Mike Babcock (B.Ed. (Physical Education) 1986) 25th NHL coach to reach 1,000 game milestone

The 52-year-old native of Manitouwadge, Ont., who was raised in Saskatoon, Sask., is in his 13^th season as a bench boss in the NHL and will be tied with Roger Neilson and Dave Tippett who completed their NHL coaching careers with exactly 1,000 contests under their belts. Next in line is Jacques Demers, who sits at the No.22 spot with 1,007 games coached. The NHL's all-time leader is Scotty Bowman, who coached 2,141 regular season contests in 30 years behind the bench.

Babcock was the second-fastest coach in NHL history to reach 500 wins -- trailing only Bowman -- and is one of 22 coaches to have won 500 NHL games. He owns six championship rings and his combined lifetime coaching record, at all levels, stands at 1,138-767-203 (.588) in 2,108 games overall, including playoffs, the AHL, IIHF, WHL, CIAU and CCAA.

He officially began his coaching career in 1988 with Red Deer College of the CCAA, shortly after graduating from McGill University in 1986 with a bachelor of education, where he patrolled the blueline for the Redmen from 1983 to 1986. He also received an honorary doctorate from McGill in 2013. 

Babcock captured his first championship ring with the University of Lethbridge at the 1994 CIAU (now known as CIS) University Cup tournament.

In international play, Babcock has represented Canada at several competitions. He became the only coach in hockey history to lead his country to gold in consecutive Olympic appearances after guiding Canada in Vancouver (2010) and Sochi (2014). He led Canada to a gold medal at the 2004 world championships. In 1997, he took part in his first international coaching experience at the IIHF world junior championships as Canada also captured gold. Babcock is the only coach in the so-called 'Triple Gold Club,' an exclusive group of individuals who have captured the three most prestigious championships in hockey (a world championship, an Olympic gold medal and a Stanley Cup).

SEE BABCOCK'S ACCEPTENCE SPEECH AFTER RECEIVING HON. DOCTORATE FROM McGILL

A thumbnail look at the career of Mike Babcock, who will reach the 1,000 coaching milestone on Thursday (Feb. 4/16):

1986 -- Graduated with a degree in physical education from McGill University, where he played defence and served as captain of the hockey team. He also did some post-graduate work in sports psychology at McGill.

1987-88 -- Served as player-coach of the Whitley Bay Warriors of the British Premier League. He had 34 goals and 132 points in 36 games; the Warriors finished two points out of first place.

1988-91 -- Coached at Red Deer College. His team won the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference championship in 1989, and he was named ACAC coach of the year.

1991-93 -- Coached the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League. His teams went 60-78-6 in two seasons; they lost in the first round of the WHL playoffs in 1992 and didn't qualify in 1993.

1993-94 -- Spent one season coaching the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns. He led the team to the CIS University Cup and was the Canada West Universities Athletic Association coach of the year.

1994-2000 -- Coached the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League. Babcock was named WHL coach of the year in 1996 and 2000 after leading his team to first place in the Western Division and into the WHL finals.

1997 -- Coached Canada internationally for the first time at the world junior championship in Switzerland. Canada won the gold medal, defeating the United States in the championship game.

2000-02 -- Moved to the pros when he was named coach of the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the American Hockey League. Cincinnati, the AHL affiliate of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Detroit Red Wings, had a 74-59-20-7 record under Babcock and qualified for the Calder Cup playoffs in each of his two seasons.

2002-04 -- Was named coach of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on May 22, 2002. Led Anaheim to the best season in franchise history in 2002-03 (40-27-9-6, 95 points); the Mighty Ducks advanced to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final before losing to the New Jersey Devils. However, they did not qualify for the playoffs in 2003-04; this is the only time in his pro career that a Babcock-coached team failed to make the postseason.

2004 -- Coached Canada at the IIHF world championship in Prague. Canada went 7-1-1 and defeated Sweden to win the gold medal. Babcock became the first coach to lead Canada to the title at the world juniors and the world championship.

2005 -- Named coach of the Detroit Red Wings on July 15, 2005.

2008 -- Led the Red Wings to the 11th Stanley Cup in franchise history and the fourth since 1997. They defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games in the final.

2009 -- Coached the Red Wings to the Western Conference championship and a second straight berth in the Stanley Cup final, where they were defeated by the Penguins in seven games.

2010 -- Led Canada to the gold medal at the Vancouver Olympics, capped by a 3-2 overtime victory against the United States in the championship game. Babcock became the only coach to join the "Triple Gold Club"; members have won a Stanley Cup, an Olympic gold medal and a world championship.

2014 -- Coached Canada to the gold medal at the Sochi Olympics. His team allowed three goals while going 6-0 and defeating Sweden in the championship game.

2015 -- Led the Red Wings to their 24th consecutive appearance in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and their 10th in his 10 seasons with Detroit. The Red Wings lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games in the Eastern Conference first round.

2015 -- Announced as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 20, 2015. Babcock becomes the 30th head coach in Maple Leafs history, agreeing on an eight-year deal worth a reported $50 million.


TOP 50 NHL COACHES RANKING BY GAMES COACHED (courtesy hockey-reference.com)
 

					REGULAR SEASON							PLAYOFFS
RK	COACH	FROM	TO	YRS	GP ?	W	L	T	OL	PTS	PTS%	G	W	L	T	W-L%	CHAMP	ST CUP
1	Scotty Bowman*	1968	2002	30	2141	1244	573	314	10	2812	.657	353	223	130	0	.632	9	9
2	Al Arbour*	1971	2008	23	1607	782	577	248	0	1812	.564	209	123	86	0	.589	4	4
3	Dick Irvin*	1929	1956	27	1449	692	527	230		1614	.557	190	100	88	2	.532	4	4
4	Joel Quenneville	1997	2016	19	1429	788	454	77	110	1763	.617	204	115	89	0	.564	3	3
5	Ron Wilson	1994	2012	18	1401	648	561	101	91	1488	.531	95	47	48	0	.495	0	0
6	Pat Quinn	1979	2010	20	1400	684	528	154	34	1556	.556	183	94	89	0	.514	0	0
7	Mike Keenan	1985	2009	20	1386	672	531	147	36	1527	.551	173	96	77	0	.555	1	1
8	Lindy Ruff	1998	2016	18	1380	684	508	78	110	1556	.564	107	59	48	0	.551	0	0
9	Ken Hitchcock	1996	2016	19	1375	737	445	88	105	1667	.606	148	76	72	0	.514	1	1
10	Barry Trotz	1999	2016	17	1326	637	514	60	115	1449	.546	64	26	38	0	.406	0	0
11	Jacques Martin	1987	2012	17	1294	613	481	119	81	1426	.551	111	50	61	0	.450	0	0
12	Jacques Lemaire*	1984	2011	17	1262	617	458	124	63	1421	.563	117	61	56	0	.521	1	1
13	Paul Maurice	1996	2016	18	1251	543	520	99	89	1274	.509	57	25	32	0	.439	0	0
14	Bryan Murray	1982	2008	17	1239	620	465	131	23	1394	.563	112	52	60	0	.464	0	0
15	Darryl Sutter	1993	2016	16	1171	578	420	101	72	1329	.567	165	88	77	0	.533	2	2
16	Marc Crawford	1995	2011	15	1151	549	421	103	78	1279	.556	83	43	40	0	.518	1	1
17	Billy Reay	1958	1977	16	1102	542	385	175		1259	.571	117	57	60	0	.487	0	0
18	Brian Sutter	1989	2004	13	1028	451	417	140	20	1062	.517	68	28	40	0	.412	0	0
19	Alain Vigneault	1998	2016	14	1020	547	359	35	79	1208	.592	122	61	61	0	.500	0	0
20	Pat Burns*	1989	2004	14	1019	501	353	151	14	1167	.573	149	78	71	0	.523	1	1
21	Terry Murray	1990	2012	15	1012	499	383	89	41	1128	.557	101	50	51	0	.495	0	0
22	Jacques Demers	1980	1999	14	1007	409	468	130		948	.471	98	55	43	0	.561	1	1
23	Roger Neilson*	1978	2002	16	1000	460	378	159	3	1082	.541	106	51	55	0	.481	0	0
24	Dave Tippett	2003	2016	13	1000	512	353	28	107	1159	.580	74	33	41	0	.446	0	0
25	Mike Babcock	2003	2016	13	999	545	307	19	128	1237	.619	144	82	62	0	.569	1	1
26	John Tortorella	2000	2016	15	981	465	396	37	83	1050	.535	89	43	46	0	.483	1	1
27	Sid Abel*	1953	1976	16	964	382	427	155		919	.477	76	32	44	0	.421	0	0
28	Jack Adams*	1928	1947	20	964	413	390	161		987	.512	105	52	52	1	.500	3	3
29	Glen Sather*	1980	2004	13	932	497	307	121	7	1122	.602	127	89	37	1	.705	4	4
30	Toe Blake*	1956	1968	13	914	500	255	159		1159	.634	119	82	37	0	.689	8	8
31	Bob Hartley	1999	2016	13	910	449	345	61	55	1014	.557	95	54	41	0	.568	1	1
32	Claude Julien	2003	2016	13	910	496	296	10	108	1110	.610	109	61	47	0	.560	1	1
33	Peter Laviolette	2002	2016	14	892	460	326	25	81	1026	.575	88	45	43	0	.511	1	1
34	Punch Imlach*	1959	1980	14	889	402	337	150		954	.537	92	44	48	0	.478	4	4
35	Bob Berry	1979	1994	11	860	384	355	121		889	.517	33	11	22	0	.333	0	0
36	Bob Pulford*	1973	2000	12	829	363	330	136	0	862	.520	71	28	43	0	.394	0	0
37	Art Ross*	1918	1945	19	802	394	313	95		883	.550	70	32	33	5	.493	2	2
38	Michel Bergeron	1981	1990	10	792	338	350	104		780	.492	68	31	37	0	.456	0	0
39	Emile Francis*	1966	1983	13	778	388	273	117		893	.574	89	39	50	0	.438	0	0
40	Milt Schmidt*	1955	1976	13	770	250	394	126		626	.406	34	15	19	0	.441	0	0
41	Red Kelly*	1968	1977	10	742	278	330	134		690	.465	62	24	38	0	.387	0	0
42	Andy Murray	2000	2010	10	738	333	278	58	69	793	.537	28	10	18	0	.357	0	0
43	Fred Shero*	1972	1981	10	734	390	225	119		899	.612	110	63	47	0	.573	2	2
44	Michel Therrien	2001	2016	11	725	361	269	23	72	817	.563	71	38	33	0	.535	0	0
45	Randy Carlyle	2006	2015	10	704	364	260		80	808	.574	69	39	30	0	.565	1	1
46	Craig MacTavish	2001	2009	8	656	301	252	47	56	705	.537	30	17	13	0	.567	0	0
47	John Muckler	1969	2000	10	648	276	285	84	3	639	.493	67	36	31	0	.537	1	1
48	Bruce Boudreau	2008	2016	9	647	386	185		76	848	.655	73	38	35		.521	0	0
49	Pierre Page	1989	1998	8	636	253	301	82		588	.462	22	6	16	0	.273	0	0
50	Terry Crisp	1988	1998	9	631	286	267	78		650	.515	43	24	19	0	.558	1	1

MIKE BABCOCK'S CAREER COACHING RECORD (compliled by Earl Zukerman, Sports Information Officer, McGill University)
 

(updated on Feb. 3, 2016)
				REGULAR SEASON						PLAYOFFS
Season	Team	League	G	W	L	T	PCT		G	W	L	PCT
1988-89	Red Deer	CCAA	24	18	4	2	0.792		10	8	2	0.800
1989-90	Red Deer	CCAA	24	11	12	1	0.479		5	2	3	0.400
1990-91	Red Deer	CCAA	25	19	6	0	0.760		3	1	2	0.333
1991-92	Moose Jaw	WHL	72	33	36	3	0.479		4	0	4	0.000
1992-93	Moose Jaw	WHL	72	27	42	3	0.396		0	0	0	0.000
1993-94	Lethbridge	CIAU	28	19	7	2	0.714		9	7	2	0.778
1994-95	Spokane	WHL	72	32	36	4	0.472		11	6	5	0.545
1995-96	Spokane	WHL	72	50	18	4	0.722		9	3	6	0.333
1996-97	Spokane	WHL	65	31	30	4	0.508		9	4	5	0.444
1996-97	CANADA JR.	IIHF	4	2	0	2	0.750		3	3	0	1.000
1997-98	Spokane	WHL	72	45	23	4	0.653		18	10	8	0.556
1998-99	Spokane	WHL	72	19	44	9	0.326		0	0	0	0.000
1999-00	Spokane	WHL	72	47	21	4	0.681		20	15	5	0.750
2000-01	Cincinnati	AHL	80	41	26	13	0.594		4	1	3	0.250
2001-02	Cincinnati	AHL	80	33	33	14	0.500		3	1	2	0.333
2002-03	Anaheim	NHL	82	40	33	9	0.543		21	15	6	0.714
2003-04	Anaheim	NHL	82	29	43	10	0.415		0	0	0	0.000
2004	CANADA SR.	IIHF	8	5	2	1	0.688		3	3	0	1.000
2004-05	Anaheim	NHL (strike)	-	-	-	-	0.000		-	-		0.000
2005-06	Detroit	NHL	82	58	16	8	0.756		6	2	4	0.333
2006-07	Detroit	NHL	82	50	19	13	0.689		18	10	8	0.556
2007-08	Detroit	NHL	82	54	21	7	0.701		22	16	6	0.727
2008-09	Detroit	NHL	82	51	21	10	0.683		23	15	8	0.652
2008	CANADA SR.	Olympics	3	2	1	0	0.667		4	4	0	1.000
2009-10	Detroit	NHL	82	44	24	14	0.622		12	5	7	0.417
2010-11	Detroit	NHL	82	47	25	10	0.634		11	7	4	0.636
2011-12	Detroit	NHL	82	48	28	6	0.622		5	1	4	0.200
2012-13	Detroit	NHL (strike)	48	24	16	8	0.583		13	7	6	0.538
2013-14	Detroit	NHL	82	39	28	15	0.567		5	4	1	0.800
2014	CANADA SR.	Olympics	3	3	0	0	1.000		3	3	0	1.000
2014-15	Detroit	NHL	82	43	25	14	0.610		7	3	4	0.429
2015-16	Toronto	NHL	49	18	22	9	0.459
OVERALL CAREER TOTALS:			1847	982	662	203	0.587		261	156	105	0.598
NHL REG. SEASON CAREER TOTAL:			999	545	321	133	0.612		143	85	58	0.594
ALL GAMES (Reg. Season + Playoffs):			2108	1138	767	203	0.588
NOTE: Games played at the IIHF and Olympic levels are broken into two separate colums, one for the preliminary round and one for the playoff round.