What an absolute whirlwind of events taking place in Leafs Nation. Not one dull moment in the first two months of this season; just chaos. Between the rocky start, injuries, horrendous schedule, backup goalies struggling and Babcock getting canned. The Leafs sure have made things interesting, they’ve also made things hard on themselves going forward as they are sitting outside a playoff spot at this moment.

Am I worried?

Not anymore. Thankfully Brendan Shanahan and Kyle Dubas finally gave Babcock the golden axe. At first I was a bit shocked considering the Leafs inked Babs for eight years at a whopping eight million per. Ludacris really, but hey, it’s not my money and if the organization wants to dump millions to make the team better I’m all for it. You have to admit it’s nice knowing the Leafs will always use their financial power to spend as much as is needed to achieve the ultimate goal. Which of course is winning the Stanley Cup.

The Marner story about the rankings system as a rookie is just baffling. What on earth was Babcock thinking? You’d think when you fork over eight million to a coach who you and many others consider to be one of the best coaches in the world if not the best coach in the world and this is what kind of madness takes place? No wonder Marner’s old man was looking out for his son and it wasn’t as easy as we all thought it would be for Mitch to want to sign back in Toronto with a friendly contract. Babcock completely messed with him and I can only imagine this was just an example of the type of incidents that would happen under Babcock as the coach.

I’ve got to say I was a bit irritated that we barely heard anything from Shanahan through the first 20+ games of the season. I’m glad it was him that stepped up to the plate and sent his friend Mike Babcock packing. It’s a bit concerning to me that it took Shanahan this long to be active. Obviously he had to know this Marner thing happened and who knows what else? I get the long term relationship with Shanahan and Babcock but I feel this was a big red flag and Shanahan should have stepped in and gave Babcock a slap on the wrist (or the face) for that stupid move putting Mitch through that.

The kid was a rookie and entered the NHL early; not to mention he looked like he was seventeen. I can’t imagine any positives that would have come out from Babcock sharing the list with other teammates. I really can’t wrap my head around it. This is your fourth overall pick and a huge part of your future. How could you possibly do this to them? Was Babcock pissed that the Leafs picked Marner over Hanifin? I don’t know, all I know is his decision here was just insanely stupid for someone being paid eight million a year.

As this saga continues I have lost a lot of respect for Mike Babcock. I used to think Mike Commodore needed help as he was obsessed with talking poorly about Babcock at any chance he could get. Commodore shred Babcock when he got fired from the organization and I thought “wow, get a grip”. But really, it looks like Commodore isn’t the only one who dislikes Babs and there are other stories to be shared. Will they come out of the woodwork I don’t know, but they are certainly there.

The word on the street is that Matt Martin actually got in Babcock's face about the Mitch Marner scenario and wouldn't let it go. Ultimately Martin became expendable and was shown the door. Leo Komarov actually had to break up the argument with Babcock and Martin because it go so heated.

Leafs will head to the Detroit tonight to see if they can’t continue their winning ways under Head Coach Sheldon Keefe. They will have tomorrow night off and then play Buffalo both Friday and Saturday. Hutchinson has been stellar in the AHL since being shoveled down. It seems that the players who struggled most under Babcock are starting to excel under Keefe. Prime example is Tyson Barrie. He’s looked confident and is being put in a position to succeed, go figure.

It's nice to see the boys having fun out there. Let’s continue the fun tonight with a mighty beating of the Red Wings and squeeze that squid dry of its ink. No free crazy bread at the game tonight Wings fans!

Go Leafs Go!

Thanks for reading, enjoy the game.

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