Babcock’s biggest test in Toronto will be in playoffs
Outside Mike Babcock’s office at Scotiabank Arena is a portrait gallery of late, great Toronto coaches.
There’s Pat Burns getting his Toronto Maple Leafs leather jacket on hiring day in 1992, Pat Quinn directing an on-ice workout, Hap Day with manager Conn Smythe, and the most famous photo of all, Punch Imlach on May 2, 1967, feet up on his desk where the Stanley Cup rests, sipping champagne with “no practice tomorrow” on his blackboard.
None of those men, with the exception of Quinn, has done what Babcock achieved as of Saturday: three consecutive 40-win seasons. Yet all managed something the current coach has yet to swing in Toronto — win a playoff series or two.
Now that it’s confirmed the $50-million man didn’t get a Stanley Cup ring in Detroit or Olympic gold by fluke, Babcock’s biggest test comes in a few weeks. The Leafs, a few of whom survived the last-place finish of 2015-16 when Babcock arrived, need to be shaped for spring to avoid a third straight opening round elimination.
The 2017 loss to Washington was more a feel good story about the thrill of the hunt, while last spring ’s Game 7 loss to Boston was a harder lesson in fighting through adversity.
This year, with Toronto’s post-season trip booked nice and early after winning 20 of their first 28 games, it’s no longer about how they start, but how they finish. With all due respect to Babcock for ringing up 40 victories, the pressure will be on to win the first round or look damn good trying, no matter if it’s old nemesis Boston, and no matter who gets home ice advantage.
They have the skill; it’s the will to conform to playoff hockey. Much of that will be determined by their defensive posture and the blue-line members in particular. The Leafs are currently without Jake Gardiner and Travis Dermott and will be leaning more than ever in March on Morgan Rielly, Ron Hainsey, Jake Muzzin and Nikita Zaitsev.
“The biggest thing we talk about is you can do anything you want as a defenceman, but you have to keep the puck out of your net,” Babcock said. “No. 1 thing, the puck cannot go in when you’re on the ice. That’s the biggest challenge for all the D. We want you to move the puck, be good offensively, do all the things that (the media) talks about. But I want the puck not to go in the net.”
HOT TIME IN CALGARY
Toronto begins its last long road trip of the year tonight and the best of the three games in Western Canada should be right at the start.
Calgary has the most points of any Canadian team and all season have been hearing a steady diet of Leaf propaganda in one ear and accolades about the Winnipeg Jets in the other.
Meantime, the Flames are doing well in categories such as fewest shots allowed, faceoff percentage and have three scorers with potential to end up in the league’s Top 20. They’ve lost just six games at home in regulation this season, one of them a 4-2 shocker to Minnesota Saturday. The Flames beat the Leafs 3-1 at Scotiabank Arena on Oct. 29.
Toronto meets Vancouver two nights later and then it gets a two-day break before returning home by way of Edmonton on Saturday night. As always, the Leafs can expect a lot of love in the stands from eastern transplants and descendants of days when Toronto was the only NHL team west of Quebec.