodewald, Nikolai Skladnichenko, Nikita Soshnikov, Dmytro Timashov, Brady Vail and Carter Verhaeghe; defencemen Nikolas Brouillard, Travis Dermott, Stephen Desrocher, Cody Donaghey, Matt Finn, Aiden Jaimeson, Andrew Nielsen and Rinat Valiev, and goaltender Lucas Peressini.
With one year left on a five-year, $15 million contract, the Islanders had tried to move Grabner for most of the summer, according to Newsday.
Forwards Brad Boyes, Curtis Glencross and Devin Setoguchi and defenceman Mark Fraser could take advantage of Babcock’s clean slate to earn jobs for the season.
He’s been the coach of the team for a day and you already feel like you know the guy, thanks to the most flagrant use of a hometown dialect – Saskatoon-ese, we’ll call it – since Don Cherry created the impression that everyone from Kingston, Ont. spoke English sideways.
“Can they play or can they not?”
Even someone such as Nazem Kadri isn’t all that green any more – he turns 25 the day before the home opener – and he’s one of only a few Leafs in that age range likely to make the team.
For Babcock, that includes goaltending, where Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer are back as a tandem.
What Babcock has here, entering his first camp with the Leafs, is flexibility. “Let’s decide who wants to play”.
“Why would I watch them be bad?” he asked. They both want to be No. 1.
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The Leafs received an experienced NHL player in Michael Grabner in return for these prospects. (Babcock explained he hadn’t yet found a way to make the Leafs projected contributions add up to 230, his target on the offensive side of things.) The blueline looks like a hodgepodge. Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud to be coach of the Leafs.
