When the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Mike Babcock to a long term lucrative deal, Leafs fans knew good times were ahead. His first two seasons with the team were highly successful in their own way. In his first season, Babcock altered the Leafs’ terrible possession ratings while giving his young promising players, like Nazem Kadri and Morgan Rielly, big roles to prepare them for the future. In his second season, he lead a young talented group to a playoff appearance using strict player deployment, which was tailored to his players’ strengths and weaknesses.
This season the expectation was different.