I'm process-orientated, and people say that about the details. But I love the players. My No. 1 job is to make them better men. My No. 2 job is to make them better at hockey, and I never confuse that. The best people I've ever been around in my life never let me get away with anything - ever. You can have all the details in the world, but if you can't communicate with people and find a way to help them help themselves, you have no chance in this league. To me, that's what the profession is about: getting guys to believe in themselves and each other.
Mike BabcockThe main thing is to race over to McDonald's to get an egg McMuffin before they shut down for the morning.
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 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