Mike Babcock

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Michael Babcock Jr. (born April 29, 1963) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach who most recently served as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League.

During his tenure as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, winning the Stanley Cup with them in 2008 and assisting them in the Stanley Cup Playoffs every year.

He holds the record for the most victories in Red Wings history, surpassing Jack Adams'.

He has also worked as head coach of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, who helped to reach the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals. Babcock was born in Manitouwadge, Ontario, and grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

He is the only coach to qualify for the Triple Gold Club in December (Stanley Cup, IIHF World Championships, and a gold medal in men's ice hockey).

In 2008, he led Team Canada to gold at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships in 2004; and in Sochi, he directed Team Canada to gold at both the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Babcock is the only coach to win six prestigious or international championships.

He guided Canada to gold at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in 1997, then to gold at the IIHF World Junior Championships in 1997, and Lethbridge to the CIS University Cup in 1994.

Personal life

Alexandra, Michael III, and Taylor were three children of Mike and his wife Maureen. Despite being born in Manitouwadge, Ontario, he grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He spent the bulk of his childhood in Northern Ontario, Manitoba, and the Northwest Territories before his family settled in Saskatoon, which he identifies as his hometown in 1975. On Saskatoon's east side, Babcock attended both St. James Elementary School (since closed) and Holy Cross High School. Babcock is one of the many outstanding graduates of Holy Cross High School's "Wall of Honour."

Babcock is a vocal advocate for Bell Let's Talk, CAMH, and other mental health awareness campaigns. Since his hometown in Saskatchewan lost two boys to mental illness in a single summer, he became involved in the fight for recognition. He became involved with Ahead of the Game in 2017 to raise funds for youth mental health in sport.

In 2018, Babcock was appointed a member of the Order of Hockey in Canada.

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Education and playing career

Babcock appeared with the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL in 1980-1981 and 1982-83, and spent a season with the Kelowna Wings in 1982-83. He spent a year with Dave King at the University of Saskatchewan and then moved to McGill University in 1983 to work for coach Ken Tyler. Babcock also tried out for a brief time with the Vancouver Canucks in September 1985. Babcock, a McGill University undergraduate, was involved in the Tau Alpha chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

Babcock earned a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1986, as well as some post-graduate studies in sports psychology. He scored 22 goals and 85 assists in 146 games with the Redmen, tagging him as the second-highest scoring defenceman in McGill history. He was a four-time all-star rearguard for McGill from 1983–84, 1986–87, and also won the Bobby Bell trophy as Team MVP.

He was given the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws on November 25, 2013. (LL.D.) McGill University. Babcock was named an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) on June 2, 2016. The University of Saskatchewan has a research professor who specializes in science.

He joined Whitley Warriors as a player-coach in 1987, but the team lost by two points. He played 45 goals and 127 assists in 49 games, totaling 123 penalty minutes.

Coaching career

Babcock is one of four McGill University players to coach an NHL team (Lester Patrick with the New York Rangers; George Burnett with the Edmonton Oilers; and Guy Boucher with the Ottawa Senators are among the four McGill University players to coach an NHL team. Babcock became the second McGill hockey player to coach a Stanley Cup champion in 2008, the first being Lester Patrick.

Babcock has had a distinguished coaching career, with a lifetime 798–414 record in 18 seasons, including a 373–188–95 record in two seasons (two with Anaheim and six with Detroit). He has also helped Team Canada win gold medals at the 1997 world junior championships in Geneva, the 2004 IIHF world hockey championships in Prague, the 2010 Winter Olympics in Sochi, and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in Toronto. In addition, he led Lethbridge to a CIS national championship in 1994.

(Washington, Ohio, California, and Michigan) for the third time by the nomadic Babcock, a native of Saskatoon, SK, who has lived in six Canadian provinces (Saskatchewan, Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia, and Manitoba), as well as four American states (Washington, Ohio, and Michigan).

Babcock was first appointed head coach at Red Deer College in Alberta in 1988. He spent three years at the university, winning the provincial collegiate championship and receiving coach-of-the-year awards in 1989.

Babcock joined the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1991, where he coached the Moose Jaw Warriors for a two-year contract.

He spent one season as a mentor at the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns, earning Canada West coach-of-the-year awards in 1993–94 after guiding Lethbridge to their first-ever appearance in post-season play and a completely unexpected Canadian university national title with a 34–11-3 record.

He was named head coach of the Spokane Chiefs in 1994, where he set a record of 224–172–29 for a.564 winning percentage in six seasons. He was appointed twice as the West Division coach of the year (1995–19996 and 2000–2000).

Babcock led the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks to a 74–59–20–7 record from 2000–02, including a franchise-high 41 victories and 95 points. Both years, the team qualified for the playoffs.

Babcock was named head coach of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on May 22, 2002, and they remained 69–62–19 regular season record (including 14 overtime losses). He set a 15–6 record in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the Ducks, leading the Mighty Ducks to the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost in seven games to the New Jersey Devils.

Babcock turned down a bid to remain with the Ducks, and the Detroit Red Wings head coach on July 15, 2005, following the 2004–05 NHL lockout. Babcock led the Red Wings to a combined 162–56–28 regular season record and a 28–18 playoff record in his first three seasons. In the Western Conference Finals of the 2007 playoffs, he and the Red Wings were eliminated by his old team, the Anaheim Ducks.

Babcock won his 200th game in Detroit's 5–2 victory over the Florida Panthers on December 15, 2007, clinching his 200th appearance in the NHL since 2007. Babcock was chosen to coach the Western Conference in the All-Star Game as the best team in the NHL. He led the Red Wings to their second Stanley Cup title by defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games on June 4, 2008.

Babcock was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award for the 2007–08 season, given to the coach who most contributes to his team's success, but he ended third, behind Bruce Boudreau of the Washington Capitals and Guy Carbonneau of the Montreal Canadiens.

Babcock signed a three-year deal extension with the Red Wings in June 2008. The Red Wings made the Stanley Cup Final in 2008–09, but they lost in seven games to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Babcock was the first head coach to miss a Stanley Cup Final Game 7 with two different teams after the loss in Game 7.

In the 2011 playoffs, Babcock's Red Wings lost three games to none in the second round, but they won three straight to force a Game 7 in which the Wings lost 3–2. Babcock had an impressive NHL playoff record of 63–39 at this point in his coaching career.

Babcock signed a four-year contract with the Red Wings, which brought him right up to the 2014–15 season.

Babcock won his 414th game as head coach of the Red Wings on April 8, 2014, overtaking Jack Adams as the best coach in the Red Wings history. Babcock was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award for the 2013-2014 season, his second nomination, but he came in second place in voting behind Patrick Roy of the Colorado Avalanche. Babcock won his 500th game as a head coach on December 6, 2014, becoming the second-fastest coach in NHL history; only Hockey Hall of Famer and former Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman reached the 500-win plateau faster.

Babcock's request for and permission to seek jobs elsewhere on May 8, 2015. The Buffalo Sabres were regarded as the most viable candidates for Babcock's services, with the St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks also included, with the St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks. However, it was reported on May 20, 2015, that Babcock would be the Toronto Maple Leafs' new head coach. He reportedly signed an eight-year contract worth $50 million (an average of $6.25 million per season), making him the highest-paid coach in NHL history by more than double the previous record holder's annual income. Todd McLellan of the Edmonton Oilers was the highest-paid coach in the NHL prior to Babcock's signing the deal, making $3 million per season.

Babcock coached his 1,000th NHL game against the New Jersey Devils on February 4, 2016. During Babcock's first year, the Maple Leafs finished last in the entire league, totaling 29–42–11 and 69 points. Despite this, Babcock's instruction and patience with a team that was supposed to do extremely poorly was lauded. This season was the first time Babcock had missed the playoffs since the 2004 playoffs, when he was with the Mighty Ducks.

The Maple Leafs were able to win the draft lottery thanks to their number one pick, Auston Matthews, who was coveted center. Many high-end rookies in Toronto's system, including Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, Nikita Zaitsev and Connor Brown, were among those to miss the 2016–17 season. Babcock closely with these rookies, their youthful energy and talent, as well as goaltender Frederik Andersen's trade, made the team qualify for the playoffs, marking the first time a team goes from last in the league to a playoff appearance. In the first round, Toronto faced the top-seeded Washington Capitals, and although some speculated in the Capitals' favor, the Maple Leafs nonetheless outlasted expectations, taking the Capitals to six games (with five going to overtime, tying a record) before the team was dismissed by the Capitals. Babcock's coaching was lauded throughout the playoffs as it was during the regular season, with several lauding his attempts at player growth whilst maintaining a high level of team achievement. Babcock had been nominated for the Jack Adams Award throughout the season, but the Columbus Blue Jackets' John Tortorella was sadly disqualified.

The Maple Leafs fired Babcock after a six-game losing streak and a host of rumors of a hostile working environment. Despite being projected to be Stanley Cup champions at the time, the team had a record of 9–10–4 and were outside the playoffs. This was the first time he had been fired in Babcock's teaching career.

Babcock will be the coach of the Men's Hockey Team for two seasons beginning in May 2021, according to the University of Saskatchewan on February 20, 2021. On the other hand, he resigned on August 25, 2022. He resigned the next day.

International coaching career

Babcock coached Canada's team at the 1997 World Junior Championships, where the country won its fifth straight gold medal.

Babcock was named head coach of Canada's men's national ice hockey team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, on June 24, 2009. With a regulation win over Norway, a shootout victory over Switzerland, and a loss to the United States, the team advanced to the round robin. They defeated Germany, Russia, and Slovakia in the elimination rounds and then on to the gold medal game, where they defeated the United States 3–2 in single overtime.

With the victory, Babcock became the first coach (and only so far) in the International Ice Hockey Federation's Triple Gold Club. In addition to the Olympic gold, Babcock also won a World Championship title in 2004 and 2008, as well as a Stanley Cup championship coaching the Detroit Red Wings.

The City of Saskatoon has announced that July 17, 2010, will be branded "Mike Babcock Day" in honor of Babcock's admission to the Triple Gold Club.

Babcock was named head coach of Canada's men's national ice hockey team for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi on July 22, 2013. With regulation victories over Norway and Austria, as well as a thrilling win over Finland, the team advanced to the round robin. They defeated Latvia in the quarterfinals and then defeated the United States in the semifinals, where they defeated Sweden 32-0. Babcock became just the second (Viktor Tikhonov commanded the Soviet team in 1984 and 1988) head coach to lead one nation to a gold medal victory in consecutive Olympic appearances.

On September 29, 2016, Babcock guided Canada to victory at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, making him the first and only coach to win the Stanley Cup, coach a team to an Olympic gold medal, a World Championship, and a World Junior Championship.

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