Former Leaf defenceman Frankie Corrado Shares The Abuse He Received
Former NHL head coach Mike Babcock was successful at every level of hockey, leading his teams to winning the Stanley Cup, Olympic gold, gold at the IIHF World Junior Championships and other accolades along the way. The way Babcock treated his players caught the media's attention and is what eventually got him exiled from the league.
Former Leaf defenceman Frankie Corrado recently sat down with the Athletic to do an interview, describing Babcock as cruel to work under.
In October 2015, Corrado was claimed by Toronto after being placed on waivers by Vancouver. Corrado was excited about the opportunity to work under Babcock.
«I have no idea who you are,» Corrado remembers Babcock telling him when they first met. He told Corrado to meet him at his office at the Leafs training facility the next day at 8 a.m. Corrado arrived early and knocked on Babcock's door, but the coach told him he didn't have time to see him. Corrado waited for an hour and a half, but Babcock never made time for him.
Corrado saw little ice time with the Leafs over the next few weeks, spending most games as a healthy scratch. But during practices, Babcock would quietly instruct him to go first in drills, so he'd have to push past star players in line. Corrado felt Babcock was attempting to «sewer» him with his teammates.
Corrado said he later experienced panic attacks and threw up regularly before games because of anxiety, which he never experienced before playing for Babcock.
This is another example of many out there of Babcock's poor treatment of his players.
Former Redwings forward Johan Franzen accused Babcock of verbally assaulting him on multiple occasions. This is something that NHL legend Chris Chelios confirmed on a Spittin' Chiclets podcast year's later.
«It got to the point for Johan � no one really knew he was suffering with the concussion and depression � he just broke down and had a nervous breakdown. Not only on the bench, but after the game, into the rooms in Nashville. That was probably the worst thing that I've ever seen.»»
While Babcock may have been a successful coach during his time. It was ultimately his character and personality that are the reasons that he will never be behind an NHL bench again.
| POLL | ||
Do you think Mike Babcock will coach in the NHL again? | ||
| No chance after the last incident | 150 | 83.8 % |
| Yes, they always recycle the dinosaur coaches | 29 | 16.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
