‘A great leap forward,’ Rielly says
Leaf plays phone-a-friend to get the lowdown on incoming head coach
The first thing Morgan Rielly did when he heard Mike Babcock was going to be the next coach of the Maple Leafs was call his friends who have played for Babcock to get some insight on how things were going to be around the Air Canada Centre.
Rielly watched on his TV in Vancouver as Babcock delivered a stirring news conference Thursday, one that promised both pain and hope.
Then Rielly got all excited about the days ahead.
“I think we’re all very happy to have him on board,” Rielly said. “He’s a great coach with a great reputation. I think it was a big leap forward for us.”
One of the appeals for Babcock was that the building of the Leafs would be a long process, a big mountain to climb. He wanted assurances from president Brendan Shanahan and the directors of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment that the group was not going to take the kind of shortcuts that have hamstrung the team in the past.
That means Rielly will have to grin and bear it when it comes to more losing in the next couple of seasons.
“As a team, we have to be ready to do what it takes to win in Toronto,” Rielly said. “We all know it might take some time. But who knows what might happen next year when you go in with a new attitude and a new coach.
“We all want to win. We all want to do what it takes. We want to turn this around as quickly as possible. But we also want to do it the right way. That might take some time. But I think we have the guy in place behind the bench who can really do that for us.”
Shanahan still has to find a general manager, but he is in no rush.
The Leafs president said the team is in a “good place” heading into the draft. The order of events is odd — the next GM will have a management team and coach in place — but Shanahan said he is looking for the right fit and only the right fit. He allowed that one of his assistants, Mark Hunter or Kyle Dubas, could end up with the GM’s title.
“People talk about the order . . . the coaching decision seemed to me to be more pressing,” Shanahan said. “I’ve talked to some general managers, getting advice, their view was: Get the coach! Don’t wait a month to get the GM, because that’s how it’s done. Then he goes to pick his guy and everyone else is hired. Get the best coach you can get. Get the best person you can get when they’re available.
“I would like to get a general manager. I’m not ruling any of the things that you’ve said, that it could be one of us. It could be a group of us doing it together . . . I’d like to get a guy that fits, who embraces this challenge and likes what we’re building here and wants to come and be a builder.”
Shanahan has hired Jim Paliafito as director of player evaluation and hired Lindsay Hofford as an amateur scout. Paliafito was GM of the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit. Hofford had been director of amateur scouting for the London Knights.
Part of the rush to get Babcock is the reputation he has for developing players.
Rielly promises to be one of the players who will benefit most from Babcock’s steady hand, one that will teach young players how to play the right way, practise the right way, and do the little things the right way.
“I have confidence that Mike is the kind of person that gets the most out of the talent that he’s been given,” Shanahan said. “Somebody said to me once, ‘Why are you going after guys like Mike Babcock? Wouldn’t you rather have the worst coach in hockey for the next few years and be in the (draft) sweepstakes the next few years?’
“My belief is that that wasn’t good for our development. If Mike wins us some more games because Mike is a great coach, then so be it. It was more important for me that the Morgan Riellys of the world, the Nazem Kadris, the William Nylanders — our whole organization from the Leafs to the Marlies to even the players that we have in Orlando — that they just start building the foundation with a good coach who is going to demand the right things.”
If Babcock can guide young players, what can he do with a leadership core of Dion Phaneuf and Phil Kessel that seemed so lacking last season?
“Those are the guys you pick on because those are the guys that are supposed to be in leadership positions,” Babcock said. “The guys that are on the third and fourth line or the fifth and sixth defenceman, they kind of escape it.
“We’ve got to make it safe for everybody. How do you make it safe for everyone? You get people to perform. You get the pieces around them. You get the team to play well.
As for his conversations about Babcock with some teammates, including Joffrey Lupul who played for Babcock in Anaheim, and others, Rielly came away feeling good.
“I chatted with players who played with him in the past and they’re keen on the idea that he’s hard on his players,” said Rielly. “But he wants his players to be the best they can be. I think that’s important. He wants his players to improve and he’s willing to do what it takes to make that happen. That’s why he has a great reputation and a great record.”