Mike Babcock is now officially on the verge of a return to the NHL, with the Columbus Blue Jackets season just over six weeks away, and now, it appears some may have been wrong about the veteran.
Out of touch
The 60-year old head coach was last behind the bench with the Toronto Maple Leafs back in 2019, and it's safe to say that nothing seemed to go right for him before his firing.
Plenty of that, reportedly was linked to his coaching style, with many labeling him toxic, out of touch and simply creating a poor environment, so while many see him like that, perhaps not all players have that experience with the veteran.
A touching story
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Former Babcock player Brad May, who played under him with Detroit back in 2019 shared this heartwarming story about Babcock, that shows he does have a different side after all.
"My kids lives in Toronto, it's my last season in the NHL so I wanted to bring my son. Two days before the trip I get called into Mike Babcock's office," May said.
He (Babcock) says, 'I see you're bringing Tyler on this trip', and I think he's gonna say that I can't bring him because he's too young, he's just 13 years old and that I can't do it. But he goes, 'I think that's awesome, the greatest thing ever, good for you.
Then he goes, 'Make sure he brings his hockey equipment.' And I said, 'What do you mean?' He goes, 'Yeah, don't you think Tyler would want to join the morning skate with the Detroit Red Wings? Oh the right wing with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg?' Don't you think he'd like that?'
He (Babcock) says, 'I see you're bringing Tyler on this trip', and I think he's gonna say that I can't bring him because he's too young, he's just 13 years old and that I can't do it. But he goes, 'I think that's awesome, the greatest thing ever, good for you.
Then he goes, 'Make sure he brings his hockey equipment.' And I said, 'What do you mean?' He goes, 'Yeah, don't you think Tyler would want to join the morning skate with the Detroit Red Wings? Oh the right wing with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg?' Don't you think he'd like that?'
Then, the next time May came to the locker room with his son, there was a Red Wings jersey waiting for him, likely the doing of Babcock.
My son got a number 9 Red Wings jersey, which was the number that he wore on his team. It had his name on it and everything. Nobody else knew about this, so it must have been Babcock who had the trainers make this happen.
Ultimately, his next stint in the NHL will tell us more about him, but this is a great story that shows not everything reported is right, and perhaps Babcock is ready to adapt to today's NHL. Only time will tell.
As Read on Hockey Feed - Incredible story from Brad May casts Mike Babcock in a new light
| POLL | ||
28 AOUT | 91 ANSWERS Former Player Shares Incredible Story Of Mike Babcock Can Babcock lead Columbus to the playoffs over the next three years? | ||
| Yes | 46 | 50.5 % |
| No | 45 | 49.5 % |
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