Maple Leafs Must Wait to Reap Rewards of Winning the Mike Babcock Sweepstakes

Congratulations to Mike Babcock for getting an eight-year, $50 million contract from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. That’s David Clarkson money.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported the news:

The deal comes after two weeks of pitches from teams that included the aspirational Buffalo Sabres and the scorned Detroit Red Wings. Like an unfaithful man furiously deleting his browser history before his wife borrows his laptop, the St. Louis Blues claim to never have asked to speak to Babcock, according to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun.

This is a coup of the highest order for Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan, who sold Babcock on the merits of a rebuild that is only just beginning. Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, hinted at his thoughts on the impact of the hire just before the official announcement, saying (via the Toronto Sun’s Steve Simmons), “Shanny’s pretty good. I told you that.”

Sure, eight years and $50 million could sell a lobster on taking a job at a seafood restaurant, but Shanahan’s work since becoming team president last April laid the groundwork for landing arguably the game’s best coach.

There’s the analytics-driven management team Shanahan installed, a sign the Leafs are one of the league’s more forward-thinking organizations after years of a knuckle-dragging mentality.

There’s the willingness to use Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment’s bottomless vat of money to improve the team at any cost, as evidenced by the team discarding that awful Clarkson contract to take on the hefty deal of Nathan Horton, who will likely be placed on long-term injured reserve in perpetuity.

The foundation of the Leafs’ future has yet to be poured. Shanahan is still standing over the current one with a jackhammer, trying to figure a way to pry loose any remaining players in an effort to create a clean slate.

Whatever Shanahan wants to do in this regard, whether it’s discarding Dion Phaneuf, Phil Kessel, both or none, Babcock is clearly a believer in the nuts and bolts of the plan.

After years of fumbling in the dark, it’s as if the Leafs finally realized they have enough money to buy everyone the best flashlight on the market.

There is reason to rejoice in Toronto this offseason, which seems to always be the best time to rejoice about sports in Toronto.

Dave Sandford/Getty Images

There is, however, reason to temper the enthusiasm—at least in the short term.

When the fog clears on your hangover tomorrow and you’re tempted to raise expectations right away, just remember there’s a reason why Babcock took an eight-year deal with a possible out clause after five years.

The Leafs, as comprised right now, are the worst team in the league. No one has more work to do in order to become a Stanley Cup champion, and that includes anyone that finished behind them in the standings this season.

On Tuesday, Edmonton announced the hire of a quality coach in Todd McLellan, who will get to coach Connor McDavid next season.

There’s also all those other No. 1 and first-round picks over the past few years. Yes, the Oilers are the NHL’s version of a siren’s song every summer, sending fans and analysts sure of a turnaround crashing into the rocks once the season begins, but the song is far too beautiful to be ignored this time.

That last paragraph was written while wearing a life preserver inside a lifeboat.

The Sabres have the NHL's top-rated group of prospects, according to Hockey’s Future, and they will almost surely add Jack Eichel at this year’s draft.

The Arizona Coyotes are a mess, but their prospects are ranked 13th and include Max Domi, Anthony Duclair, Brandon Gormley and Henrik Samuelsson.

The Leafs’ prospects are ranked 19th, although they will add whoever they take with the fourth pick in the draft—perhaps Dylan Strome—to bolster that crop headed by last year's top pick, William Nylander.

Drafting top prospect Auston Matthews with the first pick in 2016 is not out of the question if they spend the offseason stripping down the roster, which may be their ultimate goal in 2015-16.

And that’s fine. If you ever wanted evidence as to how much patience the Leafs are willing to show with a rebuild, eight years for Babcock speaks volumes about the team’s intentions and how much the coach has bought into the idea.

There’s a scene in an episode of The Simpsons in which James Caan says, “Some guys like a challenge. Not me.”

Babcock got his payday, something he earnestly wanted to help raise the bar for the coaching fraternity. But what he may have wanted more was a challenge after a decade’s worth of success with the Red Wings, a team that had the whole "perennial contender" thing figured out long before he arrived.

Some guys like a challenge. Babcock is one of them, and he’s undertaken the biggest one available in the NHL.