Mike Babcock

Michael Babcock Jr. (born April 29, 1963) is a Canadian former ice hockey player and coach. He spent parts of eighteen seasons as a head coach in the National Hockey League (NHL), beginning when he was named head coach of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, whom he led to the 2003 Stanley Cup Final. In 2005, Babcock signed with the Detroit Red Wings, winning the Stanley Cup with them in 2008, and helping them to the Stanley Cup playoffs every year during his tenure and setting a record for most wins in Red Wings history. In 2015, he left Detroit to coach the Toronto Maple Leafs, a position he held until he was fired in 2019. During his coaching tenure from 1991 to 2019, Babcock's teams missed the post-season only four times.

Babcock also gained extensive experience coaching internationally. As of March 2026, he is the only coach to gain entry to the Triple Gold Club, winning the Stanley Cup, IIHF World Championships, and coaching an Olympic gold medal-winning team. He guided the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup in 2008; he coached Team Canada to gold at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships in 2004; and he coached Canada to gold at both the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Babcock is the only coach to win six distinct national or international titles. He also guided Canada to gold at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, the IIHF World Junior Championships in 1997, and he coached the University of Lethbridge to the CIS University Cup in 1994.

Since the end of his tenure with the Maple Leafs, Babcock has been the subject of public criticism from many former players about his professional conduct, including allegations of verbal abuse and mistreatment.

Babcock was born in Manitouwadge, Ontario, and grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Babcock played for the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1980–81 and spent a season with the Kelowna Wings in 1982–83. In between, he played a year under Dave King at the University of Saskatchewan, and after Kelowna, he transferred to McGill University to play for coach Ken Tyler. In September 1985, Babcock also attended the Vancouver Canucks NHL training camp, and played one exhibition game with the team.

Babcock graduated from McGill in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in physical education and also did post-graduate work in sports psychology. In 146 career games with the Redmen, he tallied 22 goals and 85 assists for a total of 107 points and 301 penalty minutes, graduating as the second-highest-scoring defenceman in McGill history. Over four seasons from 1983–84 to 1986–87, he was a two-time all-star defenceman, served as captain, and won the Bobby Bell trophy as team MVP. While at McGill, Babcock joined the Tau Alpha chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

After his time at McGill, Babcock moved to the United Kingdom in 1987 as a player-coach for the Whitley Warriors. The team missed out on the league title by two points. In 49 games, he contributed 45 goals and 127 assists and accumulated 123 penalty minutes.

Babcock is one of four McGill University players to coach an NHL team, joining Lester Patrick with the New York Rangers, George Burnett with the Edmonton Oilers, and Guy Boucher with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators. In 2008, Babcock became the second McGill hockey player to coach a Stanley Cup winner after Patrick.

Babcock has had a distinguished coaching career, coaching continuously from 1987 to 2019, including from 2002 to 2019 in the NHL. When he was fired by the Maple Leafs in 2019, he had amassed an NHL coaching record of 700-418-164-19, with his 700 wins currently placing him 12th all-time in coaching wins, as of 2023.