Babcock reportedly getting megabucks from Leafs
Throughout the process, Mike Babcock said all the right things, of course, about his job selection being about more than just money. But in the end, he left one of the league's most successful franchises in recent history for one of its worst and most dysfunctional in recent history, and as would be expected, he will be compensated for his move very, very well.
According to TSN's Darren Dreger, Babcock's new deal with the Maple Leafs is for eight years and about $50 million, making him easily the NHL's highest-paid coach. Joel Quenneville had been at the top of the league's coaching-salary list at $2.9 million annually, and the Red Wings reportedly had offered Babcock $4 million a year to stay in Detroit.
Even more impressive, though, is what Babcock reportedly will be bringing in over his first few years with the Leafs. Per TSN's Bob McKenzie, Babcock will make close to $8 million a year in each of the first three years of his frontloaded contract.
That's ... a lot of money. So much, in fact, that it would put him among the highest-paid coaches in all of sports (not all sports/teams make salary information available) and put him on approximately equal footing with some of the NHL's highest-paid players; only eight players make as much as $8 million a year in salary, with Predators defenseman Shea Weber leading the way at $14 million a year.
But with the Toronto franchise worth an estimated $1.5 billion, what's an extra few million a season? It'll obviously be considered money well-spent if Babcock can lead the Leafs to their first Stanley Cup since 1967.
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