‘It’s time to move on:’ Babcock says he’s retiring from coaching

Mike Babcock is hanging up his whistle for good.

Maybe.

During a chat with Gormley guest host Brent Loucks on Friday, Babcock said he was retiring from coaching hockey. When Loucks asked the former University of Saskatchewan Huskies head coach if he would listen if an NHL team called, Babcock left the door open a crack.

“We always said we were going to retire at 60 and I’m 59, so basically that’s what it is,” he said. “Now, if things change, I guess they change, but surely that’s not our plan.

“Believe me, we’ve talked to lots of people about opportunities and enjoyed those conversations. In the end, we feel this is best for us and best for our family and so that’s what we’re doing.”

Babcock joined the Huskies men’s hockey team prior to the 2021-22 Canada West season and said he would guide the team on a volunteer basis for two seasons.

Saskatchewan went 13-7-0 in the regular season and then lost 2-1 to the Calgary Dinos in a best-of-three quarterfinal.

That turned out to be Babcock’s only season at the Huskies’ helm. On Thursday, the university announced Babcock had relinquished the coaching reins to Brandin Cote, who was the team’s associate coach last season.

Babcock said Friday he took the U of S job in part so that his son, Mike, could serve on his staff while also taking his MBA. The elder Babcock also wanted to get a handle on how Cote coached in case a line of succession was required.

“My plan all along was to be there for a year, to work with (Cote) and Mike and then when (Cote) was ready, it was going to be his opportunity,” Babcock explained.

Cote played for Babcock with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs before embarking on a pro career. Cote also coached in the junior and college ranks before working under Babcock last season with the Huskies.

“After being with him for a year and a half, (it was) pretty evident to me that he’s ready for the job,” Babcock said, “so I’m going to get out of the way and those guys are going to take over.”

Babcock worked in the junior and Canada West ranks before spending 16-plus seasons as a coach in the NHL with the Anaheim Ducks, Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs. He won the Stanley Cup with Detroit in 2008.

He was fired 23 games into the 2019-20 season while in his fifth campaign with the Maple Leafs. On Friday, he termed his dismissal in Toronto as getting “kicked off the treadmill.”

Babcock called returning to Saskatoon “a spectacular experience,” as it allowed him and his wife to be closer to family members.

In retirement, he plans to waterski on a lake in Michigan, hunt on farms he owns in Ohio, and ski in Vail and Palm Springs.

“For us, it’s time to move on,” Babcock said. “We really feel these guys are ready.

“I enjoyed the guys, the players at the U of S. Obviously the facility that Merlis (Belsher) built is second to none — as good as there is in Canada. (It’s) probably better than six teams in the National Hockey League underneath, with the physio, with the weightlifting equipment, with the classrooms, with the kitchen (and) with all the stuff you have there for players.

“It’s a fantastic situation and I think these guys are going to do a great job of continuing to grow the program.”