Former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri's book "Dreamer: My Life On The Edge" delves into coach Mike Babcock's handling of players.
Kadri's book scheduled for release Oct. 15 recounts Babcock telling Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner during his 2016-17 rookie season to make of list of teammates ranking their work ethic from best to worst.
Marner confirmed the incident in 2019 after the Maple Leafs fired Babcock. Kadri, who played for Toronto for a decade, said in his book that he and teammate Tyler Bozak "stormed into Babcock's office and laid into him." "He tried to defend what he'd done, to explain the thought process behind the exercise," Kadri recalled in the book. "There wasn't much he could say, and in the end I think he realized he's made a mistake.
After that he apologized to Mitch. We'd pretty much made him. "You just don't do that to a rookie." Babcock, who coached Canada to Olympic men's gold in 2010 and 2014 and the Detroit Red Wings to a Stanley Cup in 2008, was behind Toronto's bench from 2015 until he was fired early in the 2019-20 season.