By now, many have formed strong opinions of veteran coach Mike Babcock. I'm certain that a large percentage of the population has vilified the 56-year-old for numerous reasons, from the benching of Mike Modano at 1499 games, to the railroading of Mike Commodore's career, to the penchant for benching players he did not personally like and, most recently, to "the list" incident involving, then rookie, Mitch Marner.
One of Babcock's veteran players has recounted his dealings with the now unemployed former head coach and it's not another attacker, rather, a bit of a bystander.
During their time in Detroit, Henrik Zetterberg had what he has described as a very "open relationship" with former head coach Mike Babcock. With all of the negative press coming out surrounding the former Ducks, Red Wings and Maple Leafs bench boss, Swedish news outlet, hockeynews.se caught up with Zetterberg to get his outlook on the whole situation.
"Me and Mike have always had a very honest and open relationship where we have said what we think to each other and I think it has always been sorted out, but I'm not surprised that things came out about him or about other coaches either" said Zetterberg. "I think there's a lot of players who have their stories of what's happened. Think of the older players who came over early, like Mats Naslund and Inge Hammarstrom, Europeans did not have it easy" he continued.
Zetterberg has been keeping tabs on what is happening with coaches in the NHL and the fact that certain indiscretions are coming to light now is something that he appreciates.
"I think it's good that it comes out because players don't need to be coached in such a way. You can still be demanding of players and get them to do what you want without them being intimidated and bullied in many cases," said the native of Njurunda, Sweden.
Recently, Johan Franzen came forward, airing his distaste for Babs, going so far as to refer to him as the worst person he's ever met. It was reported that Franzen suffered a mental breakdown due a verbal assault from Babcock. Zetterberg, however, could offer no insight, as he did not personally observe the tongue-lashing himself.
"I didn't notice it during the game in Nashville, but Johan and I have spent a lot of time together and it's clear that you knew Babcock wasn't his favourite coach," Zetterberg told HockeyNews.se.
Zetterberg had served under Babcock for ten seasons, but he really seemed to embrace the idea of younger coaches entering the game once he had a chance to work with Babcock's successor, Jeff Blashill.
"I had Mike for 10 years and of course it became a different leadership style with Jeff Blashill, a completely different mentality and personality so it was very different. What is good to see is that teams dare to invest in younger coaches," commented Zetterberg. "that teams are starting to take chances on younger coaches is very positive because of their different mindset."
It has been two seasons since Zetterberg last played an NHL game. Henrik and his family have moved home to Sweden and settled in Ängelholm. The Zetterbergs would often stay in Ängelholm during the off-season during his career.
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