Coaching matters in the NHL just not as much as in other sports.
At its core hockey is very simplistic with its game planning. However, the sport lends itself to many random chaotic events that play out on the ice. These are things a coach has no control over. Hockey is like freehand drawing while a sport like basketball is more paint by numbers. You can’t draw up set plays in hockey like you can in basketball and expect the same kind of success rate. Hockey is too random and fluid. Because of this it minimizes a hockey coach’s impact on the game.
For this reason the gap between the best coach in the sport (IE: Babcock) and the next guy isn’t a giant chasm. No NHL coach has a magical X’s and O’s system that puts their team at a huge advantage. There are only so many forechecks and defensive zone coverages in the sport and every NHL coach knows what they are and what the counter is. Sure ego and stubbornness can play a role when adjustments aren’t made, but failure isn’t due to crazy unique strategy the other team has.
Player usage is one of the variables that a coach has the most control over and it can certainly help a team win games over a large sample. Some coaches definitely do this better than others. However, even the top end guys make decisions that make you scratch your head in this department. Player usage, despite being coach driven, still isn’t the main component of a coach’s win and loss record.
The driving force for success in the NHL is player personnel and health. The best coaches in hockey are not immune to negative results if either or both of those things turn south. Look no further than Mike Babcock himself. His playoff record is 24-30 since the Red Wings last trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2009. Detroit hasn’t even returned to the Conference Finals.
Since then his Red Wing teams have also been among the most injured in hockey and also lost two high impact defensemen in Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski due to retirement.
Mike Babcock didn’t change as a coach, not in the least bit. The variables at his disposal changed. If you don’t have the players you don’t have success no matter how good you are as a coach.
So why bother giving a mega offer to a coach like Mike Babcock if there isn’t a huge gap in coaching ability between him and other quality candidates?
Perception.
With Mike Babcock you are getting the perceived best man in the business. His track record says that he has two Gold Medals, one Stanley Cup, and three Stanley Cup Final appearances. In fact he is the only coach in history that is in the triple gold club (Stanley Cup, Olympic Gold, and World Hockey Championship Gold). In other words he’s “been there before.”
Babcock is one of few coaches that isn't going to get fired and the players know that. Usually players have leverage, but that isn’t the case with a mega star coach of Babcock’s ilk. Current and future players know that a coach only gains that status by earning the respect of his previous players. That is an attractive quality for a coach to have and it draws people in.
The fact that people believe he makes more of a difference to the on-ice product than anybody else is all that matters.
“If Babcock is there they must be on the right path, why would he take that job if they weren’t? I want to be part of a good thing. His track record speaks for itself.”
You can definitely see players using that line of reasoning.
Babcock’s impact on perception will assist in attracting/keeping UFA’s. This impact will be larger than the one he has on game day behind the bench. Once again, player personnel is the main catalyst for team success in the NHL. If you can hire a coach that can help acquire better talent then that is a great hire. It can be the difference between needing to overpay to acquire players or paying less. Every bit counts in a hard cap league.
*Polite reminder that Steven Stamkos is a UFA after next season*
Toronto's hire of Mike Babcock just accelerated their rebuild for reasons that are real or imagined, but it doesn’t matter because the end result is the same.
The Maple Leafs gained credibility while Brendan Shanahan and Kyle Dubas' job just got easier because of it.
What a difference a year makes in Toronto.
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