FIRE MIKE BABCOCK
The Issue
This petition is an informal written request to Kyle Dubas, Brendan Shanahan, and MLSE to relieve Mike Babcock of his duties as Head Coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, replacing him with current Toronto Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe.
After failing to make the 2nd round of the NHL Playoffs in 3 years, with the elite starpower on the team, the Maple Leafs are off to their worst looking start in the Auston Matthews era. Starting in the 2019-2020 season, what some might call a 5-year window to win the Stanley Cup begins. 21 games into the 19/20 campaign, the team has looked like a border line wild card team, and currently sit outside the playoff picture. So far, this year’s Maple Leafs come nowhere near meeting expectations considering some of the big names we have on the roster. It’s safe to say the Leafs seem to be heading in the wrong direction, and look like a weaker squad than last season. The lackluster performance of the team is largely due to Mike Babcock, his coaching style, questionable decision making, and ultimately the poor utilization of our star players. The 3 major pieces of evidence that support Babcock’s termination (and subsequently Keefe’s promotion) are outlined below.
1. Providing too much ice time to players lower in the lineup, and not enough to our star players.
It’s no secret Mike Babcock has shown only minimal trust in his star players playing larger roles in comparison to how other NHL clubs use their top players. Since the 2016-2017 Season, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, & William Nylander have significantly less Time On Ice/Games Played then the top forwards of the past 3 Stanley Cup champions. In addition, the same Leafs forwards have similar or higher Points/Games Played during this time, despite receiving less ice time on average than those team’s top forwards. E.g. Mathews averages almost a whole 29 seconds less TOI than Jaden Schwartz over a roughly 3.25 season span but scores .28 more points/game.
2016/2017 – 2019/2020 (as of 11/16/19) as per NHL.COM
MAPLE LEAFS
Matthews – 18:14 TOI/GP – 1.00 P/GP
Marner – 17:50 TOI/GP – 0.93 P/GP
Tavares – 18:59 TOI/GP – 1.06 P/GP
Nylander – 16:18 TOI/GP - 0.70 P/GP
PENGUINS (2016/2017 Champs)
Crosby – 20:32 TOI/GP – 1.17 P/GP
Malkin – 18:46 TOI/GP – 1.15 P/GP
Kessel – 18:12 TOI/GP – 0.99 P/GP
Guentzel —17:50 TOI/GP – 0.77 P/GP
CAPITALS (2017/2018 Champs)
Ovechkin – 19:55 TOI/GP – 1.01 P/GP
Backstrom – 19:20 TOI/GP – 0.94 P/GP
Kuznetsov - 18:08 TOI/GP- 0.91 P/GP
Oshie – 18:23 TOI/GP – 0.74 P/GP
BLUES (2018/2019 Champs)
O’Rielly – 20:45 TOI/GP – 0.94 P/GP
Schenn – 19:06 TOI/GP – 0.82 P/GP
Schwartz – 18:43 TOI/GP – 0.72 P/GP
Taransenko - 18:33 TOI/GP- 0.88 P/GP
The comparison of these figures also applies to many other top teams and their top players vs. The Maple Leafs top guys. Overall, these statistics illustrate that the noted Leafs players score a similar amount of points, or more, while playing less. Knowing this, in theory, more ice time would equate to more points, leading to more wins. To top it off, our best players aren’t on the ice in crucial moments, most notably the 2018-2019 Playoffs vs. Boston, where in Game 7 we saw players such as Zack Hyman live out the dying minutes of our season (Hyman is solid but is far from a “go to guy” when we need a goal). Our star players have generally earned their high salaries, and with more ice time, statistics show that they would further more justify their contracts. You don’t buy a Maserati just to do the groceries, you gotta take that thing for a rip.
Knowing what we know, Sheldon Keefe’s approach to utilizing his top players would be far more effective for the Leafs, as would see them play more and subsequently score more. Although the AHL does not release Time On Ice (TOI) statistics, playing their top players in high volumes and crucial moments was a staple for the Toronto Marlies under Sheldon Keefe, when they won the Calder Cup in 2017/2018.
2. Playing the backup goalie on the 2nd night of a back to back, regardless of the opponent.
In 2019/2020 we’ve seen the Leafs lose every 2nd half of a back to back to date. Although Michael Hutchinson was not stellar, it’s extremely stubborn to start the far weaker goalie, against in many cases, what is the better team of the back to back. See below the back to back matchups so far this year:
OCT4 – COLUMBUS 4-1 W – Anderson
OCT5 – MONTREAL 6-5 L – Hutchinson
After Columbus lost their 3 best players to Free Agency, it’s safe to say they’re the weaker team of the 2, and so far this season they are. On the first Saturday & ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ of the season, in a major hockey market, classic Habs vs. Leafs, a huge stage… this easily should have been Anderson’s game.
OCT15 – MINNESOTA 4-2 W – ANDERSON
OCT16 – WASHINGTON 4-3 L – HUTCHINSON
This one speaks for itself. Washington has one of the most high-powered offenses in the NHL and Minnesota hasn’t been good in quite a while.
OCT21 – COLUMBUS 4-3 W – ANDERSON
OCT22 – BOSTON 4-2 L – HUTCHINSON
Another fairly obvious one. Why? Arguably our biggest rivals, surely the better of the 2 teams… Anderson should have got the Bruins game undoubtedly.
OCT25 – SAN JOSE 4-1 W – ANDERSON
OCT26 – MONTREAL 5-2 L – HUTCHINSON
I’ll give this one to Babs. Sharks are the better team. But you know… if the Sharks game was the 2nd one he would have played Hutchinson anyways so sadly it’s really just a coincidence.
NOV9 – PHILADELPHIA 3-2 L – ANDERSON
NOV10 – CHICAGO 5-4 L – HUTCHINSON
After 4 failed attempts at this methodology, why not try to switch it up at this point? Especially with Patrick Kane on the other side. To nobody’s surprise Hutchinson had a poor game, we lost, and he was subsequently put on waivers.
When does this stop? It’s like playing rock, paper, scissors, and repeatedly playing rock even if the other person is knowingly paper…
3. This one is simple. He has not done anything incredibly remarkable as HC. We have not finished higher than 3rd in the division and have not made it past the first round. The teams looking even worse now, what’s to say something will change with Babcock at the helm?
TAKE A STAND. SIGN THIS PETITION. DUBAS MIGHT SEE IT IDK. It’s been 52 years since we last saw (or didn’t see) the cup in Toronto, and I know we all want to witness ATLEAST 1 before, well… you die… We have the right guys to do it! We’ve suffered too much as fans to watch these players not live up to their potential. We SHOULD NOT HAVE TO bear the thought of another rebuild any time soon with nothing to show from this most recent one. Mmmmmmmm whose with me?
Believe it or not, the power is in our hands. GO LEAFS GO!!!
Victory
The Issue
This petition is an informal written request to Kyle Dubas, Brendan Shanahan, and MLSE to relieve Mike Babcock of his duties as Head Coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, replacing him with current Toronto Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe.
After failing to make the 2nd round of the NHL Playoffs in 3 years, with the elite starpower on the team, the Maple Leafs are off to their worst looking start in the Auston Matthews era. Starting in the 2019-2020 season, what some might call a 5-year window to win the Stanley Cup begins. 21 games into the 19/20 campaign, the team has looked like a border line wild card team, and currently sit outside the playoff picture. So far, this year’s Maple Leafs come nowhere near meeting expectations considering some of the big names we have on the roster. It’s safe to say the Leafs seem to be heading in the wrong direction, and look like a weaker squad than last season. The lackluster performance of the team is largely due to Mike Babcock, his coaching style, questionable decision making, and ultimately the poor utilization of our star players. The 3 major pieces of evidence that support Babcock’s termination (and subsequently Keefe’s promotion) are outlined below.
1. Providing too much ice time to players lower in the lineup, and not enough to our star players.
It’s no secret Mike Babcock has shown only minimal trust in his star players playing larger roles in comparison to how other NHL clubs use their top players. Since the 2016-2017 Season, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, & William Nylander have significantly less Time On Ice/Games Played then the top forwards of the past 3 Stanley Cup champions. In addition, the same Leafs forwards have similar or higher Points/Games Played during this time, despite receiving less ice time on average than those team’s top forwards. E.g. Mathews averages almost a whole 29 seconds less TOI than Jaden Schwartz over a roughly 3.25 season span but scores .28 more points/game.
2016/2017 – 2019/2020 (as of 11/16/19) as per NHL.COM
MAPLE LEAFS
Matthews – 18:14 TOI/GP – 1.00 P/GP
Marner – 17:50 TOI/GP – 0.93 P/GP
Tavares – 18:59 TOI/GP – 1.06 P/GP
Nylander – 16:18 TOI/GP - 0.70 P/GP
PENGUINS (2016/2017 Champs)
Crosby – 20:32 TOI/GP – 1.17 P/GP
Malkin – 18:46 TOI/GP – 1.15 P/GP
Kessel – 18:12 TOI/GP – 0.99 P/GP
Guentzel —17:50 TOI/GP – 0.77 P/GP
CAPITALS (2017/2018 Champs)
Ovechkin – 19:55 TOI/GP – 1.01 P/GP
Backstrom – 19:20 TOI/GP – 0.94 P/GP
Kuznetsov - 18:08 TOI/GP- 0.91 P/GP
Oshie – 18:23 TOI/GP – 0.74 P/GP
BLUES (2018/2019 Champs)
O’Rielly – 20:45 TOI/GP – 0.94 P/GP
Schenn – 19:06 TOI/GP – 0.82 P/GP
Schwartz – 18:43 TOI/GP – 0.72 P/GP
Taransenko - 18:33 TOI/GP- 0.88 P/GP
The comparison of these figures also applies to many other top teams and their top players vs. The Maple Leafs top guys. Overall, these statistics illustrate that the noted Leafs players score a similar amount of points, or more, while playing less. Knowing this, in theory, more ice time would equate to more points, leading to more wins. To top it off, our best players aren’t on the ice in crucial moments, most notably the 2018-2019 Playoffs vs. Boston, where in Game 7 we saw players such as Zack Hyman live out the dying minutes of our season (Hyman is solid but is far from a “go to guy” when we need a goal). Our star players have generally earned their high salaries, and with more ice time, statistics show that they would further more justify their contracts. You don’t buy a Maserati just to do the groceries, you gotta take that thing for a rip.
Knowing what we know, Sheldon Keefe’s approach to utilizing his top players would be far more effective for the Leafs, as would see them play more and subsequently score more. Although the AHL does not release Time On Ice (TOI) statistics, playing their top players in high volumes and crucial moments was a staple for the Toronto Marlies under Sheldon Keefe, when they won the Calder Cup in 2017/2018.
2. Playing the backup goalie on the 2nd night of a back to back, regardless of the opponent.
In 2019/2020 we’ve seen the Leafs lose every 2nd half of a back to back to date. Although Michael Hutchinson was not stellar, it’s extremely stubborn to start the far weaker goalie, against in many cases, what is the better team of the back to back. See below the back to back matchups so far this year:
OCT4 – COLUMBUS 4-1 W – Anderson
OCT5 – MONTREAL 6-5 L – Hutchinson
After Columbus lost their 3 best players to Free Agency, it’s safe to say they’re the weaker team of the 2, and so far this season they are. On the first Saturday & ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ of the season, in a major hockey market, classic Habs vs. Leafs, a huge stage… this easily should have been Anderson’s game.
OCT15 – MINNESOTA 4-2 W – ANDERSON
OCT16 – WASHINGTON 4-3 L – HUTCHINSON
This one speaks for itself. Washington has one of the most high-powered offenses in the NHL and Minnesota hasn’t been good in quite a while.
OCT21 – COLUMBUS 4-3 W – ANDERSON
OCT22 – BOSTON 4-2 L – HUTCHINSON
Another fairly obvious one. Why? Arguably our biggest rivals, surely the better of the 2 teams… Anderson should have got the Bruins game undoubtedly.
OCT25 – SAN JOSE 4-1 W – ANDERSON
OCT26 – MONTREAL 5-2 L – HUTCHINSON
I’ll give this one to Babs. Sharks are the better team. But you know… if the Sharks game was the 2nd one he would have played Hutchinson anyways so sadly it’s really just a coincidence.
NOV9 – PHILADELPHIA 3-2 L – ANDERSON
NOV10 – CHICAGO 5-4 L – HUTCHINSON
After 4 failed attempts at this methodology, why not try to switch it up at this point? Especially with Patrick Kane on the other side. To nobody’s surprise Hutchinson had a poor game, we lost, and he was subsequently put on waivers.
When does this stop? It’s like playing rock, paper, scissors, and repeatedly playing rock even if the other person is knowingly paper…
3. This one is simple. He has not done anything incredibly remarkable as HC. We have not finished higher than 3rd in the division and have not made it past the first round. The teams looking even worse now, what’s to say something will change with Babcock at the helm?
TAKE A STAND. SIGN THIS PETITION. DUBAS MIGHT SEE IT IDK. It’s been 52 years since we last saw (or didn’t see) the cup in Toronto, and I know we all want to witness ATLEAST 1 before, well… you die… We have the right guys to do it! We’ve suffered too much as fans to watch these players not live up to their potential. We SHOULD NOT HAVE TO bear the thought of another rebuild any time soon with nothing to show from this most recent one. Mmmmmmmm whose with me?
Believe it or not, the power is in our hands. GO LEAFS GO!!!
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on November 15, 2019