Mike Babcock out to lead Maple Leafs back to glory

MONTREAL -- From the 1940s through the 1960s, through much of the quarter-century of the NHL's Original Six era, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens had one of the greatest rivalries in sports.
Expansion, NHL realignment and dramatically different fortunes of the two teams would change that. Toronto and Montreal, regular postseason dance partners decades ago, have not met in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 1979.

"It's because we've been so (awful)," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said, touching on a rivalry he enjoyed as a boy growing up in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. "Let's be honest, we've been so bad. But we're going in the right direction. I think that rivalry is going to live again."
Babcock was hired with great fanfare in May 2015 as the 30th coach in Maple Leafs history, signing an eight-year, $50 million contract following 10 seasons and a Stanley Cup victory with the Detroit Red Wings in 2008.
Toronto finished 30th in the NHL last season, one point behind the Edmonton Oilers. But a front office rebuilt with seasoned executives, a clear plan, the patience to see it through and plenty of promising youth in the system have the team's famously loyal/frustrated fan base more optimistic than it likely has been in decades.
"We're going the right way," Babcock said. "We're not trying to maintain. That maintain part is what kills you. It's not easy to win in this League. But now, and this is no word of a lie, we're loaded with kids. Real kids. There's five or six who are going to score big-time in the NHL."

Atop the pyramid, of course, is Auston Matthews, the highly touted center who came to the Maple Leafs last weekend as the No. 1 selection in the 2016 NHL Draft and will be in the spotlight this week at the team's development camp.
Toronto would make another 10 picks during the draft, but only Matthews and goaltender Joseph Woll, chosen in the third round (No. 62), were at First Niagara Center in Buffalo to hear their names called.
Matthews basked in the spotlight in the opening minutes of Friday's first round, but Woll was a much less conspicuous choice on Saturday morning. Yet Babcock walked the length of the arena floor and waded up into the stands to introduce himself to the goalie's family, a large group that stood slack-jawed when he suddenly appeared in the midst of their celebration.
"I just think it's so important that you tell the family that you're going to look after their kid," Babcock said. "To me, that's a big deal. If I have my boy there, I want someone of good moral fiber drafting him and looking after him.
"When you put in all the time like they do, let's face it, the family gets drafted, not just the boy. It's an exciting day for those kids. It's a chance. That's all you can ask for in life -- a chance."

Babcock, 53, has seized every opportunity that's come his way. A 1986 graduate of Montreal's McGill University with a degree in physical education, he takes great pride in his role as an educator; his duties behind a hockey bench are just part of his work. His 2012 book "Leave No Doubt: A Credo For Chasing Your Dreams," speaks to making moments happen in life -- scrupulously planning for them and being ready when they're within reach.
The coach of Team Canada in September's World Cup of Hockey tournament is also an enormous fan of the history and traditions of hockey, and of respecting both.
During the second day of the draft, Babcock spotted Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong, general manager of the St. Louis Blues, not wearing a tie for the second consecutive day at his team's table.
"I go to [Armstrong's] table, with all of his scouts there for the draft," Babcock said. "I plunk myself down right next to him and I say, just loud enough for everyone to hear, 'Army, uh, you didn't wear a tie yesterday. The fine is $250. You're not wearing one today, that'll be five (hundred).'"
Babcock might even have been kidding.
His own wardrobe paid a hefty price with his move to Toronto: all of his Detroit-red ties were sent away, replaced by Maple Leafs blue.
"I didn't wear a red tie once this year, not until Gordie Howe's funeral. For that, I went and bought another red tie," he said. "I just had the guy who does all my ties make up a bunch of red for the World Cup."

Something as simple as wearing a tie, or the respect a player shows for himself, his team, his fans and the game, are all fundamentals of his teaching.
"There are some things that are just part of the game. You don't change that stuff," Babcock said. "That's the part for me that is so important."
In Toronto, as he did in Detroit, Babcock brings the game's legends into the midst of his team, welcoming them and enjoying the priceless impression they make on his young players.
"That's why you need good men in your locker room," he said of the alumni. "You need good men to guide them so they have the respect for the game that we've all loved but one that also is feeding our families."
Babcock vividly recalls his first visit to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, for the 2009 induction of Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman. He was reminded of it last week with the election of goaltender Rogatien Vachon.
"Wasn't that great?" he said of Vachon. "When I first started playing hockey, we were always Rogie. In 1972, when I was 9, playing in the street, you were always 'Ro-gie Va-chon!' Once you see the Hall of Fame, you realize it's a club like no other."
Babcock gets goosebumps in the presence of the shrine's honored members. During his decade in Detroit, icons Howe and Ted Lindsay moved comfortably around and within the team, as did their fellow Hall of Fame member Scotty Bowman, the legendary coach Babcock succeeded. Only in his final season, when the coach's quarters were renovated, did Babcock feel he could change anything in the office Bowman had occupied.

"I mean, it was Scotty's office," he said. "If it was good enough for him, why wasn't it good enough for me? That's the way I looked at it. You want to talk about a living legend, he's another one."
Babcock's seventh victory in the months ahead, in the World Cup or the NHL, will be his 1,000th in coaching, from 1988-89 with Red Deer in Alberta collegiate play through Canadian university, world junior and senior championships, two Olympic Games and the regular season in the minor pros and the NHL (not counting playoffs).
If 1,000 wins is a milestone, he'll pay it no attention.
For Babcock, hockey isn't about the final destination as much as it is the journey to get there, and here is a story that he often tells about himself:

He was sitting some years ago with his late father, Michael, at his summer home in Emma Lake, Saskatchewan, casually discussing his catalog of accomplishments.
"I kind of ran through that list with him -- 'Dad, I've done this and that,'" Babcock said. "And my dad said, 'What year did all this stuff happen?' In other words, 'It's in the past, son, get on with it.'"
Which is exactly what Babcock is doing with the Maple Leafs, allowing the team's long-suffering fans to finally have hope.
"Wait till you see," Babcock said brightly, "what happens in Toronto in the next seven years."