09-19-2023, 09:52 AM
(09-19-2023, 09:36 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I was following that story on the morning news, about the "controversy" of him getting to know the team better through sharing their private selves via phone galleries. Seems like an outside force tried to make it seem like a coerced action. Can't really blame the guy for throwing up his hands and deciding that he simply wasn't going to deal with a "gotcha" type of mentality in local media, before he even got started on an actual coaching.
Babcock is an old-school guy, and his management style and player interactions have been thoroughly documented, and it aint good. So, I think when he got this CBJ gig he did a self inventory and maybe listened to some of his detractors and realized that he had to take a new approach, maybe be more of a touchy-feely player's coach. And, that was what he was trying to do with the phone nonsense, and what he was called out for in the podcast. Personally, I believe it was an over-reaction by the NHLPA, especially since players directly involved say they had no issue with it.
For a franchise in desperate need of some success, it's a missed opportunity, and we'll never know what he might have accomplished there.
