Two former NHLers slam Mike Babcock over treatment of his players.

The era of Mike Babcock behind the bench of the Toronto Maple Leafs is over, boy is it ever over, but the troubles for the veteran head coach may only be just beginning.

You will almost never hear a current player speaking ill of any coach in the National Hockey League and in fact it is even very rare to hear former players talk badly about the men that they played under. Unfortunately for Mike Babcock it seems at least two former veterans of the National Hockey League have no such qualms about speaking ill of him, and now that he has been fired they have taken the gloves off and are unloading on the now disgraced former coach of the Maple Leafs. 

The first man to pile on Babcock was former Detroit Red Wings veteran Mike Commodore. Now for those of you familiar with Commodore's social media presence it will come as no surprise that he spewed hatred at Babcock following his firing, Commodore has in fact gone after Babcock with plenty of vitriol in the past. What makes this particular situation very different though is the fact that there appears to be at least one truly great player that has also publicly expressed his disdain for the former head coach of the Leafs. First here's a look at some of the comments Mike Commodore made following the termination of Babcock.

"Hey Mike Babcock....you are a total failure in Toronto....let that sink in you arrogant prick."

"Hey Mike Babcock....your daily National TV time is over. Finished. You are a fraud. Nobody gives a shit what you have to say anymore. Let that sink In you arrogant prick."

"Hey Mike Babcock....simply put your players quit on you. They quit on you because you are a terrible human being. You are an average coach with an extremely oversized ego. You finally got exactly what you deserve you selfish prick. The hockey world is ecstatic."

Now you could simply blow this off as the angry words of one disgruntled player, and in fact that has been the most common reaction to the comments made by Commodore following the termination of Babcock. However seeing that Commodore was coming under fire for his comments about the former head coach, former NHL defenseman Mark Fraser has now come to the defense of Commodore and expressed his feelings about the situation. Fraser is much more reserved but there is no mistaking the fact that he is fully supporting what Commodore has been saying all along.

"Anyone who thinks [Commodore] needs to lay off Babs just doesn’t understand how much hate players have for him. It’s beyond him scratching [Commodore] or saying he was out of shape. NHL players are a very very small population of athletes and people. We share stories throughout the years with each other and for those outside the locker rooms, you will never truly understand some of the terrible undeserving things Babs has done to his some of his players. You don’t have to like all your coaches, but he is one who 95% of his players can’t say a good thing about. With the ability to end players careers, he’s chosen to do so to long serving vets that have resulted in all his players turning against him. He’s used his power to turn teammates against each other, and choose to continuously lie to his players. [Commodore] may have strong public opinions of Babs, but in our fraternity of NHL and former NHL players, he’s speaking for the masses. He’s speaking for countless players who have personally told me their terrible stories of Babs just being a bad guy. He’s speaking for all the #MapleLeafs who wouldn’t dare speak the truth right now, but damn sure want to. [Commodore] has so many players respect. If only the outsiders in the hockey world knew the truth."

Now again you could simply blow this off as just two disgruntled players deciding to kick a man while he's down, that is except for the fact that a former great of the National Hockey League has also expressed his distaste for Babcock in the past. During an interview last March National Hockey League legend Chris Chelios gave an interview about the firing of former Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville and during that interview he threw Babcock right under the bus without ever being prompted to do so. You don't need to take my word for it though the clip is still readily available online and you can check it out right here:

It certainly sounds like Mike Babcock has made a lot of enemies during his time as a head coach. Could his own players turning on him have been the source of his problems in Toronto? Well following the firing Toronto Maple Leafs insider James Mirtle stated that a source had informed him that roughly 90 percent of the Maple Leafs roster was relieved to see Babcock fired. 

None of us really know what went on in that locker room, but there is certainly a very negative picture of Mike Babcock being painted by many of his former players.