A former goalie with the Detroit Red Wings is confused by Mike Babcock’s constant pranks.
Jimmy Howard, the former goalie for the Detroit Red Wings, once said that he was ignorant and kind of lost in his own little universe while his former head coach Mike Babcock’s haughty methods continued.
Howard, forty, played between the pipes for the Detroit Red Wings for eleven years, and he was a member of the team for sixteen years total, split between Detroit and Grand Rapids. In the second round of the 2003 NHL Entry Level Draft, the University of Maine product was chosen 64th overall. In 2003–04, Howard guided Maine to the Frozen Four Championship game, but they were defeated 1-0 by Denver. During same season, Howard also set an NCAA record with a 1.19 goals against average (GAA) and a.956 save %. Howard finished the season 14-4-3. Additionally, Carolina Hurricanes draft pick Yaniv Perets (1.17), who was selected in 2022, would break that sellar GAA record.
In the 2009–10 season, Howard overtook Chris Osgood as the team’s undisputed No. 1 goalkeeper, with a remarkable 37–15–10 record supported by an exceptional 2.26 goals against average and.924 save percentage. In all, Howard had a stellar 2.62 GAA and a.912 save % at the end of his career, with 246 wins, 196 defeats, and 70 ties.
throughout Detroit Red Wings games, the former reliable goalie alternates between the news desk and the funny John Keating throughout the pre- and post-game program and intermissions. Although Howard seems a little out of place in the part, he keeps getting better, but it’s clear that television is not his forte. Still, after filling in for Mickey Redmond, Chris Osgood, who had battled in the same capacity from the start, really took off at the desk and in the booth. When the Detroit Red Wings go to the West Coast, Redmond usually remains home, allowing Osgood or Larry Murphy to provide color commentary with the great Ken Daniels. Howard is therefore still hopeful, even though it could take some time.
The antics of previous head coach Mike Babcock startled Jimmy Howard.
Howard just became a member of the Cam and Strick Podcast and shared some insightful remarks on his previous head coach. Howard made a statement that caught my attention: Babcock did not support him for the Calder Trophy, which is given to the Rookie of the Year after an outstanding rookie year in the NHL. Rather than that, Babcock openly supported defenseman Tyler Myers. “He performed a press conference directly before me in Phoenix… and he declared that Tyler Myers was my choice,” Howard remarked. “I thought, ‘That’s quite nice,'” Thank you so much, Mike. They all turn to face me, and I say, “Unfortunately, he isn’t able to cast a vote.”
Though there are far too many examples of Mike Babcock feeling the need to stroke his ego, the most notable ones have been well chronicled. In order to ensure that Mike Modano, a Hall of Fame forward, would play in 1,499 games in his career, Babcock scratched him for the last regular season game. “We were all just stunned. We were all thinking, “What the hell is going on here?” stated Howard. “I still don’t understand why, to this day.”
At the Red Wings vs. Blackhawks outdoor game in Chicago, Babcock attempted to make Chris Chelios a healthy scratch. According to legend, Chelios approached Red Wings general manager Ken Holland and insisted on seeing him play. After that, Babcock began Chelios, and the future Hall of Fame defender never took the field again. When Chelios learned he wouldn’t be playing another shift, his family, who were seated next to the player’s bench, kept handing him drinks from the stands throughout the game. He was requested to play a second shift late in the third period, but he declined, as Chelios once recounted. “What made you bench Cheli for the outdoor game in Chicago?” stated Howard. Certain actions were completely nonsensical. most likely only to show off some muscle.
When former Red Wings player Johan Franzen broke his silence back in 2019, it was his narrative that presumably set off most of these Babcock stories. Babcock was described by Franzen as “a terrible person and the worst person I’ve ever met.” Many of Franzen’s colleagues supported him once he revealed how frequently his former head coach reprimanded him, therefore verifying the mistreatment. Franzen struggled with several head injuries and was frequently ridiculed and reprimanded by Babcock. Franzen said that he would be verbally assaulted to the point that he was afraid to visit the rink.
Babcock would eventually lose two NHL positions as a result of his persistent antics: one in Toronto and the other most recently in Columbus. Babcock has youngster Mitch Marner of the Leafs rate his teammates in order of toughest to least hard worker. Babcock chose to read the list to the squad despite Marner’s assurances that the exercise would be kept private. Days after joining the Blue Jackets, Babcock was looked into by the NHLPA for violating players’ privacy when he asked them to hand over their phones so he could look through their camera roll.
“I wasn’t in constant communication with him. Was I really so naive about everything that came out in public? Howard said on the program, “Were I living in my own little world that much that I didn’t notice what was going on?” “However, a lot of the stuff that happened happened during the game, and I was standing in the crease 90 feet from the bench, so I had no idea any of that was going on.”
“Every now and then, when I turned the corner in the morning, he would be there and say, ‘Huh, played some (expletive) dodgeball last night, eh, Howie?'” he said. “Yup, couldn’t get hit by it,” I reply. I apologize, Babs. Little remarks like that, but nothing along the lines of, “Oh my god, I’m not going to be able to get by because he just zinged me so hard.”
