You know what happens to guys? There's what I call the individual time of their career, and the team time of their career. This is the team time. You don't care about all the other stuff. You just want to live in one place, and watch your kids grow up and go to the same school. You say, 'Hey, maybe I'd better play well and be a good enough guy that they keep me.'
Mike BabcockThe main thing is to race over to McDonald's to get an egg McMuffin before they shut down for the morning.
Mike BabcockThere is something about Game 7 that there's a memory there for you for sure. You want to be a coach or a manager or a player or a goaltender that gets it done, because to me, that's all part of sports. That's what you dream about when you're a little kid - scoring the winning goal.
Mike BabcockWhen you sit with people you love, if you say something stupid, they call you on it - because they're honest with you and they're making you better. That's what we're as couches going to have here with our players. We're going to have an honest respect for one another, to make everyone maximize the potential they have. I expect the players to listen to me, and I'm going to listen to them. We've got to make each other better, and it's the way to create safety, because the players know you've got their backs. When you tell a player what you want, he will try to please you.
Mike BabcockKeep attacking. The whole key is look after the puck and keep attacking. I don't think you adjust your personnel. You adjust your mindset.
Mike BabcockI think being honest with one another creates an environment that's comfortable. You want to know where you stand, whether you're doing a good job. The players know what's going on before you do. They're trying to see if you're going to do something about it. And when it's not like that, everybody is pissed off, because they know that people can get away with stuff and that nobody is keeping them in line. That's not a team to me.
Mike Babcock