With all of the former players who have recently spoken out about what a jerk Mike Babcock was when they played for him, it’s pretty safe to say the Detroit Red Wings former coach will be getting coal in his stocking this year!
The most recent player to call out Babcock is Red Wings fan favorite, Darren McCarty, who spoke to the Detroit Free Press, saying Babcock cost the Red Wings the 2009 Stanley Cup.
From Detroit Free Press:
McCarty played for coaches Scotty Bowman and Dave Lewis from 1993 to 2004. He returned for the 2008-09 and ’08-’09 seasons, when Babcock was the coach. The Wings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Cup finals in ’08 and lost to the Pens in the finals the next season.
“And our (dressing) room worked in different ways and when I came back you could tell that things were different,” McCarty told the Free Press, “but the thing that didn’t change was that guys played for each other.
“That’s the key. In spite of him, right? In spite of him. And I learned that more getting into ’09 because we won in ’08 in spite of him and lost in ’09 because of him. That’s exactly the thing because he misused (Pavel) Datsyuk, (Henrik) Zetterberg and just because he’s stubborn and that was his way.”
“Preparation, X’s and O’s, practice, just like the guys say, there’s nobody better,” McCarty said. “It’s unbelievable. But then the ego and the disrespect for people. And it’s not just the Johan Franzens and the Chris Chelioses. It doesn’t matter who you are. It’s a personal thing. So it could be the one who changes the garbage and he doesn’t change it properly or whatever. … So all that stuff that happened with Mule, it doesn’t surprise me because I could see how he was as a person.”
“I could see what had started when I left (after 2004) and it just gradually grew,” McCarty said. “That’s all it is. And it festered and it festered and it got out of control and the disrespect got out of control and now you’re in 2019 with everybody else saying things. I can see how it got here because it was never handled. And that’s the sport.”
“We’re seriously having a ‘Me Too’ conversation in hockey, and that’s different,” McCarty said. “But it’s about the respect, and bottom line is be kind and don’t be a (jerk). And (Babcock) can’t do either one as a person.”
