Leafs officially unveil Babcock as new head coach

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have officially introduced their new head coach: Mike Babcock.

He’s now the highest-paid hockey coach in NHL history. It’s an eight year, $50 million contract, meaning he will earn twice as much as any other coach in the National Hockey League.

The hockey world was completely stunned yesterday when the Leafs announced that they lured the sought-after coach away from Detroit. Buffalo fans were also totally blindsided: many thought Babcock would either choose to coach the Sabres or stay with the Red Wings where he has been for the past decade.

Babcock says his family played a major role in his final decision and that Toronto was the best fit. The all-star coach, the Leafs’ new saviour, says he is here to be involved in a cup process. He wants to build a team on and off the ice that fans will be proud of.

After officially being introduced by president Brendan Shanahan, Mike Babcock spoke about why he chose Toronto. “This was a very hard decision. We went through the process to talk to a lot of teams; in the end we made this decision to come to Toronto.”

“I’ve had a lot of opportunities to coach Canada’s teams and I’ve enjoyed that immensely. Whether you believe it or not, I think this is Canada’s team and we need to put Canada’s team back on the map.”

Babcock is the only coach to win two top international titles along with the Stanley Cup. He has led the Red Wings to playoffs in all 10 seasons as their coach, and today the 52 year old says he has a burning desire to win.