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One of the main criticisms of Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock after the club’s first round loss to the Boston Bruins was his stubbornness and inflexibility when it came to player usage during his tenure in Toronto.
Babcock throughout the year relied too heavily on veterans like Ron Hainsey and Patrick Marleau, likely because he believed veteran players make less mistakes, but in spite of evidence to the contrary and giving younger talent more opportunity, the Leafs head coach became a prisoner of his own limitations.
The most glaring example of this was the failure to give center Auston Matthews a heavier workload with Nazem Kadri suspended, and especially in Game 7 when the Leafs were trailing. Matthews was third in ice time behind John Tavares and Mitch Marner (18:48), but with Toronto down in the third period, the Leafs leading scorer saw just over six minutes of ice time.
The hesitancy of GM Kyle Dubas in confirming Babcock’s return after the season was thought to be an attempt to get the veteran head coach to change some of the strategies that simply have not worked in his four years with the Leafs, but based on the comments made to Matt Larkin of the Hockey News, it does not sound like the Leafs head coach has changed his philosophy at all.
“There’s no question, I think (Auston) and John, to be as good as they’re capable of being, should be right around the 19 minute mark.… Babcock said. “some nights they’re going to be 18, some nights they’re going to be 20, but I think that’s where (Auston’s) the best, for sure. He’s an important part, I think he’s earned the right over time as he’s gotten better and better to earn more and more. A big part of the game is you earning what you get. Your teammates respect that, and Auston’s done a real good job in that area.…
In terms of time management during the regular season, there is no doubt that managing ice time of the Leafs top two centers is paramount, especially with a capable young third line center in Alex Kerfoot being able to handle a significant workload and veteran Jason Spezza being able to provide more quality minutes than Frederik Gauthier, but the concern comes back to whether Babcock will rely more on his difference makers when it is called for or will fall back on old habits.
The apparent solution for Dubas this summer was to not bring back some of his head coach’s favorites, not re-signing Hainsey and trading Nikita Zaitsev and Marleau, in the hopes that Babcock would start to trust some of the club’s younger players. We will have to wait until the regular season to discover whether it will be the same old story or if an old dog can learn new tricks.
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